Food resilience and the Council's contribution

Kapiti Coast District Council has a Water Use Coordinator who is a great networker. Today with help from Transition Towns of Otaki and Transition Towns of Kapiti, he organised a meeting attended by 30 people. The topic was Food Resilience in Otaki and representatives came from a wide range of groups. Otaki Transition Towns was done a wonderful service because the Council basically organised our networking with existing groups.

Nick Mercer explained about peak oil and the challenges ahead and Merran Plunket spoke of the plan to establish home garden groups in Kapiti.

I have posted photos in Photos on this website. Present were several council officers, from Iwi Liaison Officer, Otaki Greater Project manager, the Green Gardener, the Climate Change officer, the Communications person, and the Supervisor of Parks and Reserves. There were many from the educational sector. Caleb Royal, an environment lecturer from the Wananga O Raukawa said they had two acres of land which could be a community garden ("but I don't want to see two acres of weeds if it gets neglected") the Kura school has two gardens and has invited all to an open day, and the Otaki Primary school man told us that they have a huge grounds and small roll so there is scope for a community gardens there. Transition Towns is keen on organising an edible garden tour leading up to many home garden groups.

A woman who had taught home economics for 43 years stole the show when she said "Young mothers drown their vegetables in a swimming pool and throw away the minerals down the drain" and said she was appalled at the fact that schools no longer teach cooking. She was joined afterwards by a macrobiotics cook and someone from a preschool in discussing teaching of cooking to young people. The Grey Power representative said her huge membership could be involved in teaching skills to the young. The man from the Kapiti Horticultural Association said that the teenagers were hard to interest these days in growing food and this was echoed by others.

Christabel Jackson drew amazed gasps when she spoke of developing her garden by using the scraps from the local chinese restaurant and getting two contractors to dump their grass clippings. Having lived in Lesotho for 30 years she knew how to use scraps and resources, Coca Cola bottles with tops cut off for protecting plants etc. She uses lots of newspaper and kills weeds by smothering them.

A Council officer then amazed us by telling us that they had 40 mature apple trees given to them by someone and KCDC was planning to plant them in the new parking area in Otaki Railway yard. They will be also planting natives and need labour to help with underplanting of these and asked TT involvement for this.

Networking after the introductions was intense and the energy palpable. We hope this is the beginnings of a lot more interchanges between those interested.