The CERES Community Environment Park, or Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, is an award-winning 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) urban environmental centre located in urban Brunswick East, Victoria

Brunswick East, Victoria

Brunswick East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland. At the 2006 Census, Brunswick East had a population of 7,410....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. CERES is pronounced series, and the name may be partially derived from Ceres the goddess of agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 in Roman mythology

Roman mythology

Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...

.

CERES received the 1996 Banksia Environmental Award for Education and Training, and has also received many other awards.

Features

CERES' purpose is to "initiate and support environmental sustainability and social equity with an emphasis on cultural richness and community participation."

The 4 hectare park, adjacent to picturesque Merri Creek

Merri Creek

The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It begins in Wallan north of Melbourne and flows south for 70km until it joins the Yarra River at Dights Falls...

, includes:

• An animal farm.
• Community gardens.
• A café open 7 days a week.
• Organic foods and recycled/handmade crafts market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings
• A training kitchen.
• Educational walking trails.
• Origin Energy
  Origin Energy
  -History:Origin Energy was formed in February 2000, as a result of a demerger from the Australian conglomerate Boral Limited, in which the energy business was removed from the building and construction materials business to form the new company....
  
   Energy Park.
• Multicultural exhibits.
• Facilities for hire.
• The East Brunswick Bicycle Users' Group - a group of volunteers who recycle and repair bicycles for the community.
• The Urban Water Conservation, Demonstration and Research Facility - sustainable water projects.
• A nursery specialising in permaculture, natives and bush foods.
• The EcoHouse, showing sustainable living retrofit options.

Many events are held at CERES including weekend guided tours and private functions. There are three regular festivals each year - Harvest, in March, Beautiful Darkness, at the winter solstice

Winter solstice

Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...

, and the Return of the Sacred Kingfisher festival in November. The latter celebrates the first time a Sacred Kingfisher

Sacred Kingfisher

The Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...

 was seen on the site after revegetation and the transformation from rubbish tip.

CERES is a popular site for school excursions and research students with around 80,000 students visiting each year.

The property is readily accessible from the Merri Creek Trail

Merri Creek Trail

The Merri Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Merri Creek through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Following the Path:...

. Entry is free.

CERES also manages the Harding St Market Garden, a heritage market garden located on the Merri Creek, two kilometres north of the main site.

History

In 1981, a group of like-minded people dedicated to social awareness, community involvement and environmental issues secured a lease for a 4 hectare plot of neglected land in Brunswick East. Landscaping of the site began and the park was opened in 1982.
Since then it has hosted many research projects, exhibitions and events, and seen hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The first tree was officially planted on the site by Dr Barbe Baker

Richard St. Barbe Baker

Richard St. Barbe Baker was an English forester, environmental activist and author, who contributed greatly to worldwide reforestation efforts. As a leader, he founded an organization, still active today, whose many chapters carry out reforestation internationally.-Early years:He was born in...

—founder of the men of the trees—on 16 September 1981.

Support

CERES is partially funded through its own programmes, café and events as well as project grants from a variety of Government and private sponsors. While the park is open to the public freely, donations and memberships are appreciated. A popular volunteer program is also available.

See also

• CERES Sustainability Centre
• Collingwood Children's Farm
  Collingwood Children's Farm
  The Collingwood Children’s Farm is a not-for-profit, inner city farm situated on the Yarra River in the Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford, Australia. It is adjacent to, and considered part of the larger Abbotsford Convent complex. The Abbotsford Heritage Precinct Farmlands supporting the Farm are...
  
  
• Organic farming
  Organic farming
  Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
  
  
• Permaculture
  Permaculture
  Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
  
  
• Sustainability
  Sustainability
  Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
  
  

External links

• CERES official website
• CERES Sustainability Centre (new development)
• CERES Sustainability Hub
• Mathews, Freya 2000 'CERES: Singing Up the City', in PAN (Philosophy Activism Nature) no 1, 2000, pp 5-15.
• 'CERES Environment Park Celebrates 20th Birthday', Earthbeat transcript, broadcast Australian Broadcasting Corporation 20 April 2002
• Mushin, Stephen 2007 'The CERES Aquaponics demonstration facility'
• CERES Community Environment Park, Greenlivingpedia
• Article about entertainment at Ceres on the blog New Glimpse of Australia