A Canberra-first self-sufficient vertical garden may be the way of the future when it comes to food security and production in Ginninderry.
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The joint venture between Sydney company InvertiGro and Ginninderry Development prompted a sustainable urban-based vertical community garden to replace the Ginninderry community notice board.
Sustainability manager for Ginninderry Development Jessica Stewart said the innovative technology was the first to be used by a community in Canberra "has a vision to be a sustainable community with international significance".
"With COVID-19, I think local food production is becoming a lot higher on the agenda," she said.
"We need to think about that in a more holistic way so that we can think about the ways we generate food and how we can increase and incorporate local urban food production into our suburbs."
The innovative technology utilises nutrient-based water which runs throughout the system. The plants soak up the nutrients which is helped along by the LED lights.
Everything from kale to radishes to basil can be grown in the vertical garden and it can hold up to 200 plants in about a one metre squared area.
"We can actually start to grow food without having to worry about the climate too much [and] it is actually all automated," Miss Stewart said.
InvertiGro will continue to trial and test different plants and vegetables in the garden, which could eventually be added to the Ginninderry community garden.
Miss Stewart said she is sorting out the final details with Kingsford Smith School "so the students can come down and look after the plants and start to look at ways technology can be used for different kinds of food production."
They would also like to see cafes getting involved to use the produce that comes from the garden.
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Residents in the Ginninderry area will be the first to taste the produce, Miss Stewart saying once something is harvested, a call will go out to the community to come and try.
The Ginninderry team also plan to use the vertical garden to grow seedlings for the conservation corridor to help restore the plants in the area.
The Ginninderry Conservation Trust project will create 596 hectares of conservation land along the Murrumbidgee River and Ginninderra Creek.
