Bringing the farm to Varsity

By Craig Page, Bond University journalism student

A COMMUNITY marketplace has been proposed at the Bond University campus that aims to increase community engagement and promote sustainable living.

Bond University students developed the ambitious ‘Sustainable Community Marketplace’ plan, which offers local farmers an outlet to sell organic foods and allow local eco-businesses to promote their products.

Bond University’s Associate Professor Andrew Wilford from the Institute of Sustainable Development and Architecture has promoted the plan.

“We need to green the campus; projects like these are real community builders,” he said.

The proposed farmer’s style market would be held on Bond’s campus grounds every second Saturday.

During the development of the plan, students distributed surveys in the local community and visited Northey Street City Farm Markets in Brisbane to get a behind-the-scenes look at how organic farmers brought their produce to market.

Bond student Tayla Howard said she was overwhelmed by the community response to the proposal.

“The community response was great, a plan like this is designed to add value to Bond’s identity in the community,” she said.

“This market will also give the local community a place to shop for organic produce while creating employment opportunities in the local area.”

Project coordinator Kym O’Connell said many of the local farmers were frustrated by the management of existing markets on the Gold Coast and that they were run purely for profit.

“The Sustainable Community Marketplace is not-for-profit and focused on brining organic farming to future generations,” she said.

"Bond is the perfect location for the markets due to its location and architecture providing a dramatic backdrop such as the markets in Queen Street Brisbane.”

“However, the plan is still in the approval stage.”

The Sustainable Community Marketplace will not only provide a place for locals to shop for fresh organic produce but also serve to help educate the local community on sustainable living practices.