As well as being Material Institute’s home, Botanical features a one-acre market garden and orchard, operated on organic permaculture principles to preserve our soil microbiome.

The garden itself provides fruit, vegetables and seedlings for our 24 Carrot Gardens schools—last summer we distributed 900kg of fruit and veg, and over five thousand seedlings.

Education and employment opportunities are a key part of the garden’s operations.

We’re always looking to expand what we produce—we installed nine beehives this year—and have future plans to add mushroom production and enlarge our orchard.