FOOD, SOIL AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT

Spring is in the air, and across Kaipara, there’s a growing buzz as locals dig into the season, prepping soil, composting, and planting the seeds of future harvests.

With warmer days and longer evenings, gardens are being revived and food resilience is firmly back on the agenda, championed by Sustainable Kaipara and its Maungaturoto Edible Village Project, led by Josie Gritten. Now officially underway with the creation of the Centennial Hall Orchard, a beautiful step forward in building a more food-secure future for our region.

Designed as a permaculture orchard, the project aims to strengthen Maungaturoto’s resilience in the face of economic and resource uncertainty, while also sparking similar initiatives across Kaipara.

The first working bee was a fantastic success, with 25 passionate locals coming together to transform a blank canvas of kikuyu grass into the first stages of a thriving edible landscape.

With generous donations of mulch, silage, and a mountain of cardboard – plus plenty of community muscle – and support from Kai Ora Fund and Te Tai Tokerau Impact Fund, the day came alive with muddy boots, warm smiles, shared kai, and the unmistakable energy of people doing something meaningful.

For those that missed the first planting, this is just the beginning, with more planting days, workshops and opportunities to get involved on the way.

On Saturday 13 September from 2pm at Centennial Hall, Sustainable Kaipara will host a Compost Workshop and Introduction to the Maungaturoto Edible Village Project. This hands-on, interactive workshop will teach attendees how to turn their kitchen and garden waste into living, nutrient-rich compost. Helpful for both newcomers and those wanting to deepen their composting skills, this is a chance to explore different systems of compost bins, worm farms and bokashi, while contributing to a more sustainable lifestyle. The vision behind the Edible Village Project will be shared along with how locals can be part of shaping shared, productive spaces in the community.

Spring activity continues with a compost workshop in Mangawhai on Saturday 20 September, followed by two gardening workshops Saturday 4 and 18 October, covering gardening through the seasons and ways with weeds, facilitated by Judy Keats, a permaculture and regenerative agriculture practitioner. Bookings for these workshops are essential via the Sustainable Kaipara website.

www.SustainableKaipara.org | steph@SustainableKaipara.org