This week we are looking at kai resilience building initiatives as a focus on Neighbours Day Aotearoa 2022.

In our local neighbourhoods we have a lot of organisations that have been doing this for years and have been doing a great service to our communities.

At Te Pātikitiki and Ashhurst Libraries they each have a community garden kindly run by volunteer groups Let’s Grow Highbury and RECAP: The Society for the Resilience and Engagement of the Community of Ashhurst and Pohangina Inc. respectively. Everyone is encouraged to take what they need from the garden, and these groups also run education programmes to help share their knowledge of how to grow your own produce.

Another great service these groups provide through our libraries is the seed libraries. They are run slightly different but their purpose is essentially the same, where the focus is sharing seeds around the community for free.

All the Community Libraries have sharing tables where people frequently drop off excess fruit and vegetables – a much better option than having it munched up by the lawn mower! These are found in all the libraries with the exception of Ashhurst Library that has a sharing shelf outside.