Helping our Community

Hi all,

My husband and I are local residents of Rongotea, and we’re in the early stages of establishing a community garden on a separate, vacant quarter-acre section.

The aim of this project is to support local families — particularly as many are doing it tough — by providing access to fresh produce, learning opportunities, and a shared space that brings people together.

We are both actively involved in the Rongotea community. We are members of Lions, and I also volunteer my time running the local community newspaper, so community connection and accessibility are at the heart of this project.

Our initial plan includes:

* 10 raised garden beds (4.8m x 2m)

* 12 laying hens

* 8 established fruit trees

We are donating the use of the land, tools, a storage shed, planting plans, and ongoing coordination. We’ll also be engaging the community through working bees, partnering with local schools so classes can adopt a garden bed and learn how to grow their own food, and managing pest control and garden maintenance.

We’re grateful to already have commitments from a few companies but need a tad more to get this project started and help with the upkeep.

If this is something you’d like to support or learn more about, we’d love to hear from you. If you know of anyone else who may be interested in supporting this project, please feel free to pass this on to them.

Every contribution — big or small — will help make this a sustainable, community-led project

Kind regards,

SJ & Martin

sjroundill@gmail.com