Monitoring, Evaluation & Performance Review
Community Orchards and Community Food Forests should be periodically monitored and evaluated to ensure they continue delivering environmental, educational, social and community value.
Monitoring should not focus on food production alone. These landscapes should be assessed according to their broader contribution to long-term community resilience, environmental stewardship, public safety and community participation.
Performance Review Areas
Environmental Indicators
Tree health, species diversity, canopy development, soil condition, pollinator activity, biodiversity observations and water efficiency.
Community Indicators
Volunteer participation, school involvement, public use, community events, educational activities and local partnership development.
Landscape Indicators
Plant survival, disease occurrence, regeneration, accessibility, infrastructure condition and suitability of the original landscape design.
Stewardship Indicators
Maintenance continuity, reporting, coordinator stability, governance effectiveness, annual review completion and community feedback.
Evaluation Philosophy
Evaluation should support improvement rather than create unnecessary administrative burden.
The purpose of performance review is to identify what is working, what requires adjustment and what lessons may strengthen future Community Orchard and Community Food Forest projects.
Where practical, findings should be shared with participating councils, community organisations and research partners to support continuous improvement across the broader National Community Landscape Framework.