Operation Green Thumb (OGT) is a Lotteries and Wellington City Council project started in 1993.
It was realised that with lots of high density housing in Wgtn there was a need for people to have land to be able to garden and grow their own low-cost vegetables. The gardens were set up with this in mind initially at Owhiro Park in Brooklyn and in Strathmore.
The gardens are for those people on benefits, low-incomes, unemployed, who have no land of their own, or are disadvantaged. We help set up new gardens and provide tuition, fact sheets, and a seed bank. OGT recognises the therapeutic and social benefits of the universal activity of gardening.
It has bought people together from different countries and backgrounds to enjoy a common activity and to be able to have fresh organic vegetables. A highlight is an annual picnic and garden tour at Owhiro Gardens in late summer. Most of the gardens are situated at council flats. If you are a tenant at Granville Flats, Newtown Park Flats, or Booth St Flats, there may be a plot available if you wish to garden.
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