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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 5pm Sunday 9am - 5pm

CERES Environment Park

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CERES Environment Park

CERES Environment Park is an award winning, not-for-profit, environment and education centre and urb
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14/09/2024

Comin' in hot with some course updates!

Thinking about joining our popular Urban Farmer course but want a wee taster first? 🌱 We're stoked to introduce our Sustainable Gardening - Urban Farmer Basics course, starting Oct 7! Perfect for getting a feel before digging in.

Our Oct-Dec lineup is ripe with career blooming opportunities, including the Therapeutic Horticulture program, Sustainability Changemaker course, Intro to Working in Therapeutic Horticulture, and more!

🌻 Ready to grow? Tap the link to nab your spot: https://school.ceres.org.au/adult-learning/

11/09/2024

Tawny frogmouth,
Red-rumped parrot?
Powerful owl!
Magpie, magpie, magpie…

This is an ode to some of our feathered friends of the Merri Creek.

Come birding with us and spot some of your favs at our annual Bird Count Picnic on Sat 19 October. Bring your binos, your picnic blanket, and basket of tweets.

You’ll help gain an understanding of our local birds while also getting to know the wildlife on your doorstep!

Entry to the bird count is free, with the option of attending a paid bird language workshop and/or guided bird walk along the Merri. There will be a bird themed raffle, children's craft activity, music and more!

Head to the link for all the details and to register: https://events.humanitix.com/ceres-joe-s-bird-count-picnic-2024/tickets

05/09/2024

Spring is in the air, and so is our next round of Nature Play! We’ve just launched our Spring Sessions, perfect for little explorers who love to get their hands dirty and let their imaginations run wild.

Join us for 5 one-off Spring Sessions from Mon 30th September - Fri 4th October, each with its own unique theme:

Day 1 - Growing a Garden 🌱
Day 2 - Sun Showers ☀️
Day 3 - Fantastic Flowers 🌻
Day 4 - Nature Crafts 🌸
Day 5 - Wetland Wonders 🐸

TERM 4
Or go all in for 8 weeks on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday mornings. Kicking off on Mon 14th October.

Get your little ones out of the house and into nature. Book your spot for Nature Play: https://school.ceres.org.au/early-learning/nature-play/

05/09/2024

Calling all local makers and artists! Showcase your handmade wares at Joe’s Christmas Market on Sat 14 December. Apologies for using the c-word (Christmas!) so early in the year but we’re getting in early to find makers who can make our market extra spesh.

From gorg ceramics and pottery to delish preserves – we’re on the lookout for local talent to fill our stalls with goodies.

If this sounds like you, drop us a line at [email protected]. Please include a description and photos, or links to socials in your EOI.

05/09/2024

If you’ve ever strolled along the Merri Creek near the Harding Street Bridge, just south of Bell Street, you’ve probably noticed Joe’s Garden—a lush market garden growing vibrant flowers and fresh veggies on the creek bank. On weekends, you will find coffee being served, a market stall brimming with jams, pastries, and produce from the farm, and a lively atmosphere with music, kids, and dogs.

But did you know the story behind "Joe"?

Giuseppe "Joe" Garita, purchased this land in the 1940s with his father. For 65 years, Joe nurtured the land, feeding his family and selling his homegrown vegetables. Eventually, he passed the garden and his beloved tractor on to CERES Community Environment Park.

Joe was born in 1925 in Altomonte, Italy. At just 12 years old, he migrated to Australia with his mother and sister, joining his father who had already been here for several years. After living in various parts of Victoria, the Garita family spotted an ad in 1945 for a market garden for 350 quid - in 2012 he still had the original paper ad showing it in an interview with Gardening Australia.

Joe was 20 when he took on the farm, bringing his family's farming expertise to Melbourne. Ten years later, he married Jean Modica, and together they raised seven children in their home on Harding Street, working the land right down to the water’s edge.

As Melbourne expanded, Joe’s farm became the last remaining inner-city market garden in the city. In 2003, he began transitioning the garden's management to CERES Environment Park . For three years, Joe shared his deep knowledge of the land, soil, and growing conditions with CERES gardeners and volunteers, ensuring the legacy of his farm would continue.

Joe passed away at 90 in 2015, leaving behind a living legacy that continues to thrive at Merri Creek.

