Thanks to Waitaki Community Gardens Trust for a some amazing photos and an insightful accountability report providing a great summary on the success of their first stage of development at the new community garden area.

The first stage of development in the new community gardens area is now complete, with significant improvements made to the accessways, formation of swales, and planting of a corridor of 2000 native trees with the help of the community. 

Otago Community Trust was pleased to support the first stage of development via a $5,000 grant.

Over two weekends in June, the Waitaki Community Gardens Trust hosted five working bees for planting days with an enormous turnout of approximately 120 adults and 45 children. The Trust highlight that the benefits for mental health, physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as community connectivity were enormous.

The landscape in the new site of the Waitaki Community Gardens provides a native corridor of vegetation for native birds between Fenwick Park and the Public Gardens. It also provides a native revegetation site for teaching about local biodiversity as well as a place for locals to enjoy.

The Trust has had two local primary schools on site with 200 students to plant natives, learn about local biodiversity and revegetation and learn mindfulness skills. In the past 6 months, they have also delivered three courses in sustainable living and permaculture to a total of 61 students. 

The nursery is doing an amazing job and over the past year grew and nurtured over 5000 seedlings.

They intend to continue developing this new area of the Waitaki Community Gardens and build a Folk School for sharing sustainable living skills.

Ka pai Waitaki Community Gardens Trust may the great work continue. 

Supporting Articles and Video:

https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/native-species-planting-day-family-affair