“This is a very special place with a very special atmosphere.” – Kevin Keegan
The special place I am featuring today for Lens Artist Photo Challenge is not somewhere from my travels, or some amazing landscapes, or some vistas in another land.
Pat, my daughter, wanted to take me to this park slash market slash cafe slash organic place slash grocer for the longest time but didn’t quite make it until now. It started with a morning coffee and brunch at the cafe called Merri Cafe.
When we went at the back of the cafe, that was when I fell in love with the place. The vision of Ceres is ”…for people to fall in love with the Earth again”. And that was what exactly happened when I saw the organic plants, fruits and vegetables.
CERES is an environmental education centre, community garden, urban farm and social enterprise hub spread across four locations, linked by the Merri and Darebin Creeks on Wurundjeri Country, Melbourne.
Our vision is for people to fall in love with the Earth again, and to that end our work spans environmental, social, economic, spiritual and cultural dimensions.
We receive around half a million visits per year to our original park in Brunswick East, and reach nearly another million through our other locations, school outreach programs and online services.The CERES School of Nature and Climate is the evolution of our education programs into a focused response to the climate and ecological crisis we are facing.Our environmental education offerings at Brunswick East, in schools and online, are designed to reconnect people to each other and the Earth, developing the practical skills, knowledge, leadership qualities and community resilience that will be needed in the coming decades.
Some environmentally friendly playground for kids.
While walking on the winding trail I saw a sign with a Kookaburra saying: “The land and the creek near CERES were very polluted. We couldn’t find food to eat or places for our nests so we left. Lots of people worked together cleaning up the mess and planting lots of plants. We came back again. A good reason to celebrate.”
And oh coming from the other side, I nearly missed this Barcelona like entrance.
Doors were in abundance here as well. (though the entry for Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge is already closed).
Some colourful mosaic benches and some wooden seats.
And some public art displays.
My Camera & I (2) 
What a wonderful philosophy this place has!
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That’s what I thought so too! Thanks Sarah ❤️
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What a wonderful place! So much creativity in all of the details.
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I know, there’s details left, right t and centre ❤️
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You can spend a whole day in this wonderful place.
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Oh yes Nes, we almost did!
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Love the wall , it certainly reminds me of the one in Barcelona.
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Not a Gaudi but still pretty!
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Oh this looks like the kind of place I would love too – I certainly love their ethos. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful images.
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My pleasure! ❤️
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This look like an interesting, original, healthy and delicious place 🙂
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Yes, definitely all of that!
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What a lovely place to spend some time, Teresa. Thanks so much for sharing!
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My pleasure Jo!
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What a wonderful idea Teresa – wouldn’t it be nice if there were more places like this?! Loved the ideas and your images brought them to life.
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Yes, I know…and it is just near the inner city so it was really refreshing to see. Thanks for stopping by Tina!
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I’m going to send a link to this post to my friend Sally in CA. She not a blogger but organizes the Woodlake Rose Garden, which is right next to the Botanical Gardens. I especially loved the philosophy and the idea of online connections as well as visitors learning right there. What a fabulous post and several wonderful displays of public art. I’m salivating over the whole thing! That sounds gross, but I think its a great compliment. 🙂
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Glad you liked it Marsha as well as your friend in CA. Happy to share.
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Great post, Teresa.
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This is a great spot, Teresa. I can see why you featured it. Their philosophy of healing the earth and being a joyful place are marvelous.
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Thanks for thinking so, Patti!
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Thanks for taking us there. Love the concept behind the garden. 🙂
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Yes…truly a great concept.
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What a beautiful place Teresa, it’s on my list for my next visit to Melbourne
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Great 👍🏼
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