This month has seen a lot of changes at the farm in response to COVID-19.  The team have excelled in taking measures to keep staff, volunteers and the general public safe.  Operations are slowed but not stopped which is wonderful and we are thinking BIG about the future. 

At our last meeting, members of the management committee (MC) were very impressed with the staff's planning and implementation of a comprehensive plan to respond to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ronni has reported on the details elsewhere in this e-news.

How things will pan out is still very uncertain but the MC was reassured that the farm is in a healthy financial situation going in to this crisis, and that at this stage two of our enterprises, the markets and nursery, are able to continue operating, even though our volunteer program, education programs and playgroup have had to be suspended for the time being. We were also strong in our support for the first priority being the safety of our staff, volunteers and customers and impressed by the plans to ensure social distancing and hand hygiene at the markets and nursery. We have received very positive feedback from staff, stallholders and customers about the effectiveness of these measures at last Sunday's market. We encourage all our supporters to continue supporting our markets and nursery as much as you can, while adhering to government regulations and advice.

Our staff are continuing to work and be paid, though some are taking accrued leave. The MC is keen to support them as much as we can and we will be meeting with them again in early April to review the pandemic's progress and the farm's financial situation.

Take care and stay safe.
Dick CopemanCoordinator, Management Committee

This month we wish all our supporters health and wellbeing as we face the huge disruption to our daily lives. Northey Street City Farm is changing the way we operate to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to keep providing our community with fresh organic produce, the plants and seeds to grow your own, and the information to help you live a resilient lifestyle.

We have unfortunately had to cancel the Autumn Equinox this year and Monthly Organic Night Markets.  We have  postponed the Australasian Permaculture Convergence to 12 - 15 April 2021 and bookings remain open.

The Education Team is working from home for the next month, developing some new online offerings and new workshops for when we re-open the program. On April 7th we are offering a ‘Connecting your Children to Nature’ webinar for parents. See under EARTH KIDS for more information.  Also, keep an eye on our website and social media for news of more online webinars and sustainable living blogs.   We have also cancelled all school visits and Farm tours for three months. As the Farm will be operating with the office closed for a month and only skeleton staff on site, and we have closed the volunteer and Work for the Dole programs as well.

Workshops for the next month have been rescheduled to later in the year. However, we are using this opportunity to develop some exciting initiatives. The Education Team is working from home for the next month, developing some new online offerings and new workshops for when we re-open the program. Keep an eye on our website and social media for news of online webinars and sustainable living blogs.

The Northey Street Organic Markets will be open every Sunday to provide fresh organic produce in an open air environment. Due to tighter government regulations on farmers market numbers and social distancing, we will only have one entrance into the market on Sunday from Northey Street and will be monitoring social distancing for everyone’s health. We ask that you please take these regulations seriously, leave your dogs at home and limit the number of people from a household attending to one where possible. Please ask any vulnerable neighbours if you can shop for them. 

The City Farm Nursery will only be accepting payment through tap on cards and will be open Friday to Sunday starting 3 April until further notice. We hope to be offering online nursery sales soon. 

Please check our social media and website for our Organic Farmers Market and City Farm Nursery updates on our facebook pages: Northey Street City Farm, Northey St Organic Farmers Market, City Farm Nursery. 

We value your support and understanding in these times and we send out our love to the global community for good health, recovery and for the earth’s regeneration. Please take care and apart from shopping for essential supplies, where possible #stayhome

FEEDBACK WELCOME EVERYONE!

EARTH KIDS

Earth Kids

The Autumn Earth Kids School Holiday program and the Autumn homeschool program have both been cancelled. We are planning for the Winter school holiday program to go ahead at this time.

Winter school holiday bookings can be made here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/winter-earth-kids-2020-3-day-program-tickets-90711274865

More information about Earth Kids can be found here: https://www.nscf.org.au/home/learn/youth-education/holiday-programs/

Nature Connection Webinars for Parents

With lots of time at home and opportunities for nature time presented to many of us, we will be offering a one-off webinar on the 7th of April and a webinar series in May-June on ‘Connecting your Children to Nature’ for parents. These will provide ideas, activities and approaches that will help connect you and your children to nature, and foster a sense of stewardship for the Earth. Time in nature also has the added positives of physical and mental health benefits, which are also needed in these uncertain times. The webinars will be run by Emma Brindal, our Youth Education Coordinator, who developed and runs the NSCF Earth Kids programs.

Tickets for the April 7th webinar are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/connecting-your-children-to-nature-a-webinar-for-parents-tickets-101592638316

If you are interested to find out more about these webinars, please send an email to Emma at education@nscf.org.au.

School tours

Due to the risks presented by coronavirus, we are suspending school and group tours and activities at the farm until July. We hope to see groups back visiting the farm in the second half of the year.

Teacher PD workshops

The June ‘Outdoor Learning’ teacher professional development workshop for teachers will be postponed until term 4; a date for this will be set soon.

We are planning to go ahead with the ‘Successful School Gardening’ workshop, being held on August 1^st. For more information, see: https://www.nscf.org.au/home/learn/youth-education/school-activities/workshops-for-teachers/

FARM MEMBERSHIP

Did you know you can get a 10% discount at our Nursery by becoming a member of our Farm?   We love to see people supporting the Farm by becoming members. You can become a member on our website, at the Nursery or by contacting the Office on 07 3857 8775 or at info@nscf.org.au.

FARM DONATIONS 

The Farm does not rely on Government Funding for its operations. We operate as a social enterprise running the City Farm Nursery, Sunday Organic Farmers Market, and Permaculture Education. We appreciate the financial support of our community, if you are able please donate by visiting our website. As a not for profit charity, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

VOLUNTEERS

The Volunteer program is on hold for 3 months.  We hope all our volunteers stay well and find some interesting and rewarding things to do.  We look forward to seeing you all again at the Farm when the program kicks off again.

In the meantime, if you'd like to stay in touch with each other through our Microsoft Volunteers Portal just email Albert: it_support@nscf.org.au.

FARM TOURS

Tours are also on hold for the next 3 months.

Thank you so much!

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