We believe workplace farms should be a thing, so The Sustainable Landscape Company designed and built a highly productive, compact demonstration workplace farm for their staff group at their nursery. The farm features around 60 water efficient Biofilta Foodcube advanced wicking beds made in Melbourne. The farm will produce around 1 tonne of fresh produce per annum for their staff group, which promises to make a significant contribution to reducing food bills and improving nutrition.
The farm also features a number of seating areas, gathering spaces and shelter from the weather, allowing out work group to have meetings and breaks surrounded by a beautiful productive thriving urban farm. The farm incorporates trellising for climbing plants as well as netting systems to protect the plants from possums and pests. It also features compost bays to allow for hot composting of food and green waste from the nursery kitchen and grounds, closing the nutrient loop and allowing for a circular economy system.
The farm will be managed by a staff member with gardening skills and general staff can harvest from the farm each day as they head home free of charge. The low maintenance and water efficient design allows the farm to be managed with around a day per month work by a staff member, and the broader staff group join in for a team building planting or harvesting session around once every three months.
Workplace farms have a variety of benefits for a workplace; including nutrition, reduced food bills, exercise, team building, biodiversity, improved mental health, urban cooling and creating a circular economy. In a very competitive labour environment where cost of living has increased dramatically in the past year, employees are looking for employers to help in practical ways and lead on circular economy, climate change and sustainability. If you are interested in a Foodcube workplace farm, we can supply you the Foodcubes and the team at The Sustainable Landscape Company can design and construct one for you. We hope to see them become a feature of many workplaces in the future 😊 🍎 🌶️ 🦋 🍅 🍇 🐝
