Please note that this is an on-going project.
Project Description
Project title: “Loganlea State High School Urban Farm and Indigenous Food Forest Project”
Our team actively planned opportunities for Environmental Planning student’s holistic development by building professional and authentic relationships with industry members on a real-life local food resilience project in the City of Logan, Australia. Students worked in teams on consultancy-style research reports, oral presentations and project posters to meet a range of project briefs that will: a) propose the design of an urban farm and Indigenous food forest; and b) create a set of guidelines for a school-based ‘local food relief hub’ to support emergency food needs in Logan.
Planning students worked closely with high school students and Council’s CityStudio initiative. This initiative brings together community leaders, young people, and Council staff to solve real-life challenges using innovation, collaboration and determination. Together, we co-developed in-person fieldtrips, community engagement sessions and guest workshops to provide a community-engaged model of Planning education. As one student reported, “this exciting opportunity gave me a working insight into how planners break down real-life problems and work as a team to solve these issues.”
This learning and teaching innovation is linked to a broader research agenda through Griffith’s Cities Research Institute on enabling action for local food resilience and contingency planning.
Project Personnel and Beneficiaries
The project directly benefits the students and school community of the Loganlea State High School by teaching students to grow and harvest fresh food; add value to the produce through their school kitchen; and sell produce to local businesses. A portion of the produce is donated to food relief agencies servicing the Logan area. Through extensive community-based funding and with help from Logan City Council, the project also provides employment of a full-time farmer, via the Mini Farm Project on the school grounds. Griffith University’s first-year students enrolled in the Environmental Planning Studio learn about planning for food resilience through local food systems and community engagement – encouraging the next generation of leaders in the Planning field. Logan City Council’s CityStudio Logan initiative facilitates these key relationships so we all may work together to co-create and design this food security project that makes the City of Logan more resilient and sustainable.
Outcomes to Date
Project activities have successfully raised funds of $60K to employ a full-time farmer, see the Mini Farm Project for details: https://www.mfp.org.au/loganleafarm with implementation of the farm site to commence in February 2023.
Forthcoming accepted publication: Reis, K., Brent, G., & Martin, S. (2023). “Collaborative Local Food Resilience Planning in Logan, Australia,” in M. Heim & J. Mittal (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of University-Community Partnerships in Planning Education”. NY: Routledge.
Project Significance
This project aims to reduce the incidence of hunger by demonstrating how urban farming can be integrated in school environments and how Planning students can co-create local food solutions.
The City of Logan has over 47,000 people relying on emergency food relief. Logan is one of many local government areas where residents not only experience sudden spikes in food shortages, but also longer-term food disadvantages. The Planning profession can reliably identify areas of food disadvantage and therefore food insecurity by area postcode. The Planning profession needs future practitioners who appreciate the importance of integrating fresh food choices into the fabric of our lived environments. Learning about the multiple benefits of local food systems for building food security is timely and prudent for Planning students.
Logan City Council’s new Urban Design Framework (UDF), will provide strategic direction to the Logan Plan 2025, the new planning scheme for Logan. To overcome longer-term and inter-generational food disadvantage alongside periodic food disruptions, the next generation of Planners need developed skills in incentivising local food production, urban horticulture and edible landscapes, with the intention to reduce demand for external food supplies.