What is the Community Fruit & Veg Swap all about?

A place where people come together and swap their surplus produce in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere while catching up with old friends and making new ones.

By swapping your home grown produce you will add variety to your diet, save money, reduce food miles, eat fresh good quality food, meet new people, gain inspiration and ideas about gardening and cooking, all while working towards a sustainable future.

Essentially it is a place where like minded people can have a chat over a cuppa, share some produce and exchange tips on what to do with all those tomatoes and zucchinis we always end up with every year!

 

When and where do they happen?
Held fortnightly on Sunday morning 9:30am-11:30 at the Mount Pleasant Natural Resource Centre, 132 Melrose Street, Mount Pleasant. Keep an eye out for fliers, check our website or give us a call to find out when they are on. Download calendar

 

What can I swap?
Fresh home grown fruit and vegetables
Baking
Homemade jams and preserves
Home dried fruits
Homemade sauces and chutneys
Fruit and vegetable seeds, seedlings and cuttings
Fresh cut flowers
Knowledge (e.g. organic pest control, preserving etc).
Eggs
Honey
Recipes
Compost
Gardening books
Unsure? — just ask!

 

If you don’t have access to a local Community Fruit & Veg Swap and want to know how to set
one up and what’s involved in keeping it running – read on. The following is based on the
experience of the Mt Pleasant Community Fruit & Veg Swap which is run by a non-profit
volunteer group the Mt Pleasant Natural Resource Centre. (download 542KB pdf file).

 

MEMBER ETIQUETTE (download 240KB pdf file).

 

EXAMPLE LABELS (download 33KB pdf file).

 

 

Who can participate?
Anyone and everyone who has something to share, whether it be produce, seedlings, recipes, flowers or eggs, is welcome to join.

Don’t have a garden? Don’t worry, you can still be involved by bringing home baking or preserves; or making a donation towards the Swap running costs; or contribute valuable gardening or food preserving and preparation knowledge, and good company!

If your gardening expertise extends to a lonely pot of herbs by the back door, get involved and your bunch of herbs could turn into a few tomatoes and zucchinis and a fabulous home cooked meal featuring local fresh produce just waiting to happen!

 

How do I become a member?
Simply fill in the membership form on the reverse and bring it along to your first swap and we will join you up on the spot. Membership is $5 annually for individuals or $10 for households. All membership fees go towards helping run the swaps. Download membership form

Come along, have a chat, a cuppa, share some produce & knowledge in a relaxed & friendly atmosphere with like minded people, where everyone is welcome!

 

Start-up funds for the Community Fruit & Start-up funds for the Community Fruit & Veg Swap provided by a NRM Achiever Grant from the Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board.

 

Recreate is a volunteer run creative reuse centre, materials depot & workshop space that:

stimulates environmental awareness & creativity

promotes creative recycling & material reuse

transforms old wares & waste into functional, useful items.

 

Community members & businesses donate recyclable & reusable materials that would traditionally be discarded & contribute to landfill.

 

Materials are sorted, repaired, dismantled, & recreated as required then made available to the community, artists, & schools through the recreate store: perfect for your next creative reuse project.

 

Recreate features the creative work of artists & craftspeople who do amazing things with discarded or pre-loved goods.

 

Opening in late April 2011, recreate is housed in our old stone shed that is getting a facelift featuring recycled materials & a focus on energy efficiency thanks to a Community Sustainability Grant from the Conservation Council SA.

 

eat: via its produce trading table, edible garden areas, & community fruit & veg swap, recreate increases access to local produce such as preserves, herbs, dried fruit, seasonal fruit & veggies.

 

With your complimentary hot drink, & purchased yummy home cooked muffin or hot scone, you can enjoy the outdoor seating area surrounded by creative reuse inspiration, food gardens, & good conversation.

 

We are currently accepting donations of used goods & materials. You may be surprised by what we will take – your ‘garbage’ is often the raw material for our creative pursuits. Give us a call to discuss.

 

Here are a few ideas:

Coloured plastic lids

Mesh onion bags & bread tags

Scrap coloured paper, card, & fabric

Old or damaged records, CD’s & tapes

Used gift & Christmas cards, wrapping paper & postcards

The last little bit of candle wax that’s left over

Bits of string/ ribbon/ wool etc.