29/08/2024

Being a young person can be tricky. 18-25 and feeling a bit blergh?

Join our free 'Growing Together' program - connect with other young people through food in CERES farms & kitchens, learn new skills and get involved in your local community food system.

Interested? Express your interest via email at [email protected]

27/08/2024

🫒 Mary coordinated with her neighbours to make the most of unwanted olives.

“I knocked on people’s doors and they were really happy to share. My husband’s Italian so he’s really looking forward to it, we use it all the time in cooking”

This is the fourth and final part of our series as part of the CERES Olives to Oil Festival.

22/08/2024

🫒 Callum, Jess and baby Sally picked olives from their cousin’s backyard in Coburg.

“It was quite an undertaking to harvest 40kg of olives, but it was a perfect autumn activity for hanging out with the gang. It really brought the family together”

This is part three of series as part of the CERES Olives to Oil Festival.

22/08/2024

How does someone become an urban farmer at CERES? For Farmer Rach it wasn't a straightforward path, she's come a long way from a degree in graphic design.

Check out the whole chat with and get some planting tips from a pro while you're at it: https://www.frankie.com.au/article/rachel-rubenstein-chats-about-the-rise-of-urban-gardeners-610665

20/08/2024

🫒 Kevser harvested for the second year in a row from trees on her mum’s nature strip in Fawkner.

“This year it’s been a good year, we asked the neighbours to stop picking the trees and we got more olives. I harvested with mum and the kids and we’ll have a bottle for each of us. We use it for salads, for dressing and a bit on the skin, it’s very softening”

This is part two of series as part of the CERES Olives to Oil Festival.

15/08/2024

🫒 Isa and Tessa harvested from a tree in a local park.

“We’ve found a lot of people know about the program now, people have been hunting for olives. When we were harvesting a passerby told us “someone’s already done that tree” So this year we only got 500ml but it’s going to be for special occasions and we’ll relish it”

This is part one of series as part of the CERES Olives to Oil Festival.

14/08/2024

Make the traditional dishes of Raksha Bandhan (no sibling required) with Pooja Jatwani on Aug 25th at CERES. This is the first of 3 Indian Festival cooking workshops led by Pooja, with Dussehra and Diwali coming up soon. Keep your eyes peeled.

Join us for Indian Festival Cooking: https://school.ceres.org.au/workshops/indian-cooking-24-08-25/

11/08/2024

That's a wrap on another year of Olives to Oil 🫒 Not an olive-a-lanche like last year (phew!), together our community saved 3.5 tonnes of olives from waste and had a great time doing it. 1000 people collected olives across 7 Council areas.

Every bucket of olives comes with a unique story, and over the next few weeks we'll be sharing some that we managed to capture.

If you participated in Olives to Oil we'd love to hear your story - Where did you pick from? Who picked with you? Tell us your

Stunning photos by .portrait
CERES3000acres CERES Fair Food Merri-bek City Council Darebin City Council

09/08/2024

In the same way we need a break out in the park, our resident maggies occasionally need a change of scenery too. Izzie here occasionally likes to pop in and hang out in our Park Team office.

She’s a busy mum (so we get the need for a break) to Fred, Sam, Lucky, Jaala and Jaebin, Hope, Ursa and Adi to name a few. She and her life long partner Colin govern the park from the wetlands down to the creek.

Magpies are incredible birds who live for 25-30 years. They recognise human faces and can recall people even after years apart. Our Park team have genuine friendships with the generations of maggies that call CERES home.

Don’t forget to greet Izzie next time you visit.

09/08/2024

How to make a farm fresh sign 🪧🌿 This week we muddled through figuring out how to make decent looking signs for the farm from scrap timber. It turned out to look just the right amount of tidy AND handmade and was easier than we expected.

This method is great if you:
A) are too much of a perfectionist to give in to the chaos of freehand.
B) want to achieve a certain look/consistent font.
C) don’t want to buy any fancy equipment.

Method:
- Sand and paint your timber in advance. We found a matte charcoal in the workshop that looks pretty chalkboardy.
- Measure the dimensions of your timber.
- Using Canva or Adobe set up your document to be the size of you timber so you can perfect your placement. Play with your design until it’s snazzy. Print (this might be across multiple pages).
- Hold up your print to the window and shade with a pencil over the back of your letters or images.
- Fasten the page to your timber and trace the design with a sharp pencil and a decent bit of pressure. This will leave you with a faint pencil outline on the timber.
- Fill it in with a paint pen!

