The Green Island Community Garden

On a generous piece of land behind St Peter Chanel church, the garden was started in 2015, Marion Thomas heading the team of volunteers. The Green Island Community Garden, under the stewardship of Marion Thomas, is a thriving example of what can be achieved when a community comes together with a shared purpose. Marion’s goal is to inspire people to grow their own vegetables, believing that gardening offers not only food security but also the joy of eating fresh, home-grown produce.

The community garden is a resourceful place where anyone can learn the basics of gardening. Whether it’s seed sowing days, hands-on planting, or composting lessons, the garden provides everything you need to get started. But Green Island Community Garden is about more than just gardening, it’s about building and strengthening community bonds. Marion encourages people to come together, whether by helping in the garden or contributing in other ways, like sharing baking. The garden thrives on collective effort, living up to the old adage that many hands make light work. As Marion says "Do the mahi, eat the kai".

The garden has an extensive range of vegetables, fruit, herbs and other items. It’s not all fruit and vegetables, though. Green Island Sheds made a chook tractor for the project and there are two hens in residence, Lucy and Jane. When the hens have worked over one piece of ground, clearing it of bugs, the tractor is moved, leaving droppings to fertilise the soil.

An Otago Community Trust grant in 2018 enabled the purchase of fruit trees — "We wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise" — so apples, pears, plums and other stone fruit now line the garden perimeter and is supported by the Catholic Church and local community donations.

Ultimately, the Green Island Community Garden is about more than just growing food? it?s about fostering a sense of community and encouraging everyone to dig in and get involved.

Check out the gardens in our directory to get involved: https://greatergreenisland.nz/directory/7/green-island-community-garden?category=5

Check out the gardens facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GreenIslandCommunityGarden/