Tyndall Road garden flourishes

IN THE HEART OF KAITI: John Anderson, Dave Kerekere, Soraya Pohatu and William Wharehinga, are nurturing the Tyndall Road Community Garden. Picture by Paul Rickard

A FORMER horse paddock in Kaiti has been converted into a fully-operational garden in nine months.

Soraya Pohatu and her Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) horticulture students are proud of what they have achieved at the Tyndall Road Community Garden since Ngati Porou gave them the land.

So far it has rows of vegetables, a fruit orchard, a medicine and herb garden, a chicken coop, an outdoor seating area and a pizza oven.

Some produce will be ready for people in the community to share by the end of the month and this will be placed on a table near the entrance.

Ms Pohatu says the community has responded positively to the garden and she hopes this will continue.

“There seems to be more interest from community members. People have donated things like kina shells for liquid fertiliser and netting for protecting produce and the chicken coop.

“The neighbours have been really supportive and we have been dishing out eggs to the kohanga and nearby houses.”

The garden is next to Te Whakaruruhau Kohanga Reo and administrator Alana Irwin says it has been great resource for them.

“Horticulture is part of the kohanga reo curriculum. The children and staff have been learning a lot.”

Children add life to the garden and it is lovely to have them there, Ms Pohatu says. The kohanga reo was established in 2007 and has been looked after by the community.

Ms Pohatu hopes the garden can also become a “pride of place” in Kaiti.

“We want it to be a space that the people are proud to look after in the community. People are talking about it. You cannot help but stop and have a look at it when driving past.”

There is a lot of work that needs doing early next year, such as harvesting, pruning and re-planting.

Ms Pohatu, along with three EIT students and people living nearby, will help maintain the garden over summer.

Her free EIT horticulture course has finished for the year and she is hopeful that enough people will apply for the 2016 course to continue developing the garden.

Future developments will include a chicken run, shelter breaks to protect vulnerable produce from the wind and a sign outside the garden.

Many businesses and groups have helped develop it so far. Bunnings Warehouse gives discounts on supplies and has donated plants. Te Puni Kokiri gave $4000, Fulton Hogan supplied stone chips to make a path, and East Tec and Roberts Tree Surgeons Ltd donated mulch.

If anyone has suggestions, or would like to get involved, they should call Ms Pohatu at EIT.