the start
EdibleScapes had a great start to 2019 harvesting last year’s fresh produce. 17 pumpkins and dozens of organic culinary and medicinal herb packs was donated today (Thursday 17th January) to Nerang Neighbourhood Centre’s Emergency Food Service.
This is a humble gesture; however, it is a symbolic and tangible statement about city food security and the rights of all citizens to enjoy nutrient-rich healthy food. The Edible Landscape Gardens site at Country Paradise Parklands is an experiential learning site, where a broad range of gardening, harvesting and expanded opportunities to learn are open to the public.
We are eager to commence our 2019 program, motivated by the concrete support shown to EdibleScapes during 2018 from a range of community stakeholders. We are especially encouraged by the successful completion of the crowdfunding campaign, only in 3 days into December. This fundraising will support the Community Composting activities.
In addition, we were delighted to receive the City Council Division 5 Donation grant for learning aids / booklets / interpretation panels at the Edible Landscape Gardens site. Another, “big Thank You to Cr, Peter Young” for a second and bigger Grant (on the way to the bank) that will enable the development of the gardens, planting of the permanent fruits trees and running the gardening community education 2019 programs.
EdibleScapes are organising a monthly Veggie & Seed Swap activity to be happen every 2nd Saturday of the Month at Country Paradise Parkland – Nerang. The invitation is open for all gardeners who want to exchange their excess home grown or homemade healthy produces and to meet other organic growers for morning tea and chat.
After two successful previous veggie swaps last year (June and November 2017), we will continue montly due to the popular demand.
EdibleScapes 2017 swap and other activities, were organised as an active waiting period. Since early 2017, the concept for a public edible landscape garden open to the community at the parkland has an ‘approve in principal but not yet digging permission’. The indication is that soon in early 2018, the parkland manager association will meet with our EdibleScapes committee to settle an agreement to bring this vision into reality.
The first two swaps last year were organised with the help of Dorothy Coe and member of Veggie Swap Gold Coast - this group meet regularly at the Gold Coast Organic Growers Club on the 3rd Thursday of each month at Elanora and time to time meet as well at the Southern Beach Community Gardens at Tugun. More more info on Veggie Swap Gold Coast see their FB page / groups
veggieswapgoldcoast
If you’re not familiar with the concept of a Veggie Swap, here’s how it works: People bring their excess garden produce to share. This could be seeds, seedlings, veggies, cuttings and/or fruit. People take what they need. No money is exchanged.
That’s right, no money changes hands, swap is for sharing rather than trading, just a friendly swap of produce, knowledge and conversation.
If you have excess, then come to the Country Paradise Parkland to swap,
every 2nd Saturday of each the Month.
10:00 am to 12:00
What to bring: A smile and your produce – any fresh homegrown food, seeds, honey etc.
Meet us near the Edible Landscape Gardens site project at Country Paradise Parkland. 74 Billabirra Cres, Nerang
More info - contact Jorge at contact@ediblescapes.org
Organiser: EdibleScapes, a nonprofit community social & ecological services organisation. Our mission is to produce, maintain and promote public edible gardens.
visit www.ediblescapes.org
FB /n.ediblescapes/
One year incubating the idea of a public food forest garden has now passed.
The concept of an aesthetically pleasing edible landscape was first presented to Riverkeepers Land-Care group on October 2016, in the form of a “Living Art Food Forest”. In December 2016, a couple of keylines (surface ground harvest water system) were superficially dug along the hill contours, and a set of pickets inserted on the ground outlining a circular shape. This was a simple way to represent the garden proposal on site. The purpose was to test the public opinion of Nerang’s Parkland users and stakeholders about our proposal.
On 27 February 2017, a presentation to the Parkland’s Managing Committee and Parkland’s Tenants occurred. The concept was well received, and encouraging feedback was voiced by the tenants. Later, the NCPA notified their ‘approval in principal’ to the concept.
Since then, in the waiting period, the Ediblescapes group was born, driven by a small acting managerial committee, which supports the coordinator and volunteers’ monthly activities. During 2017, Ediblescapes presented the concept of the Edible Forest Landscapes gardens project to the public at numerous garden and social events which occurred at Nerang Parkland and to the Gold Coast Organic Growers community. From this activity, a list of about two hundred supporters and potential members have been collected.
