Triangle Park Community Teaching Garden is a vibrant hub where people of all ages come together to learn, grow food, and live sustainably. Through hands-on working bees and masterclasses, the community has co-created and cared for this unique space. Here, locals work side by side, sharing knowledge and skills to build a sustainable future. The garden is not just a place to grow food, but a living classroom where everyone can be inspired, equipped with practical know-how, and re-energised about green spaces.
Triangle Park offers a variety of free workshops on everything from composting and pruning to grafting, seasonal gardening, and much more. Over 140 practical gardening and sustainability workshops were delivered last year alone. According to Garden Coordinator Janelle Blackmoore, as West Auckland’s population continues to grow, the demand for workshops at the Triangle Park Community Teaching Garden is stronger than ever. ‘Our participation rates are growing, and more people are engaging with us as they want to be involved in gardening, growing healthy food and living sustainably,’ she says. Janelle adds that more participants from the health and disability sector are also getting involved with the garden. ‘We already have great appeal to our kaumātua and would like to improve our facilities,’ she advises.
Last year, the garden introduced raised planting beds, allowing people to work without bending down as much, alongside seats where they can sit while working. Another initiative the garden is hoping to introduce this year is a food forest. Also called a forest garden, a food forest is a garden full of edible plants that works like a natural forest. Imagine fruit trees, berry bushes, herbs, and ground plants all growing together in layers, helping each other thrive and creating a healthy, self-sustaining space. Triangle Park Community Teaching Garden has approached the Henderson-Massey Local Board for support and permission to expand into the neighbouring reserve. Janelle hopes that work on the food forest can start in the spring.
The community teaching garden is volunteer-led. Last year, over 3,500 volunteer hours were contributed by members of the community. Much of the garden’s success is due to the coordinator, who oversees the volunteer effort and ensures the delivery of the programme.
The Your West Support Fund has contributed $15,000 towards the costs of the garden coordinator, providing some much-needed certainty for this year. Interested in discovering more about the joys of growing food, gardening organically and living sustainably?
Check out the Triangle Park Community Teaching Garden’s Facebook page or drop by for a visit at 385 Don Buck Road.
