Urban Orchard
1
0am til 12pm Saturdays at CERES Market
The CERES Urban Orchard Project is a collection of folk from over 200 households across the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne who swap and share excess produce from their backyard gardens.
A pilot project started in 2004 by CERES Farm, with a small grant from the Garden of Eden Foundation, the Urban Orchard employed one staff member to conduct a community survey and begin a pilot project. With an initial focus on unused fruit from the abundant plantings across Moreland and Darebin, the project has spread to vegetables, herbs and beyond.
Those with produce to swap, gather every Saturday at the CERES Organic Market. Members of the project leave their excess fruit, vegetables, herbs etc on the swap table and take produce others have dropped off.
The Urban Orchard is a complete community food cycle. Participants bring in seeds and seedlings to swap, and the CERES propagation team donate their excess seedlings. Urban Orchard members take them home, plant and grow them, and then bring them back as produce to swap. The cycle of local food is complete.
Why an Urban Orchard?
- To provide an opportunity for people to utilise otherwise-wasted fruit, veg, herbs, etc.
- To create friendships within the neighbourhood and build stronger local communities
- To reduce green waste and pressure on landfill
- To build local food security and provide healthy in-season food for the community
- To reduce the need to transport produce from outside the city / state / country! – less transport means less fuel burned, hence reduced pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Pickers Project
Urban Orchard would like to branch out with a Pickers Project. The Pickers Project would offer a picking service to people who struggle to pick their own fruit and then redistribute surplus to groups in the community. This project is still in the planning and development stages and we are looking for people and partner organisations who can help us grow this idea.
Join In
If you live in the inner northern suburbs and would like the opportunity to swap your excess backyard produce with others from the area, please come down one Saturday morning and visit our stall. We have a leaflet for anyone who would like to do a letterbox drop in their area and an A4 poster for community notice boards (you can pick these up at the stall or print your own) Download here.
If you live in the inner northern suburbs and would like the opportunity to swap your excess backyard produce with others from the area, please come down one Saturday morning and visit our stall. We have a leaflet for anyone who would like to do a letterbox drop in their area and an A4 poster for community notice boards (you can pick these up at the stall or print your own) Download here.
We have a questionnaire for those who would like to join our database. Click here to download.
Swap Guide
Adelaide Friends of the Earth have produced a really cool How to Set Up a Swap guide:
http://www.adelaide.foe.org.
http://www.adelaide.foe.org.
For more information
For more information
Urban Orchard has a great web stories page created by Camilla MacTier. Have a look here and click on the apples
Urban Orchard has a great web stories page created by Camilla MacTier. Have a look here and click on the apples
Email us : urbanorchard@ceres.org.au
More Resources
Adelaide Friends of the Earth have produced a really cool How to Set Up a Swap guide:
Abundance, Sheffield, England have a fantastic handbook on gleening
We also recommend seeking likeminded organisations through the Community Gardens network: http://communitygarden.org.au and Sustainable Gardens Australia (http://www.sgaonline.org.au/) are establishing local gardening groups called PODs: http://www.sgaonline.org.au/?p=808
| Suburb | Name | Location | Date | Time | Contact |
