Grab a shovel, go out to the verge in front of your house, and dig it up. That’s right, turn that earth, plant some vegies in there, and watch food grow before your very eyes.

I did exactly that and you wouldn’t believe the results. Vegies are just some of them.

‘After (a month)’

The other, even more brilliant thing, is that I’ve met some great people who live around me who’ve pitched in and helped get it to where it is. We now have over 30 in our little collective. Every time I’m pottering around out there some passer-by comes up and says “I just wanted to tell you you how great it is you’re doing that.”

Here’s the before and during shots:

‘Before’

‘During’

I’ve felt a sense of community, which really is an amazing thing to strike in Sydney. (Not normally one of the city’s strong points.) And of course there are all those other benefits – like the joy of picking your own stuff to eat, getting your hands dirty, showing the local kids where food comes from, saving on food miles, peak oil and all that. In fact those clever Permaculture people were advocating we do this long ago.

Audio:
You can hear my interview with David Holmgren, one of the original proponents of Permaculture, here. He reckons its quite possible for Sydney to grow all its own food here where we live (except for broadacre things – like wheat.)

Articles:
In amazing recent turn of events, Britain’s National Trust have pledged to hand over stately home land for people to grow their own vegies. (Recent story from The Independent.) And here’s an article from the Herald last year: Green solution just outside your door.

Useful links:
Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network
Sydney City Farm (brilliant new plan for a farm in the city)
Food for the Future Fair (a celebration of urban food growing which inspired us)

Anyway, what are you waiting for?

p.s. Next project on the agenda is to do a tour of community vegie patches round Sydney. Suggestions of where to go are welcome.

Special thanks to Barbara, my neighbour. It wouldn’t have happened without your hard work and ‘yes we can’ attitude.

You can find more details via the Sydney Green Drinks Facebook group or the Sydney page on the Green Drinks International website. Or the group’s MeetUp site. Our first bash was a huge success. Come along, it’s going to get even more interesting.

The ‘Walk Against Warming‘ is on again this Saturday the 15th of November. It’s organised by a coalition of green groups and it’s no small thing. Last year there were 80,000 people in Sydney and Melbourne alone and thousands more in other places around Australia.

Yes people are aware of global warming already, but this is a chance to let the pollies know now is the time to transform our economy into a clean, green one. And be amongst heaps of other people who feel the same way.

Useful links: Walk Against Warming website shows where and when it’s on.

Video: Watch this 2007 Walk Against Warming video, including speech by Bob Brown. Shows the mood for change on the issue of climate change – two weeks before the ousting of the conservative government.

Photo: The Walk Against Warming in Sydney, courtesy of Erland Howell from the Nature Conservation Council.

The proposal draws ideas from successful farms that have ready been established in places like Melbourne and London. And the site is a beautiful location right on the harbour and in the grounds of the now abandoned mental hospital.

It all sounds good, apart from the fact that the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority have not included the farm in their plans for the whole site and a final decision is going to be made on its future use soon.

Audio podcast
In this interview I speak with Rod Simpson and Andrew Jackson from Sydney City Farm. Andrew is the head of this non-profit organisation and Rod is the architect and designer behind the plan. You can listen here to the Sydney City Farm interview. It starts with Rod Simpson.

How to support the Sydney City Farm
If you think the farm is a good idea, there’s a couple of things you can do. Join the mailing list at www.sydneycityfarm.org and write to the New South Wales Planning Minister and to the Vice Chancellor of Sydney Uni to ask them to include the farm in their plans.

More info on Sydney City Farm
More on the farm in this article from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Do your own thing
If you want to join or start a community garden where you live, check out the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network.

We also have a number of other media channels on the go:

Check out The Environment Show’s online community and social network. The site allows you to meet other like-minded souls, create your own groups, post ideas on the environment, ask questions, put up photos of pristine natural environments you’ve travelled to, and promote your environmental cause or enterprise. Like facebook, only better.

(Actually, we have an Environment Show facebook group for the diehard facebook fans, but we think our official site (on ning) may be better. Check them out and decide for yourself.)

And at the Environment Show, we’re interested in visuals as as well as audio. You’re welcome to join our community site and post photos directly to it or join the Flickr site for The Environment Show Community. Show off the pristine, natural places you’ve been to. And any shots to do with environmental issues or innovations.

Catch you on the airwaves. The first shows cover peak oil, planning cities for people and permaculture. And we’ve lined up a weekly check-in with Ben Cubby, environment reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald. Hope you can join us. Cheers, Phil.