Wow! Greens to go

Takeaway food takes on a new meaning thanks to Henderson's edible garden, as Valerie Schuler reports
Drive along any West Auckland strip, and it's hard to miss the endless parade of takeaway bars and fast-food joints.
To encourage more Westies to eat healthier and help them save a buck or two, community group McLaren Park Henderson South (MPHS) has set up a fresh new concept' the community edible garden.
"A lot of people in this area live on takeaways and there was a real need for people to start growing food again, for both health and economic reasons," says project coordinator Jon Morgan, otherwise known as Green Jon.
Over the last 12 months, a cluster of raised plots has popped up on Millbrook Esplanade, on the banks of Oratia Stream.
There are 18 plots, with diversity being an overt theme, and that's not confined to vegetable variety.
Way Out West (WOW) is a community inclusion service for people who are mildly intellectually disabled.
Many other community groups have been involved in getting the garden project established.
The WOW team now has its own little patch, with fancy lettuce, strawberries and beans planted. Jules Carlyon says he and his friends have enjoyed salvaging bits of junk from the stream and building a fence for their plot.
Jules and 10 others have also made their own compost, propagated seedlings in planter boxes then transferred them to the patch. They have even made mini-hothouses out of plastic containers.
Come harvest time, the organic fruit and vegetables will be shared out among Waitakere residential homes run by Maori mental health trust Te Kotuku Ki Te Rangi.
But the WOW crew isn't the only group mucking in. A Muslim support group, a number of Mormons and a bunch of green-fingered Catholics are just some of the others been working side by side, sharing their gardening knowledge.
"We want to make sure everyone is included," says Mr Morgan.
"The aim is to teach and share the art of growing our own food. The community garden project is based on sharing - Waitakere City Council have shared the land, the gardeners and elders will share knowledge and Mother Nature will share her resources."
Local businesses have also helped out: the Henderson Mitre 10 store donated $1000 of products and Living Earth chipped in with 6 cubic metres of compost.
There are plans for an outdoor kitchen and communal fruit trees, and a bicycle-powered pump will bring fresh water from the stream nearby. The community celebrated the garden's official opening on Sept 21.