Food for busy individuals is functional but not sustainable
I never thought that I would find inspiration at a writer’s
festival to begin a fruit and vegetable garden until I heard about the balcony
gardens and Indira Naidoo.
Indira’s work has inspired many of the people living in her
building to create their own balcony gardens, and there are many councils and
shires across Australia that have begun to look into creating community gardens
and rooftop farms for the community.
Rooftops farms are something that I have never come across
before. American cities, such as Brooklyn and New York have quite large-scale
rooftop farms and with these examples in mind cities across Australia have been
working to establish and maintain their own. The City of Melbourne has
conducted an audit to obtain information about wasted space throughout the
city, aiming to convert these places into sustainable gardens, solar and water
hubs and many other projects. Rooftop farms and edible balcony gardens are a
great way for individuals and cities to become sustainable.
One of the key aspects that Indira highlighted was the
social aspects of creating gardens like these. Many of the gardeners who work
on the gardens are homeless or are from disadvantaged areas. These individuals
have the opportunity to connect with others in the community who enjoy
gardening, and some have been offered horticultural positions.
Another
factor of the community garden was directly related to the population. As our
population grows we will need more options for people to purchase or eat
healthy foods. Indira pointed out that many families and individuals don’t have
easy access to fresh fruit and
vegetables.
Another factor
is the spread of cities and sizing of homes, gardens are becoming smaller. In The Edible Garden, Indira shows the
reader what they can do with a balcony or other small spaces.
After attending this session in Bendigo Capital Theatre, I
found myself inspired to build my own sustainable vegetable and fruit garden.
