Published 1 May 2020

Your Sustainable Home - Growing in your community webinar

Did you miss our ‘Growing in your community webinar’ webinar? No worries, here’s an overview of it, including a recording of the webinar + helpful links and supporting information for you to check out at your own leisure.

Session 4: Growing in your community

Hopefully, after session 1 ‘Make your Bed and Grow in it’, session 2 ‘Grow Food Now’ , session 3 ‘Composting at home’ you’re ready for the fourth and final part of this webinar series ‘ Growing in your community’.

In this final session, our panellists discuss how we can use our food gardens to connect with others and create a more sharing world. Tune in to learn about why community is important, hear about local projects and get inspired to join one or even start your own. 

Panellists & Chair

• Sheldon Levet, a Farm Manager at Kaicycle 

• Saskia Wanklyn, Community Activator at Miramar & Maupuia Community Centre

• Grant Corbishley of Houghton Bay Farms

• Susie Robertson - Community Manager, Sustainability Trust (Chair)

Still, want to know more? See the further resources below the video.

To keep up to date with gardening projects around Wellington - Join our gardening mailing list

Why is community important and what does gardening have to do with it?

If our current situation has taught us anything, it’s that everyone needs food security and to feel connected to others, even while staying physically distant. Bringing those two things together is the best way to achieve both. We’re all stronger together.

Lots of people around the world have used this time to start growing food. It gives us a sense of control over our situation, secures our future food supply, and helps our overall mental and physical wellbeing. Community gardens are one great way to connect people and food growing, but how can we bring together neighbourhoods through our own back and front yard gardens?

Here are some ideas to strengthen your community through food growing at home (note all are subject to COVID-19 level restrictions - some will require waiting, but you can get planning now!): 

• Share your surplus - a simple box outside your gate will do.

• Grow in threes - one for you, one for the bugs, and one for your neighbour!

• Share garden tools and resources - you could even start a local tool library.

• Host a crop swap, or join a local one.

• Grow veggies in your front garden where people can see them - you’ll inspire others and it gives lots of opportunities for meeting and chatting over the fence.

• Once you’ve gotten your food garden going, spread the joy and help others to start theirs!

• Expand your compost so that you can take your neighbours’ food scraps too. ShareWaste will help you connect.

• Celebrate the harvest and throw a neighbourhood potluck. 

Wellington urban agriculture and community building projects to get involved in

• Crop Swap Te Whanganui a Tara - held monthly in Newtown.

• Kaicycle have recently launched Gardens for Communities to create a mutual aid network to help get food growing in as many streets and neighbourhoods as possible.

• Wellington is full of community gardens you can visit and volunteer at.

• Community composting is coming to Wellington this year with the establishment of three pilot hubs.

• Regenerate Now is a nationwide project championing regenerative food production.

• Food is Free and Fruit Tree Guardians are Sustainability Trust’s urban agriculture programmes. Their main focus is on education through workshops and supporting people to set up gardens.

• GrowSpace Wellington is a social enterprise committed to helping more people grow food in Wellington.

• Seeds to Feeds is a new festival connecting communities through locally grown neighbourhood feasts.

You don’t need much to get started, but over time it can be useful to invest in some quality tools. Check out our Ecoshop’s garden collection:

• Bokashi Bin - the Bokashi Bin system is by far the easiest way to get composting at home

• Bokashi pet poo composter - Got pets? Dispose of their presents the safe way with a Bokashi pet poo composter

• Worm farm - Worm is the word, not bird. Get a worm farm and let them turn your food waste into black gold

• Gardening calendar - Never miss a seasonal vege with this awesome easy-to-follow, what to plant and when gardening calendar - specific to the Wellington region

• Ecowool mulch mats - protect your plants with a 100% biodegradable wool mulch mat. Help retain moisture and boost root grown all while maintaining warmer soil (especially good in winter) 

• Hemp twine -  fairly self-explanatory, twine made out of hemp. Perfect for tying things up in the garden, but is also great for kids crafts!

• Bio grow fertili pots -  start your seed in a pot and then plant it directly into your garden. It’s that simple

• Garden ecoseeds -  you can’t grow a garden without seeds.. and lucky for you we’ve got lots of them

Need tools? Check out our awesome range of Niwashi garden tools made from the highest quality Japanese steel and craftsmanship. 

• Niwashi garden tool 

• Niashi long handle 

• Niwashi digi digi 

• Niwashi grubber 

Got more questions? Get in touch at advice@sustaintrust.org.nz