Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Lions club helps restore destroyed Herbertville community garden

By Sue Emeny
Hawkes Bay Today·
8 Jun, 2023 01:08 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rongotea Lions Club members work on filling the newly constructed garden beds with compost.

Rongotea Lions Club members work on filling the newly constructed garden beds with compost.

Cyclone Gabrielle has led to a strong bond being forged between two small rural communities and the creation of an invaluable asset.

A group of Rongotea and District Lions Club members travelled to Herbertville to spend an entire day rebuilding the community garden at the Herbertville camping ground.

The result was outstanding. What had been a single raised garden bed was transformed into five separate beds and an orchard, all completely fenced off.

The original garden bed was established during the first Covid lockdown and was looked after by local residents who could see the long-term benefits of creating a community garden.

But when Cyclone Gabrielle hit, the village was badly affected. It was cut off for two days, the hotel, homes and baches were flooded and some subsequently red and yellow stickered.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It also destroyed the community garden and the children’s play area, and left a 45cm layer of silt throughout the campground.

It was through Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis that Rongotea Lions became involved in the rebuilding of the garden.

“Many people came forward to offer to help the community but many of them weren’t able to spend the amount of time needed to plan and carry out the work,” Collis said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“I knew several members of the club and rebuilding the garden seemed the perfect project for them.”

The Lions accepted the challenge and a member visited Herbertville to assess what was needed.

Ultimately a group of 30 Lions members, wives, partners and children travelled out to Herbertville.

Lions club secretary John Silvester said only three or four members of the group had ever visited Herbertville before, but he said many of them would be returning.

That Rongotea Lions Club would undertake such a large project outside of their district was not unusual.

“We’re a rural club. We have a lot of members who are farmers or who work in the farming industry so we do support rural areas,” Silvester said.

“But it’s not just about getting out and doing the work, there is a strong social element to it as well.”

Donations came from many sources and included heavily discounted building materials, a truckload of compost, bedding plants and fruit trees.

A garden seat and picnic table were added and a Herbertville resident was supplying some paving stones.

Collis said Lions club members had taken the village to heart and many said they would be returning as visitors.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In appreciation for the work carried out by the Lions and members of the Herbertville community, dinner was provided in the hall.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Editorial

Editorial: Coronial inquest into deaths in flooding will hurt - hopefully it will also help

07 Jul 05:00 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

'Amazing achievements': Hawke's Bay Export Awards finalists announced

07 Jul 04:25 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

‘He’s smooth. He’s a practised thief’: Former club CEO had a secret criminal past

07 Jul 04:10 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Editorial: Coronial inquest into deaths in flooding will hurt - hopefully it will also help

Editorial: Coronial inquest into deaths in flooding will hurt - hopefully it will also help

07 Jul 05:00 PM

OPINION: 19 lives are thought to have been lost in the immediate and long-term aftermath.

'Amazing achievements': Hawke's Bay Export Awards finalists announced

'Amazing achievements': Hawke's Bay Export Awards finalists announced

07 Jul 04:25 AM
‘He’s smooth. He’s a practised thief’: Former club CEO had a secret criminal past

‘He’s smooth. He’s a practised thief’: Former club CEO had a secret criminal past

07 Jul 04:10 AM
One lane reopens after diesel spill on Napier-Taupō road

One lane reopens after diesel spill on Napier-Taupō road

07 Jul 04:03 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP