From walking the ‘aisles’ of your own backyard supermarket, to growing your own lettuce in recycled bottles – there’s plenty to learn about food resilience as Sustainable Backyards month gets into full swing!

Every March the Envirohub Bay of Plenty hosts ‘Sustainable Backyards’, bringing an abundance of sustainability events, talks and workshops across the region to help the community improve their quality of life and wellbeing.

Backyard supermarket 

Over in Katikati today, Saturday, March 16, Jizzy and Mike Green will give people the opportunity to explore their ‘backyard supermarket’.

Jizzy and Mike will share all the tips of how you can create your very own edible landscapes, getting your inspiration growing.

With ample home-grown fruit and vegetables in their garden, you won’t often find this couple in the fresh section of the Katikati Countdown.

“There’s hardly ever a time that we have to buy our own fruit or veggies because we kind of eat seasonally,” says Jizzy.

“So whatever’s growing, that’s what we try and use.

 “I want for people to be inspired to grow their own food resilience, however big or small they see that.”

That might just look like growing some salad in a few pots, says Jizzy.

“There’s so much pleasure in picking your own lettuce and creating a nice, fresh salad from the garden rather than pulling out a plastic bag of salad mix that has been in the fridge for four days.”

Hello hydroponics 

Meanwhile on Sunday, March 17, kids will have the opportunity to get growing over in Tauranga. Envirohub BOP and Tauranga City Council will run a free Kid’s Hydroponics Workshop.  

“We’re becoming more and more disconnected with nature in our urban sprawl,” says Envirohub BOP community coordinator Cathy Donelly.

“We’re ending up on smaller sections and kids might not have the opportunity to garden like they might have done in the past.

“Hydroponics is something really simple, easy and cheap to get started with growing their own food and just have that relationship with food to understand where it comes from, where it’s grown.”

The workshop will be hands-on for kids, where they can upcycle plastic and plant their own seeds to care for too.

“Kids will create their very own ‘wick system’, using soda bottles and cotton to draw nutrients up to their lettuce seedlings,” says TCC water team’s Shannon Pawhau.

“All participants will get to keep their systems and will learn how to care for their plants at home.”

‘Grow your own backyard supermarket’ will run 9.30-11.30am Saturday, March 16 at 9B Park Rd, Katikati. Entry is $6 each or $10 for a couple. Book by emailing: growonkatikati@gmail.com

The Kids Hydroponics Workshop will run 10am-11.30am at 31B Glasgow St, Tauranga, on Sunday, March 17. Kids aged eight-12 can participate for free. Email: admin@envirohub.org.nz

For the full Envirohub Sustainable Backyards calendar, visit: https://envirohub.org.nz/