Waitohi Picton Community Garden’s education shelter has taken shape after nearly a year of planning and three months of construction.
Project manager Sarah Huntley says the goal of the shelter is to bring more school groups into the garden to gather, share knowledge and learn about community planting.
With nine local businesses funding the build through donations and services, Sarah says the committee is grateful to everyone who helped make the project possible.
“So many people were involved, giving their time to help get it done, because otherwise it just would have been unachievable.”
Grant Wilson built the structure with help from the Queen Charlotte College Building Academy. Crafar Crouch and Clarke’s Drainage also contributed construction services.
Garden volunteer Philip Sim, who has an ancestral connection to the land, says he is pleased to see the site become an important part of the Picton community.
Before construction began, Philip laid four kōhatu mauri (life force stones) from the nearby Waipuna Stream in the centre of the shelter space.
“They connect the environment of the building to the stories of the ancestral whenua, while also safeguarding the wellbeing of all who visit the community garden,” he says.
He adds that the garden has become about more than just growing food, serving as a place for community and connection.
“It means people will come here and feel safe, and they can go in [the shelter] and learn some things too,” he says.
Waikawa Bay School is currently growing kūmara tipu and will plant a garden bed at the community garden in November. The team hopes the shelter will provide a practical place for groups to take cover from the elements and encourage them to spend more time learning in the space.
The next steps include creating seating and learning facilities in the shelter and eventually installing Māori carvings on the walls.
