Welcome to the May edition on E-News.

In this edition, we give you a brief report of this year's Australasian Permaculture Convergence and announce the host state for 2023.  Head to the APC website for pictoral highlights.

Look out for this year's live Winter Solstice event - we're so happy to be able to offer you this on site again in 2021.

The City Farm Nursery is having a Mother's Day stall and if you're interested in volunteering with us, we have lots to offer at the moment.

Enjoy the read!

Thank you for supporting Northey Street City Farm

2021 AUSTRALASIAN PERMACULTURE CONVERGENCE

Despite a COVID lockdown a week before , we held a successful Permaculture Festival at the Farm and the Australasian Permaculture Convergence (APC) at Redland Bay in April. The weather was perfect and the venue was quiet and relaxed. Participants enjoyed over 35 workshops on practical and theoretical topics. Four keynote sessions by Starhawk, David Holmgren and Robyn Francis gave plenty of food for thought. People caught up with old friends and made new ones.

Thanks to the team of NSCF staff and volunteers who worked so effectively to hold the Festival and the APC in challenging circumstances. We also appreciate the extra effort put in by Entice Me catering, who had to abide by a strict Covid safe plan while keeping everyone fed.

Check out some of the pics here.

We were very pleased to hand over the baton to Permaculture South Australia who will be hosting the next APC in 2023.

We are excited to announce that Northey Street City Farm's annual Winter Solstice Festival is back!

Join us on Saturday 19 June to celebrate the longest night of the year with ground-breaking performances from artists, storytellers and musicians, free sustainability demonstrations, delicious food, markets, and our ever-popular lantern parade and community bonfire. Bring a picnic blanket, your favourite people, and all the instruments you can jam with for a night of revelry and joy.

Mid-Winter festivals happen in many cultures to celebrate the longest night of the year and are often a time to reflect on the previous year. Our theme Reflect | Reorder | Regenerate comes out of a chance to examine our situations, rethink our priorities and determine new ways of creating the world around us.

This is a zero-waste event. We encourage you to bring your own reusable mugs, cutlery and bowls, but some will be available for hire on the night.

Tickets are $20 - $35 (available here)

First round early bird tickets are available now until 19 May 2021.

Children under 18 are free, but will still need to register for a ticket for COVID-safety.

We are excited to introduce for the first time Pay-It-Forward ticketing. We want to ensure that our whole community can come to the event and will match any ticket purchased with one we will sponsor. Please get in touch if you'd like to apply for a sponsored ticket at events@nscf.org.au with PAY IT FORWARD in the subject line and we will be in touch once a ticket becomes available. Volunteers get free entry, please fill out this form if you wish to apply as a volunteer.

We are still accepting artist and workshop submissions. Please get in touch if you wish to perform or are have an idea you wish to share at events@nscf.org.au.

If you would like to be a stallholder at the event, please fill out this Stallholder Expression of Interest form.

We value the health of our community

If you are experiencing any COVID symptoms, please stay at home.

We ask that you maintain physical distancing of 1.5 meters and wash your hands regularly or use the sanitisation stations provided.

Please keep up-to-date with QLD Health directives: https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19

Be kind to ourselves and others, our mental health matters too!

We thank Brisbane City Council and Buchi Kombucha for their sponsorship! Please email events@nscf.org.au if you are interested in becoming a sponsor of our events.

We look forward to seeing you on the night!

Mother's Day Sale

Sunday 9 May

City Farm Nursery

Spend over $50 and take any pot off the table for half price!

Gift Wrapping available for $5

Spoil your Mum this Mothers day. Enjoy breakfast at the Market, BYO keep cup for a delicious hot drink in the morning. 

Get Mum a plant and enjoy a walk around NSCF and surrounding Parks. 

See you then!

Northey Street Organic Farmers Market

World Bee Day

On Sunday 23 May the Market will celebrate World Bee Day in collaboration with the Australian Native Bee Association and Honeyhunters Australia. 

There will be a film screening and information stalls. The Nursery will display bee-friendly plants, and we’re exploring menu options to highlight bee-pollinated produce and honey at the Chai Café.  

We recognise that not everybody supports bee products, but I think we can all acknowledge the important role that bees play in the ecosystem.

Volunteers needed!

Several roles are currently available around the farm and City Farm Nursery.  

To find out more about what's involved with all of the roles below, please head over to Current Vacancies on our website here.

Tree Group

Who are we looking for?
Volunteers to help look after the trees in the Orchards, Forest Gardens and Bushtucker areas at the farm.  We usually start with some weeding, pruning, planting or mulching and then, after a break, we try to do lighter work such as propagation, nursery care, making signs or working on designs.

Nursery hand

This is a great opportunity for anyone who would like to work in the Nursery Industry or be part of the team.  A few the things you will be doing include: watering, pruning, potting up, propagation and more.

