All Saints, all in!
Story contributed by Hana Leofo and Nicola Hoggard-Creegan.
Nicola is a member of All Saints Ponsonby and Hana is a Venn Fellow interning with A Rocha, who visited the community garden to help put together this story.
Late in 2020 All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby formed an eco-committee and went through the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet to ascertain areas to begin working on. A number of areas were identified through the worksheet, with the establishment of a community garden being determined as the most important. We liked the idea of a community garden because the church had available land, it is a very visible project and one of our church members has the expertise to make it happen.
To kickstart the All Saints community garden, one very enthusiastic parishioner, Dr. Paul Charlick, built and put in three raised beds and a few other planting areas beside the church car park. On the other side of the carpark he planted three fruit trees (lemon, apple and orange), along with grape vines. A watering system was also installed, utilising pre-existing rainwater tanks under the adjacent vicarage. The underground tanks collect rainwater from the vicarage roofs and pump this through a pipe to the church property, allowing for utilisation in the garden.
All Saints parishioner, Dr. Paul Charlick showing us around the garden.
Fruit trees and grape vine.
In December, All Saints had a grand working bee engaging the wider church community and furthering progress on the garden. Compost from the deteriorating old compost bins was used to fill in the new garden beds, and two new bins were established. Paul chose the new compost bins, Earthmaker, as he has used them at his own home and they’ve proven to be effective, efficient and long lasting. The 3-tier system allows a progression of the green cuttings from the top level through to the next and finally to the bottom level. The system allows air to circulate and heat to dissipate as the organic waste decomposes into compost. Paul hopes to add worms soon to see if they can thrive as they do in the compost bin he has at home.
Plastic sheeting topped with white shells was placed around the beds, chosen for their easy maintenance and aesthetic appeal. Shells also have the added bonus of deterring snails due to their sharp edges. The garden was planted with tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, kale, greens and herbs.
Vegetable bed.
New “Earthmaker” compost bins.
Over the summer of 2021/22, All Saints have found that people are beginning to come in and sit around on the edges of the gardens to eat their lunches. The local community are also picking some of the produce, something that was hoped for in the planning process. In a time of lockdown and pandemic in Auckland, the garden is facilitating an opportune bridging of the church with the community.
A grand opening for the garden is planned for Spring 2022, following the current COVID peak, and when the garden is planted with new spring produce. This will also be a networking event, with other churches and local community garden centres invited to attend as well.
Outside of the garden progress, All Saints has established a new bike rack outside the hall and hosted an e-waste day in February, bringing many people to the church. Other recycling plans are also in the pipe-line with a sense of excitement around what is to come!
Watering system that utilises pre-existing rainwater tanks under the adjacent vicarage.
New bike rack outside the church hall.