On Friday 14 April 2023 Land Based Training tutor Merryn Broderson took a couple of her full-time Level 3 Horticulture students to the New Plymouth Foodbank to help David and Jenny Reilly deliver the weekly harvest – with the Land Based Training students having donated produce previously it was great to get a chance to see the full process of where it goes next!
The organic-based produce is grown by volunteers and Land Based Training students at Newstart Gardens – Newstart Gardens is a community garden owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The gardens are the primary location for Land Based Training Horticulture, Sustainability and Apiculture courses.
Merryn said “It was great to meet with Foodbank Manager Sharon Wills & her team to see the hard work that goes into making up healthy food parcels – it is a pleasure to be able to grow the produce and help out those in need, it makes the hard work worth it”.
“We are most grateful for the donations of fresh produce each week, it keeps our costs down” – Sharon Wills. This week the team delivered kumara, potatoes, pumpkin, lettuce, herbs, feijoas, tomatoes, rhubarb silverbeet and cucumbers. Students get excited each Friday when it comes around to harvesting the produce, as they know it is all going to help people in the community.
With a few students graduating or moving onto other adventures Land Based Training has had some spaces become available on the Level 3 Horticulture course so if you want to learn to grow your own kai and join our team in giving back to the community then this is the course to help gain the knowledge to do this.
Pictured in group picture below (L-R): Hayley Butler (Student), Sharon Wills (Foodbank), Kurt Hagenson (Student), David Reilly (SDA), Jenny Reilly (SDA), Merryn Broderson (LBT Tutor)