| Coburg | Urban Harvest | McCleery Reserve, corner of Munro and Vincent Sts | 3rd Saturday of the month | 10am - 11am | aliciahooper@hotmail.com ekeogh21@hotmail.com |
|
Coburg
Kildonan Uniting Care |
Kildonan Fresh Food Swap | Corner of Bell St & Sydney Rd (beside the Church) | 1st Saturday of every month | 10am - 12pm | rparker@kildonan.org.au |
| Brunswick East | Urban Orchard | CERES, Cnr Roberts and Stewart Streets | Every Saturday | 10am - 12pm | (03) 9387 2609 urbanorchard@ceres.org.au |
| Fitzroy | Yarra Urban Harvest | Smith’s Reserve, (next to Fitzroy Pool) | 1st Saturday of the month | 10am - 12pm | peta@cultivatingcommunity.org.au Facebook: ‘Yarra Urban Harvest’ |
| Footscray | Western Urban Orchard Swap Meet | Pilgram St Park, Seddon (42 A5) | 1st Saturday of the month | 10am - 11.30pm | (03) 9314 7713 neesh@westnet.com.au |
| Bulleen | Bullen Art and Garden Centre Vegie swap meet | 6 Manningham Rd, West Bulleen | Jan 16 | 9.30 - 10.30am | www.baag.com.au (03) 98505155 |
| Sale | Neighbourhood House 19 - 21 Leslie street | 15 October to 11 December 2009 | 9:00am - 5:00pm | Bronwyn McLay or Kathy Bertacchini, Sale Neighbourhood House (03) 51445747 snh@netspace.net.au snh.customer.netspace.net.au |
|
| Adelaide Clarence Park
|
Urban Orchard | Clarence Park Community Centre, 72-74 East Avenue, Black Forest | first Saturday of the month | 10.00am - 12pm | joel.catchlove@foe.org.au 0403 886 951 |
| Adelaide Henley |
Henley Fruit and Veg Swap | Henley High School, off Cluse Road | First Saturday of the month | 10.00am - 11.00am | Hosted by the Henley Community Garden ajeastland@netspace.net.au 0400 288 545 |
| Gawler (SA) | Gawler Urban Orchard | Gawler Community House, 2 Scheibener Terrace |
First Saturday of the month | gawlerch@bigpond.com (08) 522 4601 0408 084 129 |
|
| Adelaide West Croydon |
Community Fruit & Veggie Swap | Carnarvon Reserve, West Croydon (access from Carnarvon Pde, via Torrens Rd, or from Rosetta St or Brown St) | Saturdays weekly from 9 January 2010 | 10.00 - 10.30 am | www.myspace.com/vegeswap |
| Wollongong (NSW) | Waste not! Fruit & Veg Swap | Garden (North Wollongong PCYC | Third Sunday of the month | 9-12pm | www.thegarden northgong.blogspot.com 042440345 |
| Brighton (QLD) | Fruitful Suburbs Fruit Swap | Apex Park on the corner of Queens Parade and GladstoneStreet | First Sunday of the month | 9.30am | (07) 3269 9484 |
| Trafalgar | Swap your excess produce | St Mary's Anglican Church, Corner Contingent St and Church St, Trafalgar | Second Saturday of each month | 9.00-11am | Phoebe Hicks 5633-2304 |
| Yarragon | Swap your excess produce | St Mark's Anglican Church, Loch Street, Yarragon | First and third Wednesday of each month | 2.30pm |
Tom Nevelle 5633-3245
|
| Sydney | Hometown Exchange | Plantasia Garden Center, West Lindfield Shops, Moore Avenue, West Lindfielfd | Third Sunday of each month | 2.30-3.30pm |
people.smartchat.net.au/~micraig/
|
| Melbourne Abbotsford | Abbotsford Slow Food Markets | St. Heliers Street | Forth Saturday of each month | From 10am |
http://www.sgaonline.org.au/?p=3580
|
| Newport Lakes | Off Mason St | Third Sunday of each month | 10.30-11.30 | ||
| Spotswood | Spotswood Community House |
Melbourne Road Newport Melways ref 41 J12 | Third Saturday of each month | 9.30 – 10.30am |
Madeline on 0409 712 003 or Julie on 9391 2613 |
| Wyndham Vale |
Presidents Park | Cnr Heath and McGrath Rd | Third Sunday of April | 10.30-12.30 |
Contact Rita on 0418 469 598 |
| Upwey | Upway Food Swap | Main Street | Last Saturday of each month | 10.30-11.30 |
Michelle Jones michellejones58@optus.com.au 0409 526 862 |
| Rivers of Yarrambat |
Third Sunday of each month | 10.30-11.30 | Karen info@riversofyarrambat.com | ||
| Bairnsdale |
Bairnsdale Neighbourhood house |
Dalmahoy Street |
Every Friday | 10am-12pm |
Rebecca Lamble on 5153 9500 |