A new name and a place to call home has revitalised a local initiative to recycle waste food into a sustainable and viable community food hub.

‘Grow Wanaka’ has blossomed from Georgia Merton’s initial trial of collecting organic waste from a handful of local campgrounds to a collection initiative and community gardens with a learning centre and several potential income streams.

Securing land for the project was key, she said. Callum Urquhart of the Lake Outlet Holiday Park has offered cleared land on Outlet Road for the community initiative and the group is discussing lease arrangements.

Georgia said Callum was keen to support “grass roots” initiatives. Callum has already funded a joint project with Te Kākano to replace felled pines with natives at the Outlet. 

Georgia told the Wanaka App that, strangely, COVID-19 was the catalyst which reinvigorated her initial idea. Lockdown and various restrictions created a flourishing group of community garden enthusiasts. She pitched her idea of organic waste collection and composting to them and Grow Wanaka was the result.

Grow Wanaka’s new base of operations on Outlet Road.

Grow Wanaka’s aim is to establish a community food hub and a centre for learning about sustainable living. Their intention is to raise seeds, grow vegetables in a tunnel house and use the compost bins not only to nourish the community gardens but also to provide a potential revenue source via the sale of compost, seedlings and vegetables.

While the group missed out on a grant from the Queenstown Lakes District Council waste minimisation fund, Georgia said council staff had been keen to support the initiative. She hoped they would be able to contribute to the resource consent process.

Her initial two month trial to create a sustainable model of organic waste collection for composting on a commercial scale was supported by the Glendhu Bay Motor Camp, Wanaka Kiwi Holiday Park and Wanaka Lakeview Holiday Park, which paid a nominal fee for the collection service three days a week.

Georgia said she was keen to resume the organic waste collection as soon as possible but she needed to source a suitable vehicle and/or trailer, and there was a lot of work to be done on the new site first. 

“We had a big win with the land but there’s so much work still to do,” she said.

The half acre area needs to be fenced and rabbit proofed, Georgia said, and the group would welcome any community assistance to provide fencing labour or materials.

Volunteers keen to lend Grow Wanaka a hand would be welcome to attend working bees which will be advertised through the Upper Clutha Trading Post Facebook page, Georgia said.

Old pine trees had been felled at their new site and the leftover debris would be repurposed at their first workshop, which is planned for Saturday October 3.

Local composting guru Ben Elms, aka Dr Compost, has offered to host a fundraising ‘Bio Char’ workshop on site, using his two portable kilns to convert waste tree detritus into charcoal. This pure form of carbon can be used to enrich soils. 

The workshop will run from 9:00am to 3:00pm and a gold coin donation from attendees would help the group establish their new gardens.

PHOTOS: Supplied