The council is expected to endorse the idea of establishing a city farm at a meeting tomorrow night and approve a study to find the best location. It would bring Sydney up to speed with cities like London, Chicago and Melbourne, all of which have been enjoying the clucking of chooks and smell of fresh fruit in their city centres for years.

Councillor Meredith Burgmann has been interested in the idea since seeing patting zoo-style farms in London more than 20 years ago.

''Now they're turning much more into a place where you can see recycling, how to deal with organic waste and how to grow fruit and vegetables,'' she said.

A farm could have fruit and nut orchards, vegetable gardens, farm animals and communal composting facilities. ''There's a very high educational element,'' said Cr Burgmann, ''and they're very popular with school kids.''

Father of three David Gilligan is a member of the community group Sydney City Farm, which is advocating the idea. He has seen the delight his children get from the vegie patch and chicken coop in their Five Dock backyard.

''They're right in there pulling out whatever we put in,'' he said with a laugh. ''They get in there and get their hands dirty.''

The kids collect eggs each morning and his eldest daughter Jemma, 6, regularly takes things she has grown into school for show and tell. ''I think they're closer to how the real world works,'' he said.

Three potential sites have been identified: Harold Park, The Crescent Lands on the Glebe foreshore and Sydney Park in St Peters, with the latter being the favoured spot.

Sydney City Farm president Andrew Jackson said: ''There doesn't have to be just one. It would be easy to get a second one up and running once we've seen it can be a success.''