Market Garden team (Wednesday)

Who are we looking for?

Volunteers to assist the market gardener in the various farm activities including:

Bed preparation, propagation, compost making, weeding, planting, harvesting, and post-harvest processing, tool maintenance (especially secateurs and shears) and eventually assist in the farm gate stall when it is up and running.

Thursday – Compost Crew

Who are we looking for?

Volunteers to assist in our Composting Operation. This will include emptying out our green waste bins at the farm, aerating existing piles, making hot compost piles with community compost hub waste and wood mulch, record keeping, and processing compost.

We also love a good banter about ALL THINGS COMPOSTING!

Requirements for all volunteers:

Attend the farm induction process so that you can be covered under the farm’s insurance.  The next induction will be held on Tuesday 1 June, 2021.  You must book in for this.

Wear enclosed shoes and gloves (NSCF can provide gloves if you require them).

Please refrain from coming in if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms. Please also continue to observe any COVID restrictions.

Maintain good hygiene when you are at the Farm by washing your hands or sanitising when required and keep a physical distance.

EARTH KIDS

The Autumn Earth Kids homeschool program is underway. There are a limited number of one day places available ($45 concession | $55 full). Contact Emma if you would like to attend at education@nscf.org.au.

The Earth Kids Winter School Holiday Program is running from June 29^th to July 1^st and is now open for bookings. Earlybird tickets are available until June 6^th.

More information and tickets for Earth Kids are available HERE.

ONSITE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS FOR EDUCATORS

* Successful School Gardening, Saturday 22 May, 9am - 4pm

Learn how to: design, implement and maintain your school garden; make your garden work for your school community; and link garden activities to the curriculum.

Tickets HERE.

*Outdoor Learning and the Curriculum, Saturday 4 September, 9am - 4pm

Learn about approaches to outdoor experiential learning; experience outdoor activities; and learn how they can be linked to the curriculum.

Tickets will be available soon.

Tours and School Visits

We are taking bookings for tours and school visits. As bookings are not paid for until after each visit, there is no financial commitment to make a tentative booking.

For more information and bookings for school visits, go HERE

For more information and bookings for group tours, go HERE

We run free farm tours on Tuesday mornings for groups of 4 to 8 by arrangement only. This is a great way to learn more about Northey Street City Farm.  Please contact Ronni: educationandsupport.mgr@nscf.org.au if you would like to arrange a guided tour.

We also have a free farm tour for individuals on the first Tuesday of each month.  Just head to the Chai Cafe by 09:30.

After a brief pause, Earth Arts is now back in full swing and continues to be a thriving activity at the farm.

Join Bob Mud to get creative with the Earth!

Come to the village green at Northey Street to participate in the fun and learning and laughter.  Join in with these informal, hands-on activities:

Help out or just get muddy at the Earth Arts stall on Sundays from 7am until everyone leaves. These are interactive, no cost activities using found clay, natural and recycled materials.

Earth Arts activities, music and more on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9am.

Children attending activities at the Farm must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times.

(Donations for preparation appreciated)

FEATURED WORKSHOP

Cultivating Curiosity Through Nature Journaling

with Bethan Burton

Saturday 15 May 2021

Nature journaling is a way of connecting with the natural world, cultivating curiosity, asking questions, observing closely and capturing all this on paper using words, pictures and numbers.

In this workshop we will begin to look at nature through a lens of curiosity and wonder. We will explore the gardens and surrounding nature and use a variety of methods and materials to create a vibrant journal page. The workshop will explore different ways of adding words (poetry, prose, observations, labels, lists), pictures (sketches, diagrams, cartoons and maps) and numbers (counts, measurements, estimations) to develop a deep understanding of nature and the world around us. We will learn skills to be able to create a nature journaling habit in our daily lives.

When we let ourselves begin to see nature with new eyes, the world becomes an infinite source of fascination and joy.

Bookings here.

Learn practical skills and how to live sustainably by attending our half day / full day / weekend workshops.

NB: onsite workshops will observe social distancing requirements.

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.  

We also have an Australian First Nations Scholarship Fund and if you wish to donate to this please donate HERE and then contact Adnan, E: finance@nscf.org.au to confirm this is where you would like your donation to land.

As a not for profit charity, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

VOLUNTEERS

You can get involved with our vibrant Farm community by becoming a volunteer.  Volunteer areas include farming, nursery, construction and kitchen.  We also occasionally need people with professional or trade skills (even off-site help, if you can’t get to the farm): building, electrical, plumbing, welding, accounting, legal, to name a few.

Expressions of interest can be sent to: info@nscf.org.au

ALLOTMENTS

Northey Street City Farm’s Allotment Gardens are the perfect opportunity to get started! Grow your own organic food, learn from others and share in this wonderful inner city community! If you would like to put your name down for an allotment please email: info@nscf.org.au

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