Australia: A Huge Section of Melbourne’s 2000-Square-Metre Rooftop Urban Farm Is Now Complete
A former CBD car park has been transformed into a sky-high garden of native edible plants. When it opens to the public, it’ll host tours and workshops, plus a cafe with a focus on sustainability.
By Emma Joyce
Broadsheet
Dec 8, 2021
Excerpt:
Today, Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp has unveiled the first completed section of a new rooftop oasis in the CBD’s Seafarers precinct. The 2000-square-metre space overlooks the Yarra River and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was once a bleak, exposed rooftop car park and now it’s full of colour and vitality with herbs and plants overflowing from self-watering plant banks.
It’s the first stage of the Melbourne Skyfarm project, which will open to the public in late 2022. When it’s ready, visitors will be able to visit the rooftop garden, sample honey from the hives, take tours and workshops in the space, and visit the new 90-seat cafe and other venues.
The urban oasis is a first for Victoria, and the project is due to take 12 months to finish. A bunch of sustainability-focused companies are behind the initiative, including urban farming company Biofilta, the Sustainable Landscape Company and nature regeneration and protection group Odonata, plus Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and the City of Melbourne.
