Overview
Next year, Melbourne is set to score an injection of green space in an unlikely location — namely, the top of a multi-storey carpark in the Seafarer's precinct, overlooking the Yarra. Part of the 2000-square-metre rooftop site is being transformed to create a new urban farm and sustainable oasis known as Melbourne Skyfarm.
Two years after plans for the project were first revealed, City of Melbourne this week outlined the latest designs and confirmed its launch is scheduled for some time in late 2022. Once complete, Skyfarm will encompass a working urban farm, along with a cafe, event spaces and an environmental education centre, all championing sustainability and showcasing the best in eco-friendly urban practices.
Work on the site has already kicked off and will continue over the next 12 months, with the farm, orchard and plant nursery to launch first. It's a game-changing agricultural set-up, too, built on Biofilta's advanced self-watering wicking bed farming system Foodcube.
An early render of Melbourne Skyfarm
Thanks to this high-tech piece of innovation, Skyfarm will have the capacity to grow over five tonnes of fresh produce each year, most of which will be donated to food charity OzHarvest. The rest will be used by the onsite kitchens to create seasonal, hyper-local menus for the 90-seat Skyfarm cafe.
People will be able to wander through the farm and see its various programs at work, before hitting the eatery for a feed built around ingredients grown onsite and those sourced from other sustainable Victorian producers. All the site's hospitality elements will be centred on a low-waste approach, too.
Meanwhile, a pioneering workshop and classroom facility will be dedicated to educating students and others about a wide range of sustainability practices, from urban biodiversity and zero-waste living, to renewable energy. Skyfarm is also set to play host to three dedicated event spaces, should you want an eco-conscious setting for your next shindig.
Melbourne Skyfarm is being brought to life by a collection of locally-based sustainability companies, including urban farming experts Biofilta, The Sustainable Landscape Company and nature protection group Odonata. Further funding has come courtesy of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and the City of Melbourne Urban Forest Fund.
Melbourne Skyfarm will be built in stages over the next 12 months, due for completion in late 2022. For more details about what's in store, see the website.