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Tasks & Survival Tips for others

I had an amazing time during my internship and would recommend Cultivating Community to everyone who is interested in sustainable urban agriculture initiatives and community gardening as a way to improve food security in Melbourne. 

Possible Tasks for future students:

Cultivating Community is a non-for profit organisation and relies very much on the help of volunteers or interns - there is always something to do.

*If the Food Know How program is continued, there is a chance to help engage more households and cafes, as well as schools and businesses

*Help out Food Systems with projects in the upcoming Fitzroy Community Food Centre

*Help with maintenance of community gardens & school gardens. 

For everyone who is going to do an internship in the future, I suggest:

*make sure you write your CV early enough and send it out to as many people as possible. I send it out to 6 places and ended up having to choose which internship opportunity I would like to take on.

*Don't be too worried, if you are not sure what exactly you would like to do. I didn't know exactly  - all I knew was that I was interested in Food Security. And I ended up learning about it in a different way than I expected - through gardening and composting :) Choose something you think interests you and be surprised!

*Take on as many tasks as you can - you might feel a little overwhelmed, but you will learn so much! It's worth it!

*Ask questions and talk to your colleges! That is the only way you find out more about what interests you and what is happening in the professional world. You also make new friends along the way. 

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Specific Challenge - Community Composting

One of my tasks, which was considered my background task, was to create a report/literature review about Community Composting. 

Community Composting, simply put, is when the community composts collectively in a community garden, park or apartment block mostly due to lack of space, as some people who live closer to the city have no garden of their own. 

The report had to cover barriers that the community is likely to encounter, when establishing a community compost hub and is supposed to serve as guidance when initiating a community compost project. 

As part of the lit. review I researched the internet for similar projects in Victoria or Australia and found that community composting is relatively new to Australia. Only a few councils in Victoria have trialed Community Composting and some were unsuccessful and had to be removed due to lack of management or pest outbreaks. I was surprised to find out how advanced the UK was, already having legislation and regulations in place that incorporate the set up of community composting. 

Due to the lack of information online, I had to contact local councils and Environmental Authorities to get the information I needed. This was easier said then done! It was incredibly hard to reach the right people who could give me any advice, sometimes it took more than a week to hear back from them. While I was busy with my other internship tasks, it was easy to forget my 'background task', especially when I felt I was unsuccessful in receiving enough information from the authorities. 

Due to few councils, I have been lucky enough to receive a valuable evaluation report and guidelines for the setup of Community Composting Hubs in NSW. Even though this was a different state, the information was very helpful.

Through persistence and many many phone calls, I have been able to receive most of the information I needed to complete the report. 

It is currently under review, but I am excited to see it being part of the official Food Know How Program Report, that is due when the program is coming to an end in June 2014. 

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Learning Objectives & my reflections

Learning Objectives I:

Become familiar with the organisation and understand the role of ‘Cultivating Community’ within Victoria/Australia

Key strategies (tasks):  Observe  Get involved within the Organisation  Ask!  Role of Cultivating Community in regional Australia/Victoria

While doing my internship with Cultivating Community and through observation, as well as asking, but most of all though participation, I have gained a better understanding of the purpose of the organisation and how it is operating within Victoria. 

Through the work with them, I have also been introduced to other non-for profit organisations such as CERES, or Sustainable Table, that promote sustainable environments and food systems to improve the food security situation on a community level. 

Learning Objectives II: Gain insight into different sections within Cultivating Community and get involved in diverse projects within sections

Key strategies (tasks):  Helping out in the Community Gardens or school gardens – this may include assisting with garden related events and activities.  working with the Food Waste and Composting team to engage households and cafes  assisting the Food Waste and Composting team with weekend composting workshops  Shadowing, as well as actively participating

I have been able to gain an insight into many different section within Cultivating Community. I was mainly involved with the FoodKnowHow (FKH) Team, whose aim is to reduce food waste in the city of Yarra. By participating in promotion activities, such as letter boxing and social media, I helped engage new households for the program. Whenever possible I joined the garden support workers out in the community gardens for some hands on work! I helped plant seeds, mix compost into the soil, or had a chat with local gardeners. I really enjoyed the time in the gardens and have certainly improved my gardening skills. On Wednesday nights, I joined Peta from the Food Systems team, to cook with primary school kids in an afternoon cooking session. 

