Farmer, gardener, compost whisperer, and cousin of our GM, Richard Seymour, Michelle Twyford is one of those people who—when she sees something that needs doing—gets it done. From growing produce to turning compost, teaching others, and looking after her community, you know you’re in safe hands as soon as you meet her.
We’re chatting, sitting on a park bench in the thick of the Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC) where Michelle works two days a week.
The CNLC – on a lush patch of inner-north Melbourne – is all about connecting people, sustainability and creating opportunities across Carlton. The Centre offers English classes to refugees and migrants with over 21% of students having a disability, 39.7% having a refugee or asylum-seeker background, and 37% having experienced material deprivation and living below the poverty line.
The Centre does important work, and Michelle’s role is to keep the compost turning, the garden bounteous, and the conversation about all this moving. That’s why we had to ask her to be our Mount Zero this month.
“I’ve been here [at the CNLC] nearly seven years,” says Michelle. When asked what her official title is, “I am a farmer. I don’t like the title ‘urban farmer’, but the role has also been called ‘Garden Compost Officer.’”
With food scraps making up 40% of bin waste going to landfill, composting reduces harmful methane emissions and protects the environment while addressing climate change pollution.
Michelle loves teaching climate literacy and leaves no stone (or compost) unturned, as shown in her insistence on testing our home compostable packages at the compost hub.
“Richard showed me the biodegradable packaging and I said I’ll test it for you because sometimes companies say it’s compostable but it’s absolute bullshit and I wanted to know if this worked,” she says. “I told him to give the packaging to me. I put it in a compost bin, and it did nothing for a few weeks and then it finally went.”
Michelle says our packaging took about 10 weeks to break down completely, “We try and turn it over in about 8 weeks, so it took a bit longer.”
They like to keep things moving as they put the compost in the garden or sell it for $5 per bag* (they sell vegetable seedlings*, too).
Michelle has long loved our products (it’s a family thing) and gets to our factory in Sunshine every couple of months to buy our oil and pulses "Rich kills me if I haven’t brought my own bottles and containers, so I always do!” she laughs.
“I love the olive oils, it’s that nice you can nearly drink it,” she adds, “It’s bloody yum and oils the pipes!”
Michelle says her mum loves our Yuzu Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil and she also buys our chickpeas and salt, “for preserving olives. That salt, it really makes a difference if you’re preserving something.”
*The contributions from the CNLC compost hub raise funds for activities that are directed and targeted towards members of our CNLC community that are in need.
The Fast Five with Michelle Twyford
1. If you weren’t working as a farmer, what would you be doing?
I’d be a professional scuba diver under the water looking at sea life.
2. Last place you dined out?
Arnolds in Kensington
3. What's your favourite Melbourne restaurant?
This is hard - Bar Lourinha and now, Arnolds.
4. Favourite season/s of the year for produce?
Summer because my favourite thing to grow is giant gourds. They are my absolute unhealthy passion. I’m entering the biggest veg competition at Ceres next weekend. Also, I do love a good juicy peach and nothing beats home-grown tomatoes.
5. Do you have any special projects scheduled for this year or beyond?
I’m going to study permaculture and also disability so I can run a disability garden program next year.
By Hilary McNevin