Over the monthly activities, eighty three people have engaged as participants and volunteers. With them, Ediblescape has learned to make soil in eighteen days, through the hot composting system. It collected organic waste to produce composting soil. Jeans were recycled to make biodegradable ‘Jeans pots’. Trees and perennial plants donated by participants at veggies swaps are growing in these Jeans Pots.
A creative application of land arts, inspired by the antique practice of ‘Geoglyph art’, was used to mock-up the landscape garden design. The Geoglyph artwork, produced with mulch and Jeans Pots, was presented to the audience of the Botanical Bazaar Garden Expo in September, and since then it has been entertaining tens of hundreds of Parkland visitors.
Recently, a photographic print of the Geoglyph artwork was presented on canvas at an art exhibition at the Gold Coast Local Study Library at Southport. It was also presented to the public at the ‘Eat Your Backyard Community Day’ at Mermaid Waters Multicultural Garden, a gardening event supported by Gecko /Environment Council. Thanks to the Geoglyph artwork on the ground of Country Paradise Parkland, Ediblescapes have received an invitation to participate in future programs with different communities on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.
All this achievement was only possible due to the persistent hard work of the small acting committee, especially Dorothy Coe, acting secretary, Cathy Beard, acting President and Julie Merryl, acting treasurer. Also, thanks to Lyn Mansfield for her advice and not forgetting Scott Quilliam for his excellent video camera document and commentator services.
The acting committed has set up Ediblescapes with appropriate insurance cover for volunteers and participants of activities. Also, it means that our organisation has been approved to have job seekers who are undertaking voluntary work as an approved activity by the Department of Human Services.
At the moment, the acting committee’s task is to polish the mission statement, the vision or purpose, principles and strategic goals, to outline the future role of Ediblescapes. It also needs to prepare the association’s constitution, ready for approval in the first general annual meeting, to be held in the 4th week of January, 2018.
In Ediblescapes’ general meeting in January, the acting committee will fulfil its mission by passing the governance services to the first elected managing committee. In this first general meeting, members need to pass a motion to incorporate by resolution the new not-for-profit association. Further, it will confirm the name, adopt the proposed operating rules, and elect the committee members. This elected managing committee will lodge the application for incorporation soon after the meeting.
The Ediblescapes managing committee will have the responsibility of overseeing the operational work of the coordinator(s) and working group(s), which will drive the Ediblescapes 2018/19 programs and activities.
Ediblescapes now issues an open invitation for membership and volunteers to be part of the next development phase of this endeavour, which aims to produce and promote as well as educate the public in the edible ecology of the city common space.
For more information email Jorge
Contact@ediblescapes.org
And see our Facebook’s Edible Forest Landscape Project page at www.facebook.com/n.ediblescapes/
it was a great time of sharing stories, enriched particularly by Merryl Wentworth who brings a special donation to the Ediblescapes project.
This plant is very special for our project because it is an example of a tree with history. This is because Merryl’s lemandarin was first planted at Gilston, “Mt Nathan”, 60 years ago by her father on the site that is now underwater in the Hinze Dam.
An informative talk by Peter on sustainable living through permaculture and guerrilla gardening.
The group also enjoyed a walk through the "edible forest" structural example, at the back of Peters property; primarily for wildlife as part of a landcare ongoing development. All involved gathered helpful information, cuttings and seeds from Peter's edible forest and home garden.
In June 2017 we had a veggie swap. It was a great morning of sharing food and stories.
In 11th November will be held our second veggie swap
In May 2017 Ediblescapes held "the Hot Composting Workshop". Hot composting is the only of composting that kills weeds, seeds and pathogens. It creates true compost in the least amount of time.
Between July to September Ediblescapes develop and present a geoglyph artwork that mock-up the complete gardens design for the proposed Public edibles landscape.
Is an urban Landcare intervention in common space, the project take specials care in edibles and natives fruit and perennial plants; developing permanent edible gardens open to community as public space.
Are gardened areas for the use and benefit of the surrounding community and visitors. Model edible and medicinal gardens on the principles of a food forest and edible landscape. Adopted the main styles of unfenced communal gardens.
A food forest is modelled on the ecosystem of a forest, but with the main
components, consisting of edible species and supporting plants.
Edible landscaping is the use of food producing plants in aesthetically pleasing designs landscapes.
