Fiona Buining’s story shows that plants can be grown productively even in a big city. A teacher by profession, Fiona founded Ainslie Urban Farm in Canberra, Australia’s capital, 14 years ago. Over that time a small garden has grown into a thriving business.
Fiona has always loved plants, and while working at a school she saw for herself that growing them is good for health. Before settling in Canberra, Fiona and her husband Michael lived in several cities, and every home they had came with a small plot of fresh greens and vegetables.
Fiona says her pull toward farming goes back to childhood. She has always loved growing things and believes gardening is good for the environment and for the soul. In her words, physical contact with soil releases serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters behind feeling good. Put simply, touching the earth helps people feel happy.
While teaching gardening at a college, Fiona watched her students’ mental well-being change profoundly during classes.
Still, more than 10 years passed before she turned her hobby into a business. Today she supplies herbs and salad greens from her own backyard to 30 restaurants and cafes in Canberra.
Her guiding principle is zero waste. All the greens grow in trays made from recycled plastic, and customers return the containers with every weekly delivery. Microgreens go out in an electric car, which keeps deliveries carbon neutral.
Two years ago Fiona received a Churchill Fellowship to study training programs on urban farms in the US, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands. Her research showed that urban agriculture has great potential for food production.
Community gardens are becoming more popular across Canberra, but Fiona thinks that isn’t enough. She works with the capital’s land agency on new models for community gardens and believes Canberra’s potential for growing food is unlimited.
