Maungaturoto Edible Village Project

Growing food, knowledge, and community together.

Years Of Experiences In Company

The Maungaturoto Edible Village Project grew from a seed of an idea sown in Josie’s native village in North Wales. In 2013 she, her husband and 3 small children, moved into a council house, one of 4 new-builds in the village.

Not wanting to buy 4 new lawnmowers, Josie suggested that the 4 families share one between them and thus the spirit of collective gardening began. From here the four families, led by Josie, created communal veggie beds and even had chooks that they shared. Josie began looking further afield and, alongside her group of young helpers, planted fruit trees on public footpaths around the village.

This Community Gardening Scheme was so popular that it became the catalyst for similar projects and has now been rolled out throughout communities across North Wales. Returning to New Zealand in 2015, Josie began working towards continuing her mission of creating community gardens and strengthening community resilience around food.

What the Project Offers

Hands-on learning

Workshops and activities exploring edible and medicinal plants.

Seasonal knowledge

Learning how plants grow and change throughout the year.

Community connection

Creating opportunities for people to come together and share knowledge.

Sustainable food practices

Encouraging local food resilience and ecological awareness.

Grow & Grow

GROW & GROW happens on Monday mornings. Preschoolers, homeschoolers and their parents gather at the Maungaturoto Country Club for a chance to plant, sow, weed & grow together. Join Josie at the Maungaturoto Country Club every Monday morning for fun, chat, gardening & community building.

Tuakana-Teina Documentary

The MEVP was very lucky to receive funding for documenting the project. We did this by working in a tuakana-teina relationship with between skilled local professional videographers/photographers and rangatahi in our community who are passionate about capturing life through this medium. Having this footage enables us to document & promote the Maungaturoto Edible Village Project.
We hope that sharing what we are doing will enable our Edible Village story to spread far and wide, to inspire and enthuse others to begin similar projects within their own communities.

Monthly Meet Ups

These are regular Plan & Plant sessions held on the 4th Sunday of each month. We meet at the Centennial Hall for planning & gardening. 4-6pm. All welcome.

MEVP - The First Year

The Edible Village Project is growing season by season.
Visit our Year One Journey page to see videos documenting the project’s progress and the experiences of the people involved.

Small local businesses supported

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Trees Planted

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Planting Hours

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Adult Volunteers Involved

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