In 2023 Anna Goodall decided to establish a veggie garden for the Savage Crescent community in her own backyard. With the help of ENM’s Manawatū Food Action Network(MFAN)  and Growing Gardens and Communities, the garden is now home to a number of raised beds full of winter veggies, busily growing until they’re ready to harvest and feed the Savage Crescent community.

Having never had time in the past to grow fruit and veggies, other than a few tomatoes and lettuces, Anna is enjoying her new foray into veggie gardening and is busy soaking up knowledge and advice from the diverse group of volunteers who help each Saturday. She calls the working bees, ‘active socializing… it’s an easy way for people to get to know one another, talking whilst working in the garden’.

Her community garden is also a collection point for the community’s household food waste, as part of a new Community Composting initiative being rolled out by MFAN to deal with household food waste at a neighbourhood level. To date, Anna has registered 15 participants who regularly deposit their food waste into a wheelie bin at the site. Over the 12 weeks since the initiative began, participants have diverted 415kg of food waste from landfill, or 26kg per household. This food waste is being composted on-site, where the mature compost will be transferred to the raised beds to replenish the soil with nutrients. Anna is very supportive of initiatives that alleviate financial costs to the community and address environmental concerns such as climate change.

Anna is also the lead for the Palmerston North Women’s Social Group on Facebook and has also established Facebook groups; “Friends of Savage Park” and “Savage Community Group”, aimed at enhancing the community spirit and environs of Savage Crescent. Through these, she  has friends from all walks of life, who regularly meet up for all sorts of events and outings that take their fancy; from lunches and dinners out, to picnics, shows, and festivals.

To find out more about the Community Composting Initiative email kai.security@enm.org.nz or go to www.enm.org.nz.