Initiatives
Securing our Agriculture and Food Supplies
Food security is determined by the food supply in a community, and whether people have adequate resources and skills to
acquire and use or access food (NSW Health, 2003). WSROC is at the forefront of many of the key issues associated with food security, including competing land use demands, managing peri-urban agriculture and issues of obesity and poor health relating to inadequate access to fresh food and poor education about nutrition.
The population in the Greater Western Sydney area is currently around 1.9 million and is expected to increase by over 1 million in the next 20 years. The need for a sustainable, affordable and secure food source is more important than ever.
The way we use our resources to produce food is a major issue facing sustainability and securing food for our future. For example in total we use 15,400 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of boneless beef. Find out more about the amount of resources we use to produce our food (opens in a new window).
UniSteers
Held annually by the UWS, the UniSteers competition brings together high schools from across Sydney to compete in a steer-raising challenge. Each school receives a Poll Hereford steer that students feed, handle and care for over approximately 100 days. Find out more on agriculture in schools initiatives.
Schools Harvest
Schools Harvest is designed to raise awareness and interest in food and farming, in agriculture as an industry, and in careers and education in agriculture and its associated fields. This project is a collaboration between Hawkesbury Harvest, the University of Western Sydney (UWS) Hawkesbury Foundation, and the UWS School of Natural Sciences, now the School of Science and Health. Find out more on agriculture in schools initiatives.
Feeding Sydney
The NSW Government has announced the release of 800 hectares of employment land in Western Sydney to create the Western Sydney Employment Area with a capacity for up to 16,500 jobs and expected to eventually accommodate some 40,000 workers. The initiative is touted as a great benefit for people living in Western Sydney and the north-west and south-west growth centres.
However their is a real concern that this initiative will result in even more pressure on Sydney Basin’s agricultural capacity by
taking away already diminishing agricultural resources.
The University of Western Sydney, in association with the UWS Hawkesbury Foundation, recently held an interactive conference where the focus was on challenges that major world population hubs like Sydney face. Against a background of dwindling agricultural land and water supplies, increasing pressure is also being placed on farming systems.
Buying Local Food
Hawkesbury Harvest is a community-based project aiming to improve the economical sustainability of the local agriculture regions as well as increasing consumer access to fresh nutritious foods and wines without having to travel vast distances to get it.
The Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail (opens in a new window) is a great way to buy your local produce. Buying local food from farmers markets is a great way to buy produce that is in season and locally sourced.
Bachelor of Natural Science (Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security)
The interconnections between food security and agriculture, social stability, health, plants and animals, and the environment will be emphasised in this degree from the University of Western Sydney. Students will gain critical thinking skills and the ability to contribute innovative solutions to the complex challenge of future sustainable agriculture and food security. Find out more about the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (opens in a new window) degree at UWS.
