#gnh2014

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!

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. 

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. 

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. 

Our veggie patch!

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!