What started as a small community garden on the Hibiscus Coast has now blossomed into a crew of keen gardeners providing produce for those in need.
They are desperate for more spaces to expand, as food insecurity is rising. But council restrictions and a lack of green spaces are holding them back.
Round the back of the Whangaparāoa Library lies the community garden, with flower beds and vegetable patches full of seedlings and leafy greens.
A group of local homeschoolers and their parents come here twice a week to plant, weed, harvest, cook and eat.
Tamarin Pigneguy runs things. She told Checkpoint homeschooling can lack connection, but gardening has filled that void.
"We're always looking for a place to connect and gather and come together and connect with the children, with their parents, with the caregivers, to find the place where we can actually share our knowledge and pass that down."
The produce is mostly eaten by the group, but what they do not use is donated to the local food bank.
It is then used for food parcels and a community dinner every week.
They have even trained regular Jed the dog to help with the digging for planting.
Behind the Whangaparāoa Library lies this community garden with flower beds and vege patches full of seedlings and leafy greens. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Just down the road is another garden run out the back of a local resident's house. Tamarin's Mum Dee runs this one.
She has been gardening her whole life but community gardens are now her focus.
"We really need to look at a big community garden where all those people can come and grow food," she said.
"There's not only just a climate emergency, there's actually a food emergency as well. People cannot afford to get good quality, nutrient rich foods straight out of the ground," Pigneguy said.
There is little left to do apart from planting some trees and general maintenance.
Dee said they have been asking the community to offer up spaces - so there can be more of this.
"I have been inundated with people asking me to come and look at their gardens and see if they could set up a backyard community garden, they're trying to set up a backyard community garden in something as small as this."
Behind the Whangaparāoa Library lies this community garden with flower beds and vege patches full of seedlings and leafy greens. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Hans Geese describes himself as the "grunt" of the group tackling jobs like heavy loads in the wheelbarrow.
"We have people who know about pruning and people who know at certain plants.
"So there's some certain expertise. But of course Dee is the boss, she organises us and tells us what to do."
Demand is only increasing, and Hans has another piece of land in mind near Whangaparāoa College.
But local councillor Wayne Walker told Checkpoint it is not quite that simple.
"Well you need to go through the local board, they control local reserves. The council's going to be concerned about health and safety, things like public liability. They want to know the community garden's going to work, so they're interested in structure. That might involve some kind of incorporated society that people need to set up.
"They want to know that it's going to be viable. There are potentially issues around contamination."
The group is insisting they're ready now.
"They say, 'Oh you've got to tick the boxes'. Excuse me, we're out here already ticking the boxes, showing you how you can do it. And it can be done," Dee said.
"Which boxes are you talking about? Certainly not the raised garden bed boxes."
In the meantime they are on the hunt for bigger places on private land that owners are keen to transform.
