Kete kai
With the recent events of COVID-19, the need for Kete Kai is more present now than ever. Please help us fill our stocks up again with the following non-perishable food and hygiene items:
Tea, Coffee, Sugar, Flour, Milo
Cereal, Muesli bars, Biscuits, Crackers
Tinned food - (fruit, spaghetti etc), Rice, Dried pasta, Pasta sauces
Body wash, Hand wash, Laundry powder, Detergent
If you could please add an item to your grocery list and pop it in the basket at church that would be very much appreciated. We are blessed to be a blessing to our wider community!
Community garden
How Our Community Garden Started
Located across the road from Centre Church is our fantastic, purpose built Christian Preschool. Catering for twenty five children aged two - five years old, and offering sessions and full day care.
“Since Centre Kidz Preschool opened in 2010, gardening has been a huge interest for our community of learners. We have lovingly contributed our time and shaped our knowledge within the process of learning that takes place in the garden. Manaakitanga is at the core of our philosophy, so naturally the desire to give back to our community has been something we are always doing. Kaitiakitanga is also of high value to us at Centre Kidz, which is promoting the practice of sustainability and care for our environments now and in the future. We are excited to be kaitiaki (guardians) of a Community Garden, and aspire to learn new things along the way increasing our own kete of knowledge.
We envisioned a place of beauty, of productive kai, and a place where tamariki, whanau and wider community could come when they needed. We are very enthusiastic for the new adventure ahead of us, and we are certainly confident, passionate and humbled to be given this wonderful opportunity.
We started the Community Garden in July to coincide with Matariki, being the beginning of the Maori New Year. Matariki is seen as an important time to celebrate the earth and show respect for the land on which we live. We have been sharing our ideas with our community, informing them of our plans. As a result, people have so kindly responded by donating seeds, seed trays, flowers and vegetables. Making connections with the wider world plays a vital role in supporting our children’s sense of belonging and identity, it was so encouraging to have our local community on board. We can’t wait to get started and see where this journey takes us!
We would LOVE you to be involved, if you would like to donate some cuttings from your garden, or perhaps a punnet of vegetable seedlings, herbs or flowers.
Contact Jo on 902 6959 or email hello@centrekidz.co.nz”
Update - September 2018
This week our tamariki were excited to check on the progress of the plants in the community garden here at Centre Church. We were so surprised to see how big the bok choy and tatsoi are, and had fun sampling them as well as the fresh herbs and edible flowers.
We also planted two new blueberry plants, and a gooseberry, feijoa and Chilean guava!
Update - November 2018
Everything is growing so well in the community garden! Please help yourselves to food for your family.
Update - December 2018
Our community garden has now been named, “Te Māra o Te Aronui”. It translates to The Garden of Te Aronui, and aronui is the basket of knowledge of aroha, peace and the arts and crafts which benefit the Earth and all living things.
The children of Centre Kidz Preschool are the kaitiaki (guardians) and visit regularly to tend the garden and check the progress of their plants. This week we have been busy planting lots of seeds from Peter and Lisa (thank you!), and watering in the new beans, tomatoes, herbs and flowers.
Update July 2019
The children from Centre Kidz Preschool have added lots of vegetable seedlings to the Community Garden over winter, including broccoli, cauliflower, silverbeet, parsley, beetroot, broad beans, perpetual spinach, brussel sprouts and strawberries. What a blessing these crops are going to be for our community!