Ōtākaro Orchard and Urban Farm is a Community garden and an Environmental and Educational Hub. We are sharing food, growing knowledge and connecting people.

Our Journey

‘Ōtākaro Orchard will serve as the welcoming front door to the local food resilience movement which has been gaining momentum since the earthquakes shook our city apart.’

In that time, we realised that supermarkets carry only 3 days’ worth of food and if our supply chains get disrupted, we go hungry. Community gardens became important places of refuge and connection as well as sources of fresh food.
In the past few years, the Food Resilience Network (aka Edible Canterbury) has been holding a collective vision of Christchurch as an ‘Edible Garden City’. A city where every citizen has access to the fresh and healthy food they need to live well. Given that most cities produce less than 1% of their own food, re-imagining our urban green spaces as edible ones is a key way we can start to change this.
Co-created through community consultation, almost 200 people from over 30 groups and organisations worked together to craft the proposal to CERA to develop this site.
In the past few years since this proposal was approved, we’ve built an amazing team to bring this project to fruition. Landscape and building architects, engineers, permaculturists, composting toilet fanatics, project managers, construction companies and community activists all coming together to progress this vision. We hope that by establishing Ōtākaro Orchard, it will be proof that these kinds of spaces can work, that many more will become possible in the city.

Updates and Pledge Me Campaign(s)

In 2023, Ōtākaro Orchard's second PledgeMe campaign has proven highly successful, surpassing its $60k goal. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the completion of the Information Centre and Café, scheduled to open early next year. The funds raised have been instrumental in progressing the project, particularly in advancing the installation of the innovative blue-green roof.

The blue-green roof, a pioneering endeavor for Aotearoa and one of the first in the world, is set to integrate solar panels and a diverse array of plants onto the rooftop. This groundbreaking feature aligns with the project's commitment to sustainability and showcases an innovative approach to urban spaces. The completion of this unique roof marks a noteworthy step forward in the Ōtākaro Orchard's mission to serve as a community-led anchor for local food, education, and environmental awareness in Christchurch. The anticipation is high as the project moves closer to its goal of fostering resilience and community engagement through its transformative and sustainable initiatives.