Manukau’s Garden, Laughter and Food Process Club will be officially opened by Deputy Mayor Gary Troup on Saturday 22 May.

Participants of the council’s teaching garden courses and members of the public are invited to attend the open day for both the gardens and the clubrooms from 9am-4pm.

Talks and demonstrations on beekeeping and worm farming will be given after the opening, as well as lectures on garden-related topics. There will also be displays on gardening books, herb growing and seed swapping, and a cooking vegetarian demonstration.

Speakers include Ruud Kleinpaste ‘The Bug Man’, David Bradshaw Head of Department Manukau Institute of Technology, and Doreen Bartlet, the last president of the Papatoetoe Women's Bowling Club.

The club is based at Stadium Reserve, opposite the Allan Brewster Recreation Centre, Papatoetoe, where the ex-bowling greens are being used as a teaching garden.

Previously the home of the Papatoetoe Women’s Bowling Club, the building was to have been removed from the site. Instead Manukau Parks’ staff secured the necessary consents to keep the building as an ideal venue for a garden club.

Manukau Parks Manager of Recreation, Robert Findlay says that home gardening is undergoing a revival in interest. “We think that this club will have a lot to offer, such as talks and presentations, a place to see gardening literature, have pests and diseases identified, swap seed and plants, and see trade displays and demonstrations on tool sharpening.

“We want to not only teach people how to deal with a surplus of produce when it occurs but to also offer cooking classes.”

It is proposed that after the clubrooms are opened a committee of interested members of the gardening public will carry it forward.

What, When, Where:

Teaching garden site open from 9am until 4pm

Official club opening at 10am

Lectures from 11am

Stadium Reserve, Stadium Lane, Papatoetoe (opposite Allan Brewster Recreation Centre).  Parking also available at the Papatoetoe depot Tavern Lane.