Coffs Coast Local Food Futures Part A_Final Report - Coffs Harbour ...

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The project has helped embed sustainability in the wider community in the following ways: an embodied awareness of the passing of the seasons, and the range of different seasonal and climate-appropriate foods that are available in our region enhancing access to local, fresh, seasonal produce local food is becoming more accepted and more mainstreamed – more normalised; it’s less of a marginal, ‘alternative’ thing; it’s more valued and appreciated working on public land makes the activities more visible than they might be if they were taking place on private land, which makes a significant contribution to embedding sustainability through creating pathways to engagement and volunteerism, the project and its outcomes build a culture of community and sustainability (as opposed to just entrenching consumerism based on purchasing choices), as well as contributing to more social justice outcomes the High School garden has rescued and rehabilitated what was previously a totally degraded paddock, and made it aesthetically pleasing, so that it is now incorporated into the school life and used regularly by students and staff for lunch and socialisation – this is a contribution to what we might call ‘psychological sustainability’ Delays/Difficulties Encountered Over the life of the project, there have been some significant difficulties, which as a consequence have produced delays and modifications in the implementation of the project: Securing land for the community garden: During 2009, the BCGA worked closely with staff of the Bellingen Shire Council to identify potential sites on public land for the establishment of the community garden. One in particular was chosen and a DA process commenced, but this subsequently had to be withdrawn after a strong backlash from local residents who felt that the BCGA were ‘alienating public land’ from existing recreational uses. This was resolved when the High School Principal offered the site on High School land, however it did cause delays to the project timeframe. This experience of community opposition on the basis of ‘alienating open space’ is not uncommon amongst groups attempting to establish community gardens elsewhere in Australia. In Bellingen it was compounded by the lack of decent public land being set aside during earlier phases of development in Bellingen Resistance from some staff at the High School: During the construction phases at the High School, some of the ground staff were resistant to the idea of the community garden being located adjacent to the school’s agricultural land, and suspicious of the organic and permaculture principles being applied. This lingers to some extent, but over time trust and relationships have been successfully established Slow-decision making processes – within the school, has caused some delays Constraints on community involvement – because the garden is in the school, it is not accessible to community members during school hours; and we don’t always have someone present in the garden outside school hours (e.g. a 2-hour working bee) Securing commitment to ongoing involvement from community members – while a cohort of gardeners and volunteers is developing, this has been a slow process, and potentially poses a challenge to the long-term sustainability of the garden. To date, more time has been invested in constructing the garden and developing the site, than has been possible to invest in engaging with the broader community. There have been communication and other strategies put in place to address this (leaflets, articles in the newspaper, Facebook, launch events, social events, message board at the garden, signage on the street, getting a roster of supervisors for working bees, establishing an email list), but clearly this challenge still remains. A lot of nearby residents, and parents – 6-10 people a day – are picking fresh produce from the garden every day. Our challenge is to get some of these people to commit to becoming regular volunteers and gardeners, which is a challenge being faced in other community
groups. One possibility being discussed is whether individual allotments should be established, to create a more direct sense of engagement with, and responsibility for, the garden. Another is to offer more skills-based workshops, and re-name ‘working bees’ to a more attractive name like ‘community harvests’, so people don’t associate gardening with hard work. <strong>Food</strong> swaps is another possibility, and / or acquiring a good coffee machine (though that would then need maintenance). Two instances of vandalism - this is not seen as a major issue, given it has only happened twice in over 12 months. Modifications The principal modifications have been identified above, i.e.: Selecting an alternative site (the high school) for the community garden Adopting a range of communication strategies and other approaches to try to get more direct and ongoing engagement from the local community. This continues to be a challenge for the High School garden
Page 1 and 2: Local Food Futures Project Part A:
Page 3 and 4: The Farm Gate Trail & Seasonal Cale
Page 5 and 6: Introduction This project establish
Page 7 and 8: Milestones The Milestone Timetable
Page 9 and 10: Key Focus Areas - Summary of Outcom
Page 11 and 12: Summary of the Focus Area (continue
Page 13 and 14: Key Focus Area: Showcasing Stakehol
Page 15 and 16: Stakeholder Engagement and Particip
Page 17 and 18: Project Timetable Milestone/Activit
Page 19 and 20: Schedule C Environmental Trust Outc
Page 21 and 22: Community Gardens The main challeng
Page 23 and 24: This project has been assisted by t
Page 29 and 30: Local Food Futures Project NSW ENVI
Page 31 and 32: Partner/ Stakeholder Communication
Page 33 and 34: Schools Due to site access issue ou
Page 35 and 36: Monitoring & Evaluation Attached se
Page 37 and 38: support of Council approval of the
Page 39 and 40: Appendix C Bellingen Community Gard
Page 41 and 42: Bellingen High School Garden Open D
Page 43: Monitoring and Evaluation Please se

Coffs Coast Local Food Futures Part A_Final Report - Coffs Harbour ...

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