As their time on our television screens draws to a close, Anne and Al Gourley are getting excited about heading home. While filming the reality show Our First Home has been amazing, they are looking forward to spending time with daughter Amy Kim (21) away from the chaos, as well as spending time with their other children, daughter Tessa (27) and son Josh (19).
And there’s a fourth “child” in the Gourley family that they’re keen to return to – their community gardening venture. It may seem strange, comparing the outdoor project to their own flesh and blood, but having given life to the community garden, for Anne and Al the metaphor is not as far-fetched as you may think.
From knowing nothing about it, gardening has now become Al and Anne’s “baby”.
“It was a slow conception, then a really fast birth,” Anne says of the project’s creation. “We were fascinated by these gardens when we travelled in our younger years.” But that was as far as the initial interest got. It wasn’t until the Tauranga residents (both 57) had children of their own that they realised their knowledge was lacking.
“Both our parents were great gardeners – we were far less interested,” Anne explains. “When we got to the stage of wanting to be able to feed our own children with nutritious fruit and vegetables, we realised we didn’t know anything.”
Anne and Al are amazed by how positively people have responded to their community gardening project.
Their “lightbulb moment” coincided with the recession – a close friend lost their job in a wave of cost-cutting. “I just saw a vision – bang! – of the gardens. I knew what these plots would look like, how they would be managed and how they could help people like us learn to grow their own food. I couldn’t wait to tell Al.”
Fortunately, Anne’s builder hubby was equally enthusiastic and they set about putting their plans into motion. But establishing the first garden took time. “It was a year of getting a core group together and another year of talking to the council. We wanted them to understand how much of an asset our garden could be.”
Eventually, their hard work and persistence paid off and the city council granted them the use of the Otumoetai Railway Reserve in 2010. They paired up with a local church, which gave them financial aid and put on a working bee to get it running. In one day, more than 100 volunteers came to build 58 rented garden plots.
“It excites us to see people working together,” Anne says with a smile. “The area that the garden was built on was known as an unsavoury hangout, and everyone thought it would soon be vandalised. But it’s amazing how, once you show some pride in a place, people start respecting it.”
Al and Anne are looking forward to helping others set up community gardens in the style of their Tauranga plot.
Since then, Anne and Al have initiated or been involved with three more gardens in the area, including one with the Department of Corrections. The gardens have also brought together people from all walks of life. “For example, there’s a 91-year-old gentleman who has been a gardener all his life, and he has now found a place where he can pass on his skills.”
Originally known as Let’s Get Growing, their project has now partnered with the charitable trust Good Neighbour, a move that has allowed Anne and Al to focus on being facilitators. “Our goal is to help anyone who wants to set up a community garden. We’re constantly approached by people who would love something like this in their own neighbourhood.”
So, after all that, has running a community garden given Anne and Al green thumbs? “Our home garden still looks as bad,” Anne laughs. “The irony is, we now know how to do it, but we don’t have the