About

Background

The garden got underway in June 2010 when The North East Valley Community Project was successful in gaining Healthy Eating Healthy Action (HEHA) funding to establish a community garden in North East Valley.

The garden was established by involving various organisations such as Grubby Angels, Otepoti Urban Organics, Manuka farm, Students for Environmental Action, SuperGrans, Sustainable Dunedin, Transition Valley 473 and Youth Grow.

The goals of the community garden were identified as

• to promote and develop HEHA key messages and ideas;

• to develop and model sustainable growing practices in order to lessen the impact on the environment;

• to share knowledge of how to provide basic food for the family;

• to provide a supply of fresh fruit and vegetables in times of rising food prices;

• to support local people in living in a sustainable, active and healthy way;

• to prioritise a reconnection with the land and the environment;

• to remind ourselves of the importance of the basic things in life.

Making plans

With the help of a community social worker from Presbyterian Support, interested locals met on a regular basis to get the Community garden established. The process of getting the necessary permission from the Board of Trustees and a Licence to Occupy from the Ministry of Education took several months while plans were clarified and credibility established. A steering group was established by those who had stuck with the group during the lengthy negotiations and the community social worker was able to drawback and turn her attention to another group. By this time the 2010 growing season was over giving us a few months to plan and establish the gardens for spring 2011.

Preparing for the first growing season

The field was grassed but boggy and shaded by tall trees. We needed to open up the area and work at decreasing the bogginess of the soil. The trees were trimmed and existing drains cleared. One of the first tasks was to get the soil tested to establish nothing toxic was present. Over the next few months we dug drainage ditches, built compost bins from donated pallets, put in paths and covered them with chipped tree clippings. We collected horse manure from a variety of horse enthusiasts. Local people responded generously to our requests for tools and equipment. The parts for garden sheds were transported to the site and erected there by group members and other volunteers. We got wheel barrows, many tools, and an outdoor table and chairs. Sets of tubs and a bath were donated and pressed into service as herb garden and worm farm. Another generous resident allowed us to place a water pipe from his property to give us a workable water supply for the garden. Several raised beds were established and other areas dug. A few months after we began work on the garden, a workshop was held with Transition Valley 473 at the site. A good turnout of local people were introduced to no dig gardening, establishing compost, Bokashi compost, planting fruit trees, and understanding soil.