The Producers produce produce

Always hearing about global warming and the environmental issues we are facing, Jonathan Lee wanted to learn and find solutions to these problems. When he started his Environmental Engineering (Honors)/Engineering Science (Civil) degree at UNSW three years ago, he looked through the Arc Handbook and instantly wanted to get involved in ‘The Producers’.

Jonathan Lee

A bit of a tricky sentence. In simple terms, “The Producers produce produce” means that Arc’s volunteering program called ‘The Producers’ grows veggies, plants and everything green.

As the 2018 Coordinator for The Producers, he wanted to teach fellow students how to grow their own greens and food because he believes it can change the way we think about food production and waste, and hopefully have a positive impact on the environment.

“We do ‘Grow It Yourself’ workshops where we learn how to grow food at home. This involves everything from creating and feeding good soil for great growing plants, to controlling any pests attacking your veggies,” he said.

“I also find our two gardens at the Kensington campus valuable, as we follow the growth of various plants and experiment with different produce projects.”

 “When you take part in growing your own food, you appreciate the process a lot more, you see how critical it is, and I believe you’ll waste less too. I think it has a flow effect that encourages people to consume less and take better care of everything we already have – not just plants or food”.

Although The Producers sound like a place for very environmentally-oriented individuals, Jonathan believes he might be the only Environmental Engineering student there. With students from various faculties, including business, law, science and more, there it is a good mix of people. Jonathan believes it is a unique opportunity to become a part of something rare.

“The Producers is a volunteering program that allows students to get involved and learn more about growing and living a sustainable life. A lot of other environmental programs I have heard of are usually very established and have their own ways of doing things. At The Producers we have a lot of room to learn and change, and there are many different people to work through the process with”.

If you want to get involved with The Producers, read more on their website and follow their mailing list to get updates about what they are up to and how you can participate.

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