Urban agriculture is growing in Australia
65 speakers who share their knowledge at the Urban Agriculture Forum in Sydney
By McPherson Media Group
Country News
Dec 15, 2023
Excerpt:
From growing bush tucker to sharing Indigenous knowledge, every work day is different for First Nations horticulturist Brenden Moore.
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A proud Biripi man from the north coast of NSW, part of his job with the Botanic Gardens of Sydney is to grow and connect people through plants.
“Anybody can do it,” he said of urban agriculture.
“Horticulture is a connection to country and it’s nice to be able to share that and pass that knowledge on.”
Mr Moore was one of 65 speakers who shared their knowledge at the Urban Agriculture Forum in Sydney and the Illawarra recently.
His job has seen him plant everywhere from schools to prisons, while growing a vegetable and herb garden with children at Darlington in Sydney is one of the projects he’s most proud of.
Produce from the garden was used in the school canteen where students could then help to make and eat their work.
Mr Moore’s work connects people through plants while teaching them about First Nations culture.
“The knowledge that I share is the Indigenous use of Australian native plants that have been here for thousands of years,” he said.
“I see gardening as a piece of art, you could be part of it, or you could do it but you’re getting something from it.”
The event is trying to work out ways to grow Australia’s community garden network.
There are currently 800 registered gardens across Australia, up from 600 pre-COVID-19, while Community Gardens Australia said that number could be as high as 2400.
“We’ve got rooftops and fabulous different types of watering systems, there’s vertical gardens, we can be growing food everywhere in our cities,” the group’s Naomi Lacey said.
The permaculturalist, who is passionate about promoting healthy food systems, has been keen to tap into First Nations knowledge.
“We have got the world’s oldest living culture living amongst us that have been growing and managing their own food for over 60,000 years,” Ms Lacey said.
“We want as much knowledge as we can get to manage a changing climate. We need to be able to feed ourselves.”
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