I am glad that I got the chance to gain an insight in the different sections of Cultivating Community and to actively participate in so many different projects!

Learning Objectives III: Contribute to projects with new views/ideas/perspectives/aspects

Key strategies (tasks):  Blogging  Impact of Community Gardens (Evaluation)  Reduce food waste – leftover cooking?  Importance of fruit and vegetable intake  Clean up Australia Day – 2 March 2014 ( is Cultivating Community involved?)

As I had mentioned before, I was very much involved with the FKH Team during my time with Cultivating Community. I helped (and still continue to do so) update the FKH facebook page, as well as publish blogs on their website. Through some research on the web I found many great articles relating to food waste, which I posted along with the 'Tip of the Day' once a week. I also took the lead on the Leftover Recipe Competition. We have asked current program participants, but also people who are not involved in the program, to write us about their favourite leftover creation. After a couple of weeks, we received many beautiful recipes and decided on a winner, who received a "Save with Jamie" cookbook! That was great fun!

By going out on different "field trips", such as the waste audit, visit the cafe or help out in the garden, I gained new experiences, which I was then able to post on Facebook or the FKH website and which were also included in our monthly newsletter! I feel that I  have certainly contributed to the team and my suggestion and ideas have been incorporated wherever possible. 

Even though I suggested to be part of Clean up Australia Day, we unfortunately didn't have the time to take part in it this year. 

Learning Objectives IV:

Gain valuable experience and knowledge and take ideas/inspirations back to DK

Key strategies (tasks):  Participate!  Learn about how to get a project such as a community garden started. What’s involved in the planning – how to empower people to engage in the project? – Community Development/Participation  Experience a professional working environment  Learn about urban agriculture initiatives to promote sustainability and food security  Blogging about what I have learned (way of sharing information)

This is my favourite learning objective and I can't wait to go back to DK and share my knowledge and experiences! I have learned so much about urban agriculture initiatives and improved my gardening and cooking skills. I have also learned more about how to use social media techniques to reach the target audience. I have seen that a professional work environment can be fun and I love the balance between office and outdoor 'hands- on' work. 

I find it fantastic that Melbourne consists of many people who are working hard to create a better food future for Australia and when I come back to Denmark, I would like to find out what Copenhagen is doing in terms of urban agriculture initiatives. 

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In the kitchen with the Kids!

Every Wednesday afternoon I join Peta Christensen, who is the Food Systems Leader and also one of the key people involved in the establishment of Cultivating Community, at the Fitzroy Community Kitchen to cook tasty food with a bunch of primary school children! And - believe it or not - they are mostly boys!

It is amazing to see how excited the kids get when they get to cut vegetables, grate cheese or simply measure up a cup of flour to make beautiful cupcakes!

We make simple vegetarian meals, just as pizza, pasta or tacos, usually with a salad on the side and a sweet treat for dessert. 

The idea behind the after school cooking session, is to get together and cook to create and share simple, healthy and affordable meals. Sometimes, mothers and grandmothers would also participate.

This way they learn simple cooking skills, using "natural" ingredients, sometimes provided by the community garden next door. So, the kids don't only learn about cooking, but also about growing and harvesting food. 

Each week, we decide together with the kids what to cook the following week and  even though, it gets very chaotic at times, it is great to see their excitement about next week's cooking class. 

Caroline, also a volunteer in the kitchen, and I are chopping tomatoes and capsicum for the pizza.

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Waste Deep is a documentary, created by the 'Sustainable Table', which is addressing food and packaging waste, which has an extensive impact on our environment, wildlife and ultimately on our health. 

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I'm putting theory into practice! :)

Our veggie patch!

The compost bin at our house in Melbourne.

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Open Garden Event

In February, Cultivating Community held an Open Garden Event, offering free workshops about how to recycle food waste through composting, Bokashi and worm farming, as well as how to grow your own vegetables. 

Over 100 people passed through the gates at the Highett Street public housing community garden and around 30 to 40 gardeners volunteered their time to make the garden look fantastic!

The workshops were taught by Cultivating Community's Food Know How staff and presented a great opportunity to get involved in sustainable living, learn new skills, and socialise within the gardening community.

Kat is guiding a community composting workshop about how to grow your own vegetables at home.  

Visitors also got a taste of fresh food at the Halal sausage sizzle, browsed a selection of organically grown seedlings and had a chance to enjoy the musical performances of a local band. 

I was involved in helping with the set-up as well as contacting media to promote the event. On the day, Amanda and myself welcomed visitors at the gate. I also got the chance to watch the workshops and learn so many more skills about gardening and composting!

Amanda and me at the Open Garden Event! 

The event was great and it was exciting to see so much enthusiasm from the local community!

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Have a look at this video to learn more about the Food Know How Program!

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Rooftop gardening in NYC!

Peta, Zaro & Kaylyn from the Cultivating Community Team 

Zaro is sharing her experience with rooftop gardening in NYC. 

I have met Zaro, while volunteering with Cultivating Community. We both cook together with a bunch of primary school kids every Wednesday afternoon.

Last week, she invited us all to the Fitzroy community kitchen to share her experiences as an apprentice farmer for Brooklyn Grange Farm in New York and discussed the range of social, environmental and commercial benefits she sees in growing veggies on Melbourne's city rooftops.

http://brooklyngrangefarm.com/ 

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Waste Audits

Last week I had the chance to observe the brave team of "All Environmental Concepts" who conducted their second waste audit for the Food Know How Team.

I was glad not having to participate myself, but merely to observe the audits, as this turned out to be a rather 'smelly affair'! :)

All auditors must be inducted, trained and receive Hep.A/B & tetanus vaccinations before conducting the audit.

Food audits assist in identifying current waste practices and how they can be improved. The FKH Team is particularly interested in the amount of food (scraps) that are being thrown out. 

The waste used for this audit comes from cafes and households participating in the FoodKnowHow Program. Once it has been picked up by the team, it is separated into several buckets according to type of food (meat, whole vegetables, vegetable scraps, bread etc.), but also according to possible reason for disposal of the food item, such as fridge/pantry clean-out or expiry date.

Once the results come in, I'll update this post to include the items most commonly wasted.

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Food Security Infographic

http://www.aussiefarmersfoundation.org.au/FoodSecurity/#.Uw0jP4UQ1I1

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A visit to Ashkelon Foodstore & Rushall Community Garden

Ashkelon Foodstore & Cafe is one of the first cafes participating in the Food Know How Program. This store/cafe prides itself on providing ethical, sustainable local food and recycles kitchen scraps with a worm farm right in their kitchen!

Kelly (left) with their kitchen worm farm; Chef Brendan (right) further reduces Ashkelon’s food waste by finding and inventing creative recipes that use leftovers.

They rely on the help of volunteers who walk extra food scraps down to nearby Rushall Community Garden,one of our partnering compost hubs. Rushall Garden is looking to receive food scraps from more cafes in the future, and also has a series of onsite compost bins out the front which residents in the area can drop off food scraps to, ideal for those who are unable to have compost bins or worm farms at home.

During our visit is was AJ, the intern from Melbourne, and myself who emptied the extra food scraps into the compost at Rushall Garden. 

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A day in the garden

During my second week I joined Linda, one of our community garden support workers, in one of her regular visits to  '530 Lygon Street' Community Garden. This garden is one of the three gardens she is managing and where she provides information and support for plot holders.

This is Linda. She is 'watering' the compost, as it was too dry to process the food scraps.

During my visit I met Alberto, who is originally from Italy, but now living in Australia and busy gardener in the community garden. He comes nearly every day, he says, especially on hot (43°C!!), summer days.

Alberto is aerating the soil before sowing more plant seeds.

Let's plant some seeds!

Community Gardening is one of many great urban agriculture initiatives to address food security issues in Australia.

The interest in community gardening is growing and there is a high demand for garden plots, not only at this Community Garden, but also at the 18 others, which are supported by Cultivating Community. Waiting lists can be two or three years long!

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A typical day at the office

A typical day starts usually at 9 am. Once I get to the office, I'll find myself a desk. 