Brb making signs for every plant in the garden.

06/08/2024

The composting process or the stages of a typical Sunday?

Thanks to the for the sustainable timber for these fantastic additions to the Eco House. Our team will use them to teach school groups all about the magic of composting 🍂

31/07/2024

Winter prune time 🌳 Time to be thinking about pruning your deciduous fruit trees as you can get a clear sense of the shape of the tree. Sharp tools are essential as horticulturalist Codey from our Nursery team explains. CERES will be hosting .au to sharpen all your garden and kitchen blades from 10-1pm on Aug 3:

Secateurs $15
Loppers $17
Shears $19
Axes $20
Knives $9-$21
Scissors $25-$35

We recommend coming early to secure your spot! The Heritage Fruit tree society will also be here holding a free grafting workshop 🍎

31/07/2024

It’s tomato time! Well, kinda. Those sun-drenched, long days of heavy vines are still a ways off - but to get there we need to do some planning and now is the perfect time, especially if you’re growing from seed.

Our team have put together a detailed guide to growing the best toms including:
🍅 Choosing the right variety for you
🍅 Tomato seed sowing and transplanting
🍅 Watering and fertilising
🍅 Staking and pruning

Sign up to our newsletter(last link in our bio) to get the guide straight to your inbox + some recipes to make the most of last seasons tommies 🥫

If you’d prefer to learn in person at CERES, we have a tomato growing workshop coming up on Aug 17 with only a few places left.
Hop to it.

25/07/2024

Get ahead and prep your patch for Spring for abundant and delicious tomatoes, buzzing hives and sprouting seedlings. Join our workshops in for edible weeds and much much more.

Find them all in our Workshop highlight or in the link in our bio.

20/07/2024

15/07/2024

Hands up if you remember plastic bags drying on your Nana’s clothes line? 🙋‍♀️ Grandparents are the original warriors and there’s plenty for us to learn.

Here .lavers shows us her kitchen system for keeping waste to a minimum. If the plastics draw ever gets full, it acts as a feedback loop to let Kat know that her plastic use needs some attention.

Learn all about living a life less packaged in our Permaculture Design Course which kicks off on Aug 3. Go to the link in our bio to learn more 🔗

09/07/2024

A few weeks ago we were gifted perfect Solstice conditions. The weather was totally still(a must for fires), and a full strawberry moon lit up the sky, a sight we won't see for another 20 years 🌝✨

1300 people came, danced, feasted, made wishes and feared for their eyebrows at times. Together we celebrated the dark depths of winter and the returning light.

Thank you to all our contributors and volunteers who make Solstice what it is, and our events team who work incredibly hard to make it a magical event for all.

Photos by Abigail from for capturing the wonder that sums up solstice.

03/07/2024

Wim-Hof Veg

It turns out that people aren't the only ones who benefit from an ice bath. Did you know some veggies get sweeter in a frost? Plants convert their starch into sugars, which makes them tastier than ever.

If you've got a dish that heroes kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage, broc, leeks, carrots, beets or beyond - this is the week to pick some up from our Grocery, online at or from farmgate this Sat. Thank us later.

[ID: A frosty cabbage on CERES farms taken by Farmer Rach]

24/06/2024

In this cold snap there’s not much to do but stay in, craft and eat.

Learn how to make both better this month at CERES with one day workshops in and much much more.

Find them all here: https://school.ceres.org.au/adult-learning/

22/06/2024

We've been filling our ears with 'Reskillience' a podcast all about down-to-earth living with Catie Payne and a roster of incredible guests from the world of permaculture, rewilding and beyond.

Catie also happens to be a CERES alumni, completing our year long Nature Based Leadership Training. We sat down for a chat about her experience in the course and its ripples in her life since.

If you know Catie, you know she is a wizard with words - it's downright pleasure to read: https://school.ceres.org.au/coming-home-to-the-wild-with-catie-payne/

Nature's Apprentice

Address

Corner Roberts And Stewart Streets, Brunswick East
Melbourne, VIC
3057

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61393890100

Website

http://www.ceres.org.au/

Alerts

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Videos

✅ Queer? ✅ Sick of dating apps? ✅ Plant parent (or aspiring plant parent)? If you ticked most of the boxes above we’ve got a very special treat for you. That’s right, it’s that time again folks. Weed Dating. Queer weed dating to be specific. You’ve heard of speed dating - now just add weeding. Come and meet a new friend, lover, or anything in between (or beyond) amongst the plants at @ceresjoesgarden. Let the sparks fly between the rows of kale – and to sweeten the deal we’re throwing in coffee and snacks for when you need a break from all the weeding (or flirting 😉). Swipe right on something a little different! Limited spots, so get in quick! Link in bio. This is an 18+ event open to queer people of all genders. #queerdating #speeddating #sickofhinge #meetcute

Did you know you can grow mushrooms in buckets? It's a zero waste way to grow a sunstantial crop AND the spent substrate makes for the best mulch going around, just ask the gardens at CERES. Learn how from your friendly, local mushroom farmer Buttons. Book now for September 29th via the link in our bio. #growingmushrooms #workshopmelbourne

If you read Harry Potter and wished Herbology was a class your school offered, then our Herbal Apprentice might be for you. Learn the magic that can be found in the garden, deepening your connection with medicinal plants & their uses. Follow the link in bio to learn more.

Check out the poof on these pillowy, golden puffs – poori, a traditional Indian fried bread. The dough is rolled into discs and deep fried for a golden, slightly crispy bread that’s the perfect partner to potato curry, chana masala, and more… Yum! Join us to create a feast of your own at our upcoming Indian Festival Cooking workshop series celebrating Raksha Bandhan, Dussehra, and Diwali. We’re kicking off on Sunday 25 August, don’t miss it! #rakshabandhan #dussehra #diwali #indianfestivals #indiancooking #indiancookingclass #ceresworkshops #melbourneevents

How to make a farm fresh sign 🪧🌿 This week we muddled through figuring out how to make decent looking signs for the farm from scrap timber. It turned out to look just the right amount of tidy AND handmade and was easier than we expected. This method is great if you: A) are too much of a perfectionist to give in to the chaos of freehand. B) want to achieve a certain look/consistent font. C) don’t want to buy any fancy equipment. Method: - Sand and paint your timber in advance. We found a matte charcoal in the workshop that looks pretty chalkboardy. - Measure the dimensions of your timber. - Using Canva or Adobe set up your document to be the size of you timber so you can perfect your placement. Play with your design until it’s snazzy. Print (this might be across multiple pages). - Hold up your print to the window and shade with a pencil over the back of your letters or images. - Fasten the page to your timber and trace the design with a sharp pencil and a decent bit of pressure. This will leave you with a faint pencil outline on the timber. - Fill it in with a paint pen! Brb making signs for every plant in the garden. #gardencrafts #gardenlabels #recycledgarden #diysigns #urbanfarming #urbanfarm #gardendiy #gardensign #gardenproject #ediblegarden

The composting process or the stages of a typical Sunday? Thanks to the @ceresfairwood for the sustainable timber for these fantastic additions to the Eco House. Our @cereseducation team will use them to teach school groups all about the magic of composting 🍂 #composting #compostsystem #compostbays

Winter prune time 🌳 Time to be thinking about pruning your deciduous fruit trees as you can get a clear sense of the shape of the tree. Sharp tools are essential as horticulturalist Codey from our Nursery team explains. CERES will be hosting @mastersharp.au to sharpen all your garden and kitchen blades from 10-1pm on Aug 3: Secateurs $15 Loppers $17 Shears $19 Axes $20 Knives $9-$21 Scissors $25-$35 We recommend coming early to secure your spot! The Heritage Fruit tree society will also be here holding a free grafting workshop 🍎

It’s tomato time! Well, kinda. Those sun-drenched, long days of heavy vines are still a ways off - but to get there we need to do some planning and now is the perfect time, especially if you’re growing from seed. Our @ceresnurserybrunswick team have put together a detailed guide to growing the best toms including: 🍅 Choosing the right variety for you 🍅 Tomato seed sowing and transplanting 🍅 Watering and fertilising 🍅 Staking and pruning Sign up to our newsletter(last link in our bio) to get the guide straight to your inbox + some @ceresfairfood recipes to make the most of last seasons tommies 🥫 If you’d prefer to learn in person at CERES, we have a tomato growing workshop coming up on Aug 17 with only a few places left. Hop to it. #tomatogrowing #tomatoplant #growingtomatoes #urbanfarming #vegetablegrowing #vegetablegrowingtips #tomatogrowingtips #seedsowing #tomatoesfromseed #tomatoesfromthegarden #cherrytomatoes #heirloomtomatoes #homegrowntomatoes #homegrownveggies #tomatove

In a permaculture system each player wears many hats. 🐓Chooks are an MVP - turning over soil, eating pests and dropped fruit all while creating incredible nitrogen-rich fertiliser and eggs. Learn more in our Permaculture Design Course starting on Aug 3. See the link in bio for more 🔗 #permaculturedesigncourse #cerespdc #keepingchooks #chooksofinstagram #stackingfunctions #permaculturegarden #permaculturedesign #permaculturegardening #permaculturelife #permacultureaustralia

Waste not, want not 🗑️ Nature is the ultimate recycler, with no “waste” in sight - every nutrient is cycled and reused in a balanced system. What is something others see as waste that you see the potential in?If you’re the kind of person who cringes when they see someone put veggie scraps in the bin, our Permaculture Design Course might be for you. Kicking off on Aug 3, find the link in our bio 🔗#plasticfreejuly #composting #producenowaste #PermacultureDesignCourse #waronwasteau #zerowasteliving #zerowastelifestyle #permaculturedesign #circulareconomy #organiccompost #permaculturegarden

Hands up if you remember plastic bags drying on your Nana’s clothes line? 🙋‍♀️ Grandparents are the original #ZeroWaste warriors and there’s plenty for us to learn. Here @kat.lavers shows us her kitchen system for keeping waste to a minimum. If the plastics draw ever gets full, it acts as a feedback loop to let Kat know that her plastic use needs some attention. Learn all about living a life less packaged in our Permaculture Design Course which kicks off on Aug 3. Go to the link in our bio to learn more 🔗 #plasticfreejuly #producenowaste #PermacultureDesign #PermacultureDesignCourse #CERESPDC #pantrygoals #preserving #fowlersvacola #zerowasteliving #zerowastehome #zerowastekitchen

Never dry and put away the dishes again. @kat.lavers kitchen works smarter, not harder, stacking functions to create a dish drying rack that doubles as storage. Permaculture design applies far beyond the garden. If you’re interested in efficient and sustainable home design, our PDC might be for you. Learn more about our upcoming course at the link in bio. Kicking off Aug 3.#permaculture #Permaculturedesign #CERESPDC #kitchendesign #permaculturekitchen #kitchenhacks #sustainablekitchen #permaculturehomestead

🌿You’ll get the best bang for your buck growing herbs and salad greens 🥬 Pick as you need for ultimate freshness, goodbye green soup in the bottom of your fridge 🤤 Fresh from the garden = more nutrition and flavour🛒 Less cash in the price gougin’ pockets of Colesworths. Learn how to design for any space in our Permaculture Design Course (PDC) starting on Aug 3. Learn more at the link in our bio. Thanks to @kat.lavers for not letting the weather rain on our parade.#permaculturegarden #permaculturedesign #PermacultureDesignCourse #CERESPDC #cheapgardeningideas #permacultureaustralia #smallspacegardening

What exactly IS permaculture? Its not an easy question to answer so we hand-balled the question to @kat.lavers one of our Permaculture Design Course (PDC) mentors 😅We’ll be sharing permaculture design ideas in action on our channel over the next few weeks. If they are the kind of practical, clever and thrifty ideas that tickle your brain - you might want to check out our PDC which kicks off on Aug 3rd. See the link in our bio to learn more.Payment plans available.#Permaculture #Permaculturedesign #Urbanpermaculture #whatispermaculture #permaculturedesigncourse #cerespdc

We reckon' you do make friends with salad. This @ceresfairfood winter salad recipe is on heavy rotation this time of year when leafy greens are abundant in the garden. The frosty week we've had means kale will be at it's sweetest and most tender. Give it a try and let us know what you think! #plantbasedrecipes #winterrecipes