In this week’s edition of Your Town, program producer Alyssa Allen visits the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES), pronounced ‘series’.

Located in Brunswick East, the site was initially a bluestone quarry, later the Brunswick tip and land-fill site, then in 1982, the Moreland Council decided to lease the land to the CERES community group.

Today, CERES operates as a community environment park and is promoted as a place where people come together to learn and share ideas about sustainable living.

CERES runs extensive environmental education programs, urban agriculture projects, green technology demonstrations and a number of social enterprises. 

The park features a market, grocery, cafe, community kitchen and a permaculture and bushfood nursery.

Speaking on 3AW Drive, manager of CERES Fair Food, Chris Ennis, said great care is taken when growing food on the site of a former tip.

‘There is a layer of soil that’s put over it…you definitely have to be careful about what you do in there, because there has been so much added to it over the years, it’s up to the farmers to keep it productive.’

Click PLAY below to hear more on 3AW Drive