Directions for the Collingwood Children’s Farm 2020-2025
Our Reason for Being
Nestled on the banks of the Birrarung, Collingwood Children’s Farm (CCF) provides community engagement, education and nature connection with green space and animals. CCF works to support social inclusion with a range of programs on a
working community farm and is a haven for children and adults alike.
Our Aims
To develop self-esteem, self-worth and connectedness, particularly of children and those experiencing adversity.
To facilitate participation of children and their families in broader community life and a connection to nature.
To provide educational opportunities around urban agriculture for students and community as well as pathways to further employment.
| Priority Directions | Key Strategic Initiatives |
|---|---|
| CCF will strive to provide program opportunities for people experiencing adversity, many of whom face significant barriers to inclusion. | CCF will develop or engage with external providers to deliver education programs, workshops and experiences that focus on agriculture, horticulture, food and cooking, craft and sustainable practices. |
| CCF will demonstrate best-practice farming, focusing on sustainable practices and will take a regenerative approach to agriculture. | CCF will engage the visiting public with interactions that demonstrate these practices and how they relate to wider rural farming practices Collingwood Children’s Farm respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri-Woiwurrung people as the traditional owners of the Abbotsford Precinct Heritage Farmlands, the lands we respect, care for and farm on behalf of all Victorians. CCF cherishes its relationship with Wurundjeri- Woiwurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and seeks to respectfully and meaningfully acknowledge First Nations knowledge, farming practices and plant use. |
| CCF will leverage public workshops, events and experiences to fund and support community programs. | CCF will engage the wider community with paid workshops, events and experiences that focus on agriculture, horticulture, food and cooking, craft and sustainable practices. CCF will develop the on-ground infrastructure to support these programs and opportunities. |
| CCF takes its custodianship of these heritage farmlands with the utmost seriousness and is committed to passing on this community asset to the next generation in a state that is both environmentally and financially sustainable. | CCF will work actively to beautify the space with market gardens, aesthetic gardens, urban forestry regenerative pasture management and sympathetic architecture. These measures will ensure the Farm remains a beautiful space for nature connection, vital for mental health and wellbeing and also mitigate the impacts of climate change. |
| CCF recognises that increased / diversified revenue is critical to supporting new ventures and programs and the staffing and infrastructure necessary for their successful delivery. | CCF will work actively to develop new income streams, focusing on fundraising committees, project donations, crowdfunding, philanthropic funding, grants and communications. |