This past summer has really shown us here at the garden the importance of improving how we use and manage the precious resource that is our water.
With the possibility of longer and more frequent droughts in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, we've taken on a big project to improve the resilience of our water supply.
Late last year, we secured funding from the Wellington Airport Community Fund to restore our mains water supply, which had been relying on old pipework. With an enormous effort from our garden members and volunteers, we set up a new system of pipes to supply our watering cans and provide safe drinking water to our small kitchen.
We're now at the next stage, which will increase and improve our capacity for
rainwater storage. Currently, we have five rainwater tanks that usually gather rainwater from our large greenhouse roof. Before the mains were restored this was our primary source of water. And through the summer drought, our rainwater stores ran out completely! With this project, we hope to be able to collect and store enough rainwater from the roof to supply our entire garden.
Our first job was to replace a section of the greenhouse roof, so that it can collect rainwater. With generous support from a local roofing company, Roof It, we were able to have a brand new section installed. Next, Bunnings Lyall Bay has donated pipes for us to rig up to our roof for collecting the rainwater and Placemaker Evans Bay has donated building materials. Stay tuned for further developments!
All of the labour and costs of a project like this rely on donations from amazing community members and businesses, and the volunteers at the gardens. If you're keen to get involved in helping our community be more resilient, get in touch!
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