Cityside Baptist community had long wanted to enhance the gardens around their building. They also wanted to extend them, with a couple of gravelled spaces at the back of the church calling out to be planted. In 2021, they began a programme to explore what being a regenerative church could look like. At the same time, they joined the Eco Church movement and the garden project sat easily at the intersection of these initiatives. After years of dreaming and months of planning, in August last year, the community got stuck in to make the new garden happen. Even one or two self-proclaimed “non-gardeners” got their hands dirty.

The local green space at Oxford Street, Masterton was starting to look like a party. Live music, balloons, lawn games and the smell of sizzling sausages could all be observed last Sunday as we celebrated Neighbours Day Aotearoa.

Members of St Michael’s Eco church group in Kelburn, Wellington have been supporting the Pukehinau Reserve biodiversity restoration project and were excited to be part of the opening of the new Pukehinau walking track between Kelburn and Aro Valley in November 2022.

Since mid-2017, Flagstaff Community Church in Dunedin has been working to restore School Creek (that runs alongside the church). This includes a creating a public track alongside the creek, so that the local community can explore and enjoy the beauty of creek and bush environments in the heart of the city, and extensive clearing and planting efforts with natives.

Late in 2020 All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby formed an eco-committee and went through the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet to ascertain areas to begin working on. A number of areas were identified through the worksheet, with the establishment of a community garden being determined as the most important. We liked the idea of a community garden because the church had available land, it is a very visible project and one of our church members has the expertise to make it happen.

As you go past the unassuming church of St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Titahi Bay, you might notice the neat garden beds that line one side of the walkway to the church. Walking a bit further to the side of the hall, you will find some 20 feijoa trees. This is the Titahi Bay Community Garden @ St Matthew’s (TBCG@SM), a community garden run by the Titahi Bay community hosted at St Matthew’s grounds.

In November 2019, ADJust - Diocese of Auckland Young Anglicans for Social Justice, put out to churches in the Auckland Anglican Diocese a "Green Up and Give Challenge". The idea of the challenge was for churches to explore starting a community garden, starting a compost, or starting a Pātaka Kai over the season of advent. Below are a few stories from the Green Up and Give Challenge, courtesy of ADJust.