Edible village plan takes root

A Maungatūroto woman’s inspiring vision to establish a thriving food network in her town, with specially designed community gardens, is about to sprout.

Created by Josie Gritten, the Maungatūroto Edible Village Project (MEVP) aims to create a food resilience network for the community, starting with an orchard consisting of several permaculture-style guilds around the town’s Centennial Hall.

“Last winter, some Maungatūroto residents and I planted a number of fruit trees in the View Street playground,” Gritten says. “In years to come, these will provide shade as well as fruit for those enjoying the park.”

After seeing the effectiveness and value of the planting, the Maungatūroto Residents Association and the Centennial Hall Committee gave Gritten the go-ahead to expand on the project.

“So now we can create an orchard around the hall. This will begin the process of future-proofing the Maungatūroto community against economic instability and potential resource shortage,” she says. “We’ve been so blessed to be the grateful recipients of grant funding via the Te Tai Tokerau Impact Fund and the Kai Ora Fund.”

Permaculture guilds are ‘strategically designed plant communities’ with co-functioning trees, herbs and flowers nourishing and supporting each other’s growth to maximise productivity.

“Guilds create stability by working with all areas and layers of production, nourishing below as well as above ground. They’re relatively easy to care for, support a wide variety of insect life and provide food for the community.

“They also look quite pretty.”

Gritten, who is also a professional photographer, has been working behind the scenes on the MEVP, including applying for funding grants and is now ready to bring her vision to the community.

 “It’s an exciting project, and now I need help to make it a brilliant success. Right now, we need people to collect and save coffee grounds, autumn leaves, clean grass clippings – but no invasive weeds, please – understory plants such as herbs, comfrey and flattened, non-shiny cardboard.”

Items can be brought to Maungatūroto Centennial Hall’s working bee on June 28.

Gritten has vast experience in setting up gardens for communities.

While living in Wales in 2013, she developed a Community Gardening Scheme that she ran with the help of local children. The planting design proved so popular, it became a blueprint for similar projects rolled out across North Wales.

“We created many gardens and orchard areas within our village and they still stand as a lasting legacy to cooperative growth,” she says.

“Now and then, I’m sent photos of how beautifully the trees are flourishing and how much joy they bring to the local people.”

Since returning to New Zealand, she has steadily worked towards her passion and mission of creating gardens to strengthen community resilience around food.

“The Maungatūroto Edible Village Project is a prime example of solving global problems with local solutions,” Gritten says.“The ultimate goal is to create a food resilience network throughout the community that will serve as an inspiration for the whole of the Kaipara and beyond.”

The Centennial Hall working bee on June 28, starts at 10am; all welcome.

For more information about the project, email Josie Gritte at josiegritten@gmail.com