‘We’ve built this from nothing’: Future of garden in Māngere uncertain with no lease

A community garden in Māngere that has grown food, people, and connection for nearly two decades is facing an uncertain future with no formal lease to secure the land it sits on.

The issue was raised this week at the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board where those behind the Old School Teaching Garden spoke openly about the risk of losing everything they’ve built.

Garden lead Yvonne Thomas said the project is still operating under an informal “right of occupancy” with no long-term guarantee.

“Apparently, we have the right of occupancy. What that means, I don’t know. All I’ve done basically is go in there and work and develop this place up, hoping like hell they don’t say, well, at the end of the year, you’re gone,” Thomas told the board.

Set on reserve land on Kirkbride Road, the garden has been shaped over 17 years from what was once described as wasteland into a space for food growing, environmental care, and community wellbeing.

But despite that work, its future remains unclear.

“Well, it doesn’t have any certainty, really. But I would be like a little exploding bomb if somebody told me that I had to leave,” she said.

For the community, the garden is more than just a place to grow food. It supports local families, shares fresh produce and creates space for people to come together.

“I’ve delivered over $500 worth to Mr T, and he hands it out to people,” Thomas said.

Yvonne Thomas and Peter Sykes of the Auckland Teaching Gardens Trust at the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board meeting. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

She said the space has also brought people together through community work programmes with the Department of Corrections.

“There was laughter, and there was singing, and they didn’t know each other.”

Concerns raised at the meeting went beyond the garden itself, pointing to bigger questions about how the land is managed and protected.

Peter Sykes, who said he is part of the Auckland Teaching Gardens Trust, told the board there is no clear long-term plan for the reserve.

“What is the long-term plan for that? In the years that I’ve been part of it, it’s changed every year. It’s not a long-term plan for the park,” he said.

He also raised concerns about nearby wetlands and waterways that feed into the Pūkaki estuary.

Young seedlings growing in trays. Photo/The Auckland Teaching Gardens Trust Inc. Facebook

“How are we protecting that wetland that the old school garden feeds into Pūkaki? We allowed those buildings to happen on a wetland, on a swamp, and we’ve got real problems at the moment.”

Sykes urged leaders to take a more careful and joined-up approach.

“Please understand and protect the waterways. Please, please, please don’t allow building on wetland because it’s just going to keep building our problems,” he said.

“Work together collaboratively. People are so passionate. Most of them are working for virtually nothing.”

Auckland Council confirmed the garden does not have a formal lease but is allowed to operate under an informal agreement.

“Auckland Teaching Gardens does not have an existing lease but is able to use the land for community gardening on an existing informal agreement set up in previous years,” a council spokesperson said.

To secure the site long-term, the group would need to go through a formal leasing process, which would be considered as part of the council’s annual work programme.

The council said there were no current plans to change how the reserve is used.

“Old School Reserve at 299 Kirkbride Road is a designated recreation open space and there are no long-term plans in place to change that,” the spokesperson said.

While the garden is not formally recognised as a community or environmental asset, the council acknowledged the importance of local food systems.

“The council recognises the importance of kai resilience and there is a lot work currently underway to support these goals,” the spokesperson said.

Yvonne Thomas (left) presents Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board deputy chair Christine O’Brien and chair Kaea Walter Inoke-Togiamua with a tītoki plant she grew from seed, describing it as a symbol of resilience, mana and strength. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

Local board members acknowledged the work done on the site and signalled interest in visiting but any long-term decisions will sit within wider council planning, including the upcoming 10-year plan.

For Thomas, the message is simple: the garden is worth protecting.

“It was only supposed to be four years. But look what we’ve achieved,” she said.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.