Hub Central Edible Garden

The Hub is utilised by approximately 600 University students per day during term time, and is a central point for informal study, eating and socialising.

A popular element of the Hub is the student kitchen which is connected to a large courtyard to the north east. Through the Green Project Fund, the Edible Garden will provide an opportunity for students to grow and eat produce utilising new and existing garden beds. The garden also offers the opportunity to demonstrate sustainable living practices, the benefits of locally produced food, bush food and self-sufficiency.

Faculty/School/Unit: Division of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic), Student Services and Administration

Project Goals & Objectives

• Enhance the student campus experience through the teaching and demonstration of sustainable living practices,
• Create a place on campus to foster a supported community of student volunteers,
• Engage the University and wider Adelaide community on sustainability through events and tours connected to the garden,
• Demonstrate great research in engineering, architecture, landscape architecture and indigenous studies,
• Provide ongoing financial benefits through water and energy savings  to the University after 6 years.
• Implement an edible student garden on campus.
• Harvest rain water for re-use through on-site irrigation systems, saving approximately $350 per year in water costs. 
• Capture solar energy through a small PV system to demonstrate and promote solar energy and re-use in the student kitchen. 
• Provide solar shading through summer to north facing windows of the upper Architecture computer suite.   
• Test green wall technology for research purposes.
• Display an indigenous art piece connected to Wilto Yerlo.
• Implement an indigenous bush food garden for research purposes.

Green Project Fund: $10,600
Payback Period: 6 years

The Hub Edible Garden can provide produce to complement student lunches and foster a sustainable network of student learning, teaching and research through;

• harvest, market and working bee events,
• demonstrations of rain-water harvesting for irrigation and solar energy use,
• and permaculture techniques such as companion planting.   

It is intended that a volunteer student group (supported by Hub and Ecoveristy staff) maintain the garden, with seasonal harvests and working bees. Following these events, students can be supported in organising a market to sell remaining produce to the University community to generate income for the next seasons seedlings. It is intended that permaculture principles such as companion planting be applied to the beds through peer to peer learning.

Lead Project Representative: Hedley Reberger

Office of Sustainability Contact: Libby Dowling