Did you know that right here in Oranga we have a lovely and very productive community garden? If you haven't been to the Kai Ora Garden on Oranga Ave, it's the perfect time to get involved and help grow delicious fresh kai for whānau and the wider community. 

The Kai Ora Garden is part of the Oranga Development. From the outset the garden has been a partnership between Kāinga Ora, Piritahi and the local community. We wanted to give something back to the neighbourhood and learned from locals that a community garden was high on their wish list! Piritahi, our civil alliance partner, prepared the garden site, and a community kaitiaki group, led by the amazing Jeanette Thorne continues to coordinate planting, distribution of kai and access to the garden. 

Jeanette’s next steps are to transform some of Oranga’s berms into places where fruit trees, native plants, trees and herb gardens could grow. There is also talk of using some empty land in Fergusson Park to plant another large communal veggie garden, plant more fruit trees, create a Māori food forest and develop fitness and creative play areas for local whānau. 

If you’d like to learn more and get involved in this kaupapa, please contact Jeanette Thorne on 021 128 4493.