Garden to teach a productive lesson
CBEC EcoSolutions and a group of community volunteers have carried out two working bees - or group clean-up efforts - to prepare the piece of land; which is between La Bella Pizza and Pasta and the Sun Wah Chinese Restaurant, under the billboards opposite the Grand Hotel.
The purpose of the working bees was to mulch the whole area with bark and cardboard, in preparation for planting.
EcoSolutions manager Monique Portegys said the purpose of the garden will be to demonstrate to people how to grow a productive garden in a small space.
"We will be harvesting rain water from the nearby buildings, making our own compost and demonstrating organic gardening methods such as the no-dig method and companion planting," she said.
EcoSolutions are hoping to divert some of the organic waste, such as coffee grounds and paper napkins from local cafes, and turn it into rich new soil which can be used for growing herbs, vegetables and flowers, she said.
They will be running the first compost workshop at the community garden on Saturday, January 19. People can also learn how to use old wooden pallets to build their compost for free.
The workshop is set to cover the basics of composting-. There is no charge for the workshop thanks to funding from the Whangarei District Council. If you would like to register please phone Anna Murphy on 4399710 or email anna@cbec.co.nz.
