Severe 'prune' for community garden

Mat Pember, director of Pop Up Patch, a
community garden
behind Federation Square faced with closure.

A thriving community garden at Federation Square used by CBD residents, chefs and students is facing closure, with square management calling for expressions of interest for the site.

Potatoes, strawberries, lemons, chillis, cabbages and rosemary flourish in 100 planter boxes at Pop Up Patch, a green oasis behind the square between Flinders Street skyscrapers and railway lines.

Mat Pember, whose the Little Vegie Patch Co runs the garden at a small profit – charging $25 a week per box – fears the four-year-old garden will be "cut down in its prime", in favour of a more lucrative helipad or car park.

Read Carolyn Webb’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Future of thriving CBD community garden under a cloud.”

(Yes, the last thing Melbourne needs is more parking spaces or even a “heliport”; rather, what it really needs is more community gardens such as this one at Federation Square that look likely to be sacrificed to profit – Robert McLean.)

The climate fight in a nutshell

T

he climate fight in a nutshell ………………

…or rather, in the shell of a caravan. In a caravan camouflaged as an island, that is. A Maldivian island, threatened by rising sea water levels. Currently placed on Federation Square, the pumping heart of Melbourne.

Watch the 10 minute video clip here.

Schedule in a visit to the Sustainable Living Festival

Should a visit to Melbourne be among those things you have to do in the next few days then allow some time to visit the Sustainable Living Festival that continues until Sunday, February 26.

Melbourne's Sustainable Living Festival.

According to its website, “The Sustainable Living Festival raises awareness and provides tools for change by showcasing leading solutions to the ecological and social challenges we face. The Sustainable Living Festival aims to inspire and empower everyday Australians to accelerate the uptake of sustainable living.”

The festival began in 1999 the event was staged at Hanging Rock and featured exhibitors from Austria, New Zealand and the United States.
However, due to increased audience and volunteer numbers, the event relocated in 2001 to Melbourne’s Alexandra Gardens and so with a new audience and an urban flavour, the event showcased more than two hundred exhibitors and presented over one hundred seminars.

The Festival was on the move once more in 2003  and turned to Melbourne’s newest landmark, Federation Square.

It had a new emphasis on developing a cultural, creative festival, the event reached out to an awakening mainstream audience. It is here that the Festival has settled for the past seven years, experiencing rapid audience growth with crowds of over 100,000 people.

Not surprisingly, the Festival has evolved much since its inception. As it approaches its eleventh year, the Festival continues to reflect the growing momentum and cultural dynamics within the community.

“If there is one thing we can say for sure about the future of the Sustainable Living Festival, it is that it will continue to change shape as we continue to learn about more sustainable ways to live on the planet,” the organizers said.