Gardening for good: A community hub where everyone can contribute

A lush, green oasis is well-hidden in the middle of Royal Oak in suburban Tāmaki Makaurau.

As you pass the reception desk at CCS Disability Action’s office and go down the side of the building, your senses are hit by a variety of smells. My nose is overwhelmed with the changing scents as I wander down the path due to the vast range of different plants that line the footpath.

It’s this garden bed along the entrance path that community garden coordinator Brendan Murphy loves in the space. “It's the smell of those,” he says, pointing to the jasmine plant. 

“In the summer, you come in here and you walk in in the morning and there's the sounds of the birds and the bees and everything. And just this whole place smells nice and you can see all the things growing.”

But the smell of jasmine is only his second favourite part of the community garden. “The people is my main thing,” he says. “That's my highlight of this place.”

The Dig It! Royal Oak Organic Garden was established in 1982. Originally a market garden, the land was donated to CCS Disability Action.

While they did sell produce to make money back in the 80s, the main reason the garden was  established was to teach disabled people about horticulture and prepare them for work. 

Previously a draftsman and saw doctor, Brendan had a workplace accident and felt pulled to work within the disability community. He started as a volunteer at the garden a decade ago, then employed as the Community Garden Coordinator.

These days, The Dig It! garden produce shop is closed but it’s still a place where anyone can learn about horticulture and develop their skills.

Brendan says it’s a place where everyone can contribute.

“[The community garden] highlights to me how some people would love to work but don't get that chance. And this gives them that sort of experience and they come and they get tasked to do it.”

He says people’s tasks are based around their horticultural abilities and interests. He recalls a volunteer who really wanted to make fried potato chips. So they harvested potatoes from scratch and when the spuds were ready, they cooked them for everyone to share.

“We just had chips for the day. So it was quite cool,” Brendan says. “They were really nice actually. They were all fresh potatoes.”

The other produce growing in the garden includes kumara, beans, feijoas, bananas, apple, apricot, plums, limes and lemons. When the produce is ready to harvest, it’s usually shared among the volunteers.

“I'd like it to be a place a bit more thriving and more of a community hub where everybody can come in and mix and mingle but also to grow their own food,” Brendan says.

Throughout the week, there are around 25 people who come work on the gardens - some of them their own garden beds, while others help around the general garden. 

One of the volunteers is Daniel Clarke; he’s been a regular for six years.  

He mows the lawns, trims the trees, does the weeding and waters the plants. Daniel is adamant the plants will thrive under his care.

Pointing to one of the garden beds, Daniel proudly says: “I plant them myself.”

Before the pandemic, there were up to 75 volunteers a week, Brendan says, but after the lockdowns the volunteer numbers dropped. One of their aspirations for the future is to see the community garden brimming with more volunteers again.

And it’s a space that’s been designed for all - the garden was upgraded to have extra wide concrete paths, rather than uneven brick footpaths. 

“I found walking on it with my ankle, sometimes I would turn my ankle in holes and things,” Brendan says. 

The garden beds are also raised with extra wide wooden edges so people can sit on the edge and easily reach across from their wheelchairs. Brendan has also adapted some of the equipment and added extra wheels to some wheelbarrows so they are easier to roll.

Along with gaining new skills, Brendan also sees potential for disabled people to find ways to be self-sustainable through contributing to the community garden. 

“Just equip people with skills to help them through life,” he says. “It's seeing people come in and actually grow. I've always said we don't grow plants, we grow people.”

For more information about the Dig It! Royal Oak Community Garden, visit the website, contact Brendan.Murphy@ccsDisabilityAction.org.nz or follow them on Facebook. 

📸 Photo credit: William Sangster 

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