Most staff are employed part-time and only work a few days a week, so there are different people in the office everyday. Currently, there are also three other interns - two from Melbourne and one from the US,  which is great, because we frequently get to go out on 'field trips' together. 

The first thing I do when I logged onto my computer, is checking my emails. I am currently working on a leftover recipe competition, where people send their leftover creations to me via email. I collect the recipes for further evaluation and combine them in a 'booklet', which will be sent out to all FoodKnowHow participants once the competition is over. 

The office

Me in the office :)

On Wednesdays we have our team meeting, which is a great opportunity to catch up with the others and see how we are all going with our work. We usually come up with some new tasks that have to be done to engage more households or cafes in the program.  

Apart from doing the leftover recipe competition, I am working closely together with Jodi, to come up with new idea/initiatives to engage more households in the program, but also to keep current participants 'entertained' and up to date with the latest FKH news. I also update FKH's Facebook page and website and help out with little admin tasks here and there. 

My main project during my internship is writing a literature review about community composting in Australia. As part of this task, I am doing an audit of local laws and guidelines to identify potential barriers that make the set up of a community composting hub difficult. I contact councils, who have previously set up CC, to gain an idea of what is involved in the process and how the outcomes affected further CC projects. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to improve my research skills while working on a 'real-world' project.

Front of the office

During my internship, I am trying to participate in as many activities as I can. I use any opportunity I get to leave the office and get involved in some outdoor work. So far, I have been able to join in community garden activities, visit participating cafe's and I also take part in an after school kitchen program with primary school kids every Wednesday afternoon.

Tomorrow, the US intern Mary and I will join a waste audit done by one of the city councils, in order to identify current waste practices, in particular the amount of food (scraps) being thrown out, and how they can be improved. I am glad, that I get the chance to be involved in so many different activities and that no day is the same. 

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About worm-farming and black soldier flies...

Over the course of the Food Know How program, large scale compost hubs and worm farm hubs have been set up all over the city of Yarra to process food waste from local cafes.

Together with Kat Lavers, the compost hub expert, I have visited the worm hub at 229 Hoddle Street, Collingwood: 

Worm Hub at 229 Hoddle Street, Collingwood

There are 40 wheelie bins at 229 Hoddle St containing 400,000 happily breeding worms, which process about 270kg of food scraps every week! Despite the recent heat waves (and with the help of ice to cool them down) the worms are remaining active and chowing through the food waste from cafes. The hub is well on its way to meeting the projected processing target of 500kg per week, and with every handful seeming to contain more babies than adults it is expected that its feeding capacity will increase substantially over the next few months as these babies mature.

Feeding the worms

I am aerating the compost with a compost aerator tool

Kat is also one of the first in Melbourne to be experimenting with a recent development in the art of composting; black soldier flies!

Black soldier fly larvae have established themselves in the onsite Bokashi bin and started to eat the lemons, meat and bread that the worms can’t process.These insects are potentially the next big thing in organic waste management and over the next few weeks Kat will be moving them to a purpose made home so she can monitor their progress. 

Kat is showing me what a black solder fly looks like

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Cultivating Community - My internship place

“Cultivating Community is about people, communities, gardening, farming, the environment and food”

Cultivating Community, which has been established in 1998, is a non-profit organisation based in Melbourne, Australia.

Their mission is to work with diverse communities to create fair, secure and resilient food systems and to provide access to healthy, culturally appropriate food for people and families living on low incomes, aiming at improving food security through a 'whole of community' approach. 

Much of their work focuses on supporting community gardens for tenants of inner-city public housing estates; however CC is also involved in other activities, such as school gardens, food hubs, urban harvest swaps, food waste management and environmental education.

I am predominantly involved with the Food Know How Team, which is a food waste reduction program supporting households cafes and offices in the City of Yarra (local government area in Victoria; includes inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne) to avoid and recycle food waste through menu and meal planning, using leftovers, and tips about smart shopping and food storage, as well as composting and worm farming.

My team consists of Sharelle (Team Leader), Jodi (engages households), Kaylyn (engages cafes) and Kat (takes care of compost hubs/worm farms). 

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Melbourne - in 2013 it was ranked most liveable city for the third time in a row!