Mud squares encased in concrete are all that's left of a once-thriving community garden in Mt Albert. Valerie Schuler reports.
Will 'Ilolahia and Pradeep Chitale stand on a patch of dry mud and concrete at the back of Owairaka Park.
Once a thriving community garden, it lies abandoned. The only vegetation in sight are the leaves of a lone parsnip swaying in the breeze.
Laid out to soothe friction between ethnic groups that live in the area, Owairaka community garden was a place where everyone came together to grow and tend their crops. But bureaucracy got in the way.
"In the first year, we had nine plots and 15 different groups of gardeners," says Mr 'Ilolahia of the Waiata Artists' Trust, which set up the garden in 2006. "But now, Auckland City Council staff have run amok."
Since the upgrade of Owairaka Park in 2008, the community garden was moved from the Owairaka Rd side of the park to the Hendon Rd end. The size of the garden and the quality of its soil have dwindled. The council wants Waiata Trust to pay a $500-a-year lease on the land and to take out a $2 million indemnity insurance policy.
Mr 'Ilolahia, well-known as a broadcaster, as first business manager of Herbs and a longtime Pasifika community advocate, says the area cannot afford this. "This is a low-decile area and many of our members are elderly. This sort of money is out of their reach."
Also of concern is that the council poured concrete around the garden's plots without consulting the people who use the gardens.
"You cannot kneel on concrete whilst doing gardening," says seasoned gardener Mr Chitale.
The group is not using the garden while the legalities are being sorted. There has been no crop for the past two planting seasons. Many of the group's volunteers have lost interest.
"We should be harvesting right now, but we don't want to do anything illegal," says Mr 'Ilolahia. Our garden was the first in Auckland. Now, while other community gardens around the place are thriving, ours is a dry concrete block. The bureaucracy is unbelievable."
Waiata Trust has asked the council to drop the annual rental to $250, an amount that is available to community groups made up of predominantly young people. Mr 'Ilolahia has also asked for the garden's insurance to be covered under the council's insurance policy for the rest of Owairaka Park.
Both requests have been declined.
Councillor Greg Moyle, who chairs the council's arts, culture and recreation committee, says that to qualify for reduced rental, the trust must demonstrate that its gardeners are predominantly young people. Public liability insurance is part of the standard lease policy.
"Council is not in the position to foresee all the risks that might arise and so requires all tenants to meet this obligation," says Mr Moyle. "Our community leases staff have identified an insurance provider with a community group rate of less than $200 per year."
Waiata Trust has been told it can raise the garden beds to make access easier for some gardeners. It has also been told it can plant outside the currently defined plots.
The concrete paths were laid to enable all-weather access to the garden. All good in the hood? Not quite, according to Mr 'Ilolahia.
"A lot of the people who did use the garden were young and the council has not considered this. Regardless of age, this community does not have a lot of money."
What is Owairaka Park?
Named Owairaka Park after a major development in 2008, the reserve on Owairaka Ave in Mt Albert has a basketball court, skate park, lawns, a community garden and playground.
The $1.645 million development was designed as a gathering place with activities for people of all ages.
