Bay Harbour: January 24, 2024

Bay Harbour News Wednesday January 24 2024
8
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Cultivating
food security
and gardening
know-how
• By Dylan Smits
THE MANAGER of a
community garden in Sumner is
taking crop growing back to its
roots with the goal of creating a
self-sustaining food source.
Gavin Hawke, 54, has a passion
for horticulture, and he’s
using his skills in an effort to
increase local food security.
‘There’s nothing simpler in life
then actually building soil and
growing something. We’re trying
to show people how easy it is to
grow naturally.”
He Mara Kai – meaning ‘The
Food Garden’ – is a 2000m 2
section located on the corner of
Paisley St and Wakefield Ave.
It follows two key horticultural
principles
that guide it towards being
a fertile and self-sustaining food
source, said Hawke.
The first is hügelkultur or
“mound culture”, a technique
where a mound constructed
from decaying wood and plant
materials is used as a plant bed.
“Wood will take 20 years to
break down and you won’t need
any fertiliser,” he said.
“The wood underneath works
as a slow release nutrient. It also
acts as a sponge for water.”
No digging is required.
“It’s about how to grow food
with the least amount of work.”
The second technique, permaculture,
is an approach to
land management where plants
are allowed to grow freely in an
unstructured layout.
Hawke said this
encourages a
self-seeding garden, which will
eventually require little human
maintenance.
“We just want to help nature
take its natural course. We’re
pretty unique here because
there’s no structure really.”
The garden has 40 mounds of
different sizes which grow a wide
range of fruits, vegetables and
flowers.
Except for the first time a new
seed is planted, the garden does
not buy seeds.
“With permaculture,
everything self-seeds,” Hawke
said.
He started developing
the garden
on land he
leases from the city council,
opposite his home, in June 2022.
A software designer by day, he
spends his evenings and weekends
managing the garden.
“There’s so much food there.
At any time of the year there’s
always something to eat.”
With the help of two volunteers,
Hawke is developing high
quality soil for the garden with
locally sourced compost.
They collect horse manure,
green bin waste, and coffee
grinds and food scraps from
local cafes.
“Eventually we will end up
with beautiful soil that is filled
with nutrients.”
Hawke’s long-term goal is
to increase food security and
demonstrate the effectiveness of
mound culture and permaculture.
“That garden could easily
self-sustain 20 different families.”
Expanding his methods to
other empty land in Sumner
could increase food security even
further, Hawke said.
He wants the garden to
become a more collaborative
effort in the future, with more
volunteers.
“People who can’t grow
or haven’t got the space are
welcome to come and help out
and enjoy the harvest.”
• People interested
in volunteering are
encouraged to head
along to the garden on
weekends
GREEN THUMB: Gavin Hawke manages the He Mara Kai community garden in Sumner. He’s motivated by increasing food security and spreading
awareness of mound culture and permaculture.
TUES 30 JAN 9AM - 3PM
HAGLEY CAFE