“Taste the Seasons” book will celebrate NorthTec’s Sustainable Rural Development programme in Onerahi

NorthTec’s Sustainable Rural Development programme in Onerahi, near Whangarei, epitomises the themes of this year’s Northland Community Pride Week – themes that will be reflected in the soon-to-be-launched “Taste the Season” recipe book produced by students on the programme.

The community pride week, which runs this year from Sunday, 29 November to Sunday, 6 December, was started by the Northland Police two years ago and is being supported this year by the Northland Intersectoral Forum (NIF) whose members include Enterprise Northland, the Northland District Health Board, and the New Zealand Police. The aim of the week is to celebrate the pride Northlanders have in their communities and to focus on how we can all work together to stay safe. The themes of the week are to protect, respect, involve, develop and educate.

There’s definitely something special happening in Onerahi where members of the community have come together to put their hands in the soil and learn how to establish and maintain gardens, grow food and enjoy the products of their labour at St Stephen’s church on NorthTec’s sustainable rural development programmes.

Some of the current group of Level 4 students have been learning together since April last year when an ACE course was run on the site. The group then embarked on a level 2 Sustainable Rural Development programme in the second semester of 2008 learning skills as diverse as making garden furniture and tools, establishing raised bed gardens and chainsaw maintenance.

This year the students moved on to the level 4 programme this year and came up with a captivating project that would allow them to share their knowledge with the wider community.
“A lot of people grow food but then don’t know what to do with it,” said Leo Cummings. “We had established a tradition early on of having shared lunches on the programme.”

“We would think about what would be ready in the garden the following week and come up with recipes to use the produce,” said tutor Liz Akehurst.
“We decided to put a book together,” said Gerald Parry. “Having the idea was the easy bit!”

The students have spent a lot of time over the last few months learning the skills needed to put the book together, taking photographs and preparing drawings - with one student, Carolyn Bond, using many hours of her time to type up the recipes.
The resulting book “Taste the Seasons” - will be launched on Friday, 11 December at St Stephen’s church, Onerahi.
“Taste the Seasons” is a celebration of the combined talents of students on the programme and the ongoing learning that has taken place on the Sustainable Rural Development and ACE programmes that have been run over the last two years in Onerahi, said Ms Akehurst.

“We wanted to showcase the amazing seed-to-table skills and delicious recipes that we have shared and accumulated. The book is a combination of fun and laughter, and learning to garden, harvest, prepare and eat the results of our delicious endeavours.”

The book launch will be an opportunity to try some of the recipes and the book. The group will be firing up the adobe pizza oven on site – itself a lasting benefit derived from an ACE course delivered at St Stephen’s.

The Sustainable Rural Development programmes run on the church grounds have been a real asset for Onerahi, says St Stephen’s deacon and student Paul Doherty. “There’s a sense of the sacred in gardening together as a community.” They have provided a way of bringing diverse people together for a common purpose. “It’s become like a family.”

For recent arrival in New Zealand Isolde Conradus the programme provided a way to integrate into her new community. “Gardening in a group together is great. Everyone is welcome here.”

In addition to their work at the church the group have planted an orchard at the local Raurimu Primary School and enhanced properties that are adjacent to the church.

“The Sustainable Rural Development programme is 80 per cent practical,” said Ms Akehurst. “A lot of the learning is achieved through doing with level 4 students passing on their knowledge to level 2 students.”

Event: “Taste the Seasons” book launch
Time: 4pm-8pm
Date: Friday, 11 December
Venue: St Stephen’s Church (corner Church St and Whimp Ave, Onerahi)
Book price: $15.00

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