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Green Island’s community garden sits on a generous piece of land behind St Peter Chanel church. Fruit and vegetables are raised by volunteers.
They reap what they sow – and others from the community are invited to enjoy some too.
The community project began back in 2015 when Catholic Bishop of Dunedin Michael Dooley was the parish priest.
Marion Thomas, who heads the team of volunteers, says Dooley “couldn’t have been more helpful”.
Numerous volunteers, businesses, the Community Constable, the Greater Green Island Community Network and the Otago Community Trust (OCT) have backed the project.
Seven years after the initial ideas, the land on the “amazing site” is healthy and well-fertilised. Grass clippings from St Peter Chanel school grounds help support the compost, along with donated horse manure and spent oats.
Sheds and a tunnel house have been donated and are well used.
Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and pumpkins are popular vegetables but “anything that’s fresh and edible” is sought after.
An OCT grant in 2018 enabled Green Island’s community gardeners to buy some fruit trees.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise,” Thomas says. Today, apples, pears, plums and other stone fruit now line the garden perimeter.
“We planted known varieties as opposed to heritage varieties that people now don’t recognise.”
Volunteers have found using old practices to manage garden pests and revitalise the garden are often useful. So is drawing on older gardeners’ knowledge and experience.
A great educational service is provided by a retired orchardist who teaches how to prune, shape and spray the trees to enhance health and fruit production.
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