Used clothing (inc. torn and stained items no good for wearing)

Paint leftovers & large tin cans

Glossy magazines, & books (inc. damaged books no good for reading anymore)

Old drawers & crates, broken timber furniture

Odd earrings & broken jewellery

Corrugated cardboard & used canvases

Outdated calendars & unmatched socks

Mismatched Ceramics & much more!

 

Recreate volunteering positions are many & varied with flexible time commitment & options to work from home or after hours.

Contact us for a full list of positions or more information.

 

Here are just a few:

Creative Reuse Researchers: sourcing great ideas for transforming waste into something of use & value Dismantlers: pulling apart broken items into useable components: be it buttons, zips, pockets & rags from jeans; or drawers, hinges, timber & handles from a broken cupboard

Stock Hounds: sourcing materials & waste items from local business & industry for reuse

Goods Sorters: sorting donated items into ‘can be used as is’, or

passing on to dismantlers

Creative Reusers: creating examples of waste reuse to inspire

Recreate Educators: developing school activity packs for creative reuse

Store & Retail Assistants

& much more!

 

What is a farmers market?
A farmers market is a food market, specialising in authentic regional/local, fresh and seasonal produce.
A community run business, the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market will be the place to go to purchase locally grown and prepared food, support local farmers, and enjoy a great day out for the whole family.

Fruit & vegetables

Dairy

Eggs

Meat & seafood

Bread & baked goods

Flowers & seedlings

Hot breakfast & fresh coffee

Honey & Olive oil

Jams & preserves

Beer & Wine

 

About us
The Mount Pleasant Farmers Market will be a weekly showcase for fresh, regional and seasonal food brought to you by the people who grow and make it.

The MPFM will support small family farms and businesses, agricultural diversity and consumer choice.
We support the practice of sustainable food production and promote the importance of a healthy environment to a healthy food chain.

The MPFM will be established as a not-for-profit incorporated body administered by a committee of members elected annually at the MPFM AGM. The Interim Management Committee is currently operating under the auspices of the not-for-profit incorporated Mount Pleasant Natural Resource Centre.

The MPFM Interim Management Committee began meeting early 2011 and has been working hard to establish this community business.

 

We now need start up funds to employ a Project Officer to build on the hard work of the Farmers Market volunteers and turn this exciting project into a reality.

Once the Farmers Market is running, it will be self sustaining: supporting all running costs including the Market Manager.

 

Become a member and make a difference!
We are currently accepting 2012 Memberships, with all proceeds used to establish this community owned business. On receipt of your application and membership fee you will receive a MPFM 2012 membership card which will entitle you to:
10% discount on produce at all stalls.
MPFM shopping bag
Member voting rights as outlined in the MPFM constitution
Regular newsletter
Regular special offers and discounts

 

(Download Membership Form & Brochure pdf)

(Download Membership Application Form Only pdf)

Community Environment Centre Project

The Community Environment Centre Project will provide expanded community facilities at the Natural Resource Centre.

 

The Barossa Council have provided the vacant land behind the existing MPNRC building for the Centre to develop into a community sustainability hub.

 

The development will include an expansion of the Centre to increase the quality of services available to the community and incorporates additional office, workshop and meeting facilities as well as a range of outdoor demonstration projects.

 

As part of the stage 1 project implementation, the MPNRC has also teamed up with Birdwood High School and the Doorways 2 Construction VET program (supported by the Construction Industry Training Board). A group of school students from Birdwood High are currently completing their Certificate 1 in Building Construction using the NRC site. This partnership is a fantastic opportunity to provide a worthwhile community project for the students as well as providing an avenue to expose the students to a variety of sustainable building practices. Activities that have already started include a retrofit of an existing shed for a community meeting and workshop space. This retrofit will showcase a number of sustainable building features ranging from material selection, passive ventilation and low energy use technologies.

 

The Australian Government Community Water Grants Water Savings Project will enable the entire site to be self-sufficient on rain water harvested from the roof, saving over 338000 litres of Murray River mains water a year. Low water use measures will be demonstrated including waterless urinals and smart flush toilets.

 

Stage 2 of the Sustainable Native Garden Project will act as part of the retrofitted buildings passive climate control as well as demonstrating water wise gardening and showcasing local native plants.

 

The expansion of the Centre will enable the MPNRC to more fully service the needs of the community. The need for community members to learn about environmental issues and sustainability has never been more pressing. Not only is increased awareness needed but individuals and communities need to feel empowered to act and make a positive difference, thus accessible learning and engagement opportunities are essential.

 

The Community Environment Centre Project provides the mechanism in which the Centre’s vision will take shape, building on what is already in place and creating a truly unique community space that encourages an understanding and respect of our natural world and our place in it.

 

For more information contact us.

Sustainability School Days

 

Unique learning opportunity for students in Mount Pleasant.

 

On Thursday 17th & Friday 18th September 2009, Mt Pleasant became a hive of activity as over 1000 primary school students, teachers, parents, and volunteers came together for the biannual Mount Pleasant Natural Resource Centre Inc. Sustainability School Days.

 

The days are organised by the not-for-profit Centre to provide students with two days of fun, interactive and educational sessions that encourage sustainable living. Mt Pleasant Natural Resource Centre Coordinator Faye Mc Goldrick said the focus is on making learning fun again.

 

“We need to make the event memorable for the students so we incorporate a lot of hands on, interactive and art based learning into the program. Students get back to basics and get their hands dirty painting murals and building bird baths and making toys out of recycled materials”.

 

This free event attracted students from 16 different primary schools: Birdwood, Gumeracha, Mt Pleasant, Kersbrook, Springhead, Mt Torrens, Springton, Redeemer, Palmer, Keyneton, Angaston, Cambrai, Mt Pleasant Kindy, Greenock, St Jakobi, and a number of home school children from Adelaide.

 

“We particularly like to involve smaller regional primary schools in our event as they usually don’t have the budget to organise many of the types of activities we provide,” Faye said. “The schools really appreciated participating in this free event and we have had excellent feedback so far from teachers and students”.

 

This event has now become so popular that Faye had to turn away schools who wanted to be involved: “The days booked out really quickly – it was great to see so many schools wanting to be involved in our local sustainability event, but we really can’t increase the size of the event without additional resources”.

 

Over 60 volunteers came together over the 2 days, including students from Craigmore High School, to help make the days happen: from making lunches, to assisting presenters with their workshops, to helping coordinate, volunteers contributed 100’s of hours of their time. “Our volunteers did an absolutely amazing job and I was lucky to get to work with such a diverse and enthusiastic group – we also had a lot of new volunteers join us specifically for this event,” Faye said.

 

The event was made possible by the huge input from community volunteers, and financial support from the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board and the South Australian Murray Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board.

 

This is the seventh Sustainability School Days the Centre has run and as successful as this event is, its future is uncertain. “The organisation required for an event this size is huge. It requires large amounts of project management time and it is getting more expensive to run every year due to increasing costs associated with marquees and presenters. The Centre will have to seriously consider if it can afford to continue delivering such a large event, “Faye said.

 

“The demand is certainly there and schools have already registered their interest for the 2011 event. We have built up a fantastic group of volunteers who are keen to see the event continue – they only have to be involved in one day to understand the value of the event to the students, but without increased funding support we will not be in a position to continue it. It would be such a shame if this event ended – it is the largest event of its kind in the state and our region should be very proud that there is so much community support from volunteers and interest from the schools on such an important topic.”

 

If you are interested in seeing this event continue and would like to get involved and volunteer some of your time, the Centre has a number of different volunteer positions currently open.

Contact Faye on 08 8568 1907 or contact us.

 

What the students liked…

"I liked to see and pat the ringtail possum and snake. I thought it was a good way to learn".

 

"I learnt a lot from the aquaponics session".

 

"I enjoyed doing Aboriginal Culture because I learnt lots. I also liked the sustainability web it was fun and interesting".

 

"I enjoyed the puppet show about how the river got polluted and the macro invertebrates leaving. I learnt a lot about the environment and how it doesn’t take many people to pollute it".

 

"I learnt that we have to save water".

 

"It was very good fun and lots of things to learn about".

 

"I liked the task when we got in groups and made the trees out of paper to represent carbon molecules".

 

"I learned a lot without using school books".

 

"I liked holding the snake and the turtle and the puppets".

 

"I enjoyed learning about weeds and the native trees and the quiz about them".