The Uey · Donnellys Crossing
The Uey Kai Garden
A community kai garden on the Uey — the central reserve in the heart of Donnellys Crossing.
A garden for ourselves that feeds us, feeds our connections to the land, our connections to each other, and our connections to the local communities.
On the surface this is a community garden. Underneath it is the kick-start of something larger: a small remote rural community remembering how to be one, with food as the reason for gathering and Māori principles as part of the frame from the beginning.
What we're building
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×6 bedsRaised beds
Steel, food-safe, built to last 25+ years.
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RoadsideCommunity food stand
Anyone can take what they need.
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With the schoolKids' plot
The local school invited to grow alongside.
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×9Fruit trees & bananas
Citrus, feijoa, plum, peach, cold-hardy banana.
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5 m³Soil & compost
Grandpa's Garden Mix from Kaipara.
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Naming itSignage
The kaupapa, and acknowledging Kai Ora.
The Uey is already used and looked after by DCCG — we hold market days here and built the BBQ shelter. The community food stand that has been running a few hundred metres down the road is moving up to join it.
Roles in the garden
Each role has a written scaffold — what it looks after, why it matters, and what good looks like. All are drafts, to be confirmed with whoever holds the role. Open any card to read the full scaffold (PDF).
- Role scaffold
Volunteer
Anyone who shows up to garden — planting, weeding, harvesting, building — without holding a named role. Voice from day one; decisions rest with the working group.
- Role scaffold
Head Gardener — Soil
Feeds the beds, mulches, and watches what the soil is doing across the seasons, so the beds stay productive year on year. One of five Head Gardener roles.
- Role scaffold
Head Gardener — Seeds
Saves seed from this year's crops, returns some to the community seed store, and works toward the Kūanga heritage seeds named in the application. One of five Head Gardener roles.
- Role scaffold
Head Gardener — Planting
Keeps the planting calendar — what goes in when, across the seasons, and which crops sit well next to each other. One of five Head Gardener roles.
- Role scaffold
Head Gardener — Pests
Watches pest and disease pressure and holds the garden's spray-free standard when it is tested. One of five Head Gardener roles.
- Role scaffold
Head Gardener — Orchard
Takes the long view of the perennials — six fruit trees and three bananas — through their first three to five years. One of five Head Gardener roles.
- Role scaffold
Kids' Plot Lead
Looks after the children's raised bed, the school's involvement, and any local children who turn up to garden — a named adult the kids always know.
- Role scaffold
Marae Liaison
Holds the Waikarā Marae relationship for the project, and is the named DCCG contact for wider marae or hapū relationships the work draws in.
- Role scaffold
Food Stand Caretaker
Keeps the food stand itself sound — structure, board, shelf surface. Tends the container; the community's rules govern the contents.
- Role scaffold
Fuel/Spend Tracker
Handles the project's receipts — every spend against the Kai Ora grant — and hands them to the Treasurer at each monthly meeting.
What the garden will do
- Put spray-free, organic, locally grown food in reach of every Donnellys Crossing resident.
- Unlock decades of gardening, preserving, cooking, building and craft knowledge currently siloed across households.
- Engage children directly through a kids’ plot.
- Build a learning relationship with Waikarā Marae, three years into their own papakāinga gardens.
- Grow in right relationship with mana whenua.
- Return the annual community picnic sports day to the gardens after a two-year hiatus.
Why it matters
Donnellys Crossing is a small remote rural community on the Kauri Coast. The nearest supermarket is in Dargaville, half an hour away. Fuel costs, the rising cost of living, and distance from supply all press on household budgets. Some here run low on food. They shouldn’t.
The garden puts food in reach — spray-free, organic, grown here, available at a community food stand where anyone can take what they need. It gives the knowledge that has always been here a reason to come into the same place and be passed on. And it will be well documented, so other small rural communities can borrow what works.
Who’s involved
Donnellys Crossing Community Group (around 22 active volunteers, lead organisation); Te Roroa; Waikarā Marae; the experienced gardeners of Donnellys Crossing; local knowledge holders — preservers, cooks, builders, woodworkers, engineers, farmers; the local school; and Kaipara Landscape Supplies in Dargaville.
How it’s funded
The garden’s materials are funded through the Kai Ora Fund, with everything else — labour, machinery, mulch and know-how — given in-kind by the community. Read a short summary of our Kai Ora application.