Community Gardening

A community garden is a single piece of land gardened by a group of people. The garden may consist of individual plots (sometimes called allotments) and/or areas that are gardened communally.

Many WIC members are interested in participating in community gardens, or at least finding out more. Such gardens provide an opportunity to share gardening knowledge and work in a sociable environment. It often leads to sharing seeds, produce and recipes - made all the more exciting when so many different ethnicities with our traditional plants and cuisines are working together!

We are most likely to maintain involvement in a community garden if it is close to where we live. There are a number of community gardens with membership open to the general public already in existence in Hamilton and many would welcome more members. There are also a number of groups considering starting community gardens in the area.

So that you can find out about the gardens already running that you may want to join and also to learn from their experiences, we are organising a Waikato Community Garden Network Meeting on the afternoon of Thursday 22 September in Frankton, Hamilton. More details will follow - watch this discussion page...

Some of the groups that joined WIC have their own land, and we are working one by one to help them develop their gardens. The first is in Tokoroa.

Most WIC members live in the Nawton area of Hamilton, where there is no existing community garden. The Salvation Army in nearby Grandview (where some of our Grow Your Own Vegetables From Seed workshops were held) was thinking about starting a community garden when we approached them about their land: we are now looking to work together on a joint community garden project - watch this space!

Photo: Katherine Hay of the Waikato Environment Centre talking about community gardens at our first WIC meeting. (Jovi, HMS)

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on September 20, 2011 at 10:06pm

There will be a Waikato Community Gardens Network Meeting this Thursday 22 September 1-4 pm at the Samoan Methodist Church, 73 Higgins Road, Frankton, Hamilton (near the Duke Street corner). This is a chance to learn from experienced community gardeners about what it takes to run a community garden, to find out about gardens already operating in your area and about organisations that support community gardens. There will also be some information about planting food plants in public places.

Event organised by WIC.

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on September 24, 2011 at 4:40pm

About 30 people attended the Waikato Community Gardens Network Meeting. We had a such a useful time we voted to meet regularly twice a year!

We will post the notes from the meeting to Ooooby once they've been typed up and also a list of Waikato community gardens...

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on September 24, 2011 at 4:36pm

Proposed Community Garden in the Nawton area

WIC and the Salvation Army are planning a public meeting on Saturday 8th October, 2-4 pm open to people from the Nawton/Grandview area interested in being involved in a community garden on Salvation Army land at the proposed site: 180 Grand View Road, Nawton.

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on October 5, 2011 at 9:41pm

Waikato Community Gardens Network Meeting minutes from 22 Sep 2011 - thank you Ginny!

Attachments:

WCGN Minutes 2011 Sep.pdf, 186 KB

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on October 5, 2011 at 10:14pm

List of Waikato Community Gardens Jul 2011

If you are interested in joining a community garden, check this list to see which is closest to you.

Attachments:

Waikato Community Garden List 2011 07.doc, 56 KB

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on October 6, 2011 at 10:55am

Reminder: Public Meeting about the Proposed Salvation Army Grandview Community Garden
Date: Saturday October the 8th 2-4 pm (this Saturday)
Venue: Salvation Army hall, 180 Grandview Road (where we held the Grow Your Own Vegetables from Seed workshops)
Transport: There is a bus stop directly outside: it is on the Frankton (number 8) bus route, ph Busit 0800-4287-5463.

In this meeting we want to find out:
• How many people want to garden at this site?
• How often would you visit the garden, and when?
• What gardening resources do you have?
• What kind of garden you would like (allotments, communal, mixture)?
• Do you want to be involved in designing the layout of the garden?

The meeting will include a tour of the proposed site.

If you are interested but can’t come, please try to send a representative. If that is not possible please contact Kathryn at K'Aute Pasifika and answer the above questions.

Permalink Reply by Roxy Hart on October 6, 2011 at 12:24pm

Hi Kathryn, this is Roxy from 'Our village garden, Te kete o TeAroha.

I was hoping that I could come to your meeting for the salvation army community garden, but unfortunately I have to work!

Anyway I was wondering if this would be a good place to advertise our 'open day' for our garden.

Permalink Reply by Roxy Hart on October 17, 2011 at 12:22pm

Our village garden, Te kete o TeAroha Open day

When; Sunday 13th november 2011

Where; Next to TeAroha police station- Rewi Street

What; Kids games, sausage sizzle, garden tours, cake n drinks, sunflower planting, plot registation

IF IT RAINS.....We will be across the road in a large shed eating cake, n waiting for the sun to return

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on October 21, 2011 at 10:01am

Community Gardens Development Day

Date: Thursday 27^th October

Venue: Salvation Army Centre, 180 Grand View Road, Grandview, Hamilton.

Public Transport: There is a bus stop directly outside: it is on the Frankton (number 8) bus route, Busit phone 0800-4287-5463or http://www.busit.co.nz/Hamilton-routes/Frankton/

Presenter: Richard Main, Project Manager, Gardens4Health

11am-12noon -The G4H Community Garden Profile & Guidelines For Establishing a Community Garden seminar

12 noon – 1.15pm - Lunch time forum covering G4H Experiences and Views -Issues..…….Observations……….Trends…….Outcomes. (Shared lunch – please bring a plate of food)

1.15 – approx. 4 pm - Site Analysis and Explore Wetland and Rain Garden concepts, possibly also discuss Weed ID and Management - using the Salvation Army proposed community garden site. (WIC to provide afternoon tea)

No bookings required.

The seminar, Guidelines for Establishing a Community Garden, covers strategic planning, funding, legal issues, allotment agreements, liability insurance, the make-up of a core leadership team, etc.

The first and last sessions will mostly appeal to people starting community gardens, while the lunchtime session is of interest to community gardens in general. All welcome to any or all of the sessions.

Gardens4Health supports groups to set up and run community gardens in the Auckland region – currently about 50 gardens.

This free event is brought to you by Gardens4Health, the Waikato International Community Gardening Project (WIC), K’Aute Pasifika Services and the Salvation Army Centre, Grandview.

Permalink Reply by WIC Garden Project on November 14, 2011 at 7:58pm

Handouts from Community Gardens Development Day

Richard Main of Gardens4Health has kindly made his handouts available to share - they are available to download below.

The sample community garden policy (Ranui) he showed is available at: http://www.ranui.org.nz/page.php?view=the_community_garden_policy

Attachments: