22 | Evolved into a community food hub There has been significant planting of natives and trees on the farm - around 55,000 and counting. Karen Phelps Located in Te Awa Kairangi, the Hutt Valley water catchment near Upper Hutt, Wellington, an 800-hectare property has rapidly evolved into a thriving community food hub and resilience education centre. “The idea is to explore better ways of collaborating with nature to produce multiple outcomes – those that benefit human beings and the rest of the living system that gives us life such as waterways, soil function,” explains Jules Matthews, who has been working at Mangaroa Farms for four years. Mangaroa Farms was established through a gift from the Monahan family in 2018. As a registered non-profit company and part of the Biome Trust Mangaroa Farms is dedicated to regenerative, ecologically sound farming practices. The focus is on education and producing nutrient-dense food, with an eye towards the implications for human health. Jules has been tasked with creating a regenerative food hub, which includes a market garden on a 0.8-hectare plot that supplies fresh produce to an on-site shop at 108 Whitemans Valley Road. The shop is open Wednesday to Sunday stocked with produce from the garden, beef and lamb along with other local products such as raw milk. There is also an honesty fridge that sits outside the shop stocked with vegetables. “It’s been well received by the public,” Jules says of the shop, “but it’s like anything new. There was some scepticism initially, but we have farm and volunteer days and are committed to being community engaged, so over time people have been able to see what we do.” These community engagement efforts are a crucial part of Mangaroa Farms’ mission. “As Kiwis, we used to be connected to our rural roots, but urbanization has meant less connection,” says Jules. “So things like open farm days and volunteer planting days are ways for people to see what it takes to grow food.” RURAL PEOPLE » Mangaroa Station Ltd 0800 BIOSEA (0800 106090) | www.biosea.co.nz | admin@biosea.co.nz Biosea organic liquid fertiliser consists of highly concentrated fish proteins (32-35%). It is fermented with specific symbiotic beneficial bacteria to: • Improve soil structure • Increase availability of nutrients • Feed & nurture the soil microbiology • Significantly increase earthworm activity • Boost plant growth & maximise production • Application rates: Approximately 10 litres per hectare Visit www.biosea.co.nz for our full range of products for plant and animal health, protection & nutrition. PROUDLY SUPPORTING MANGAROA STATION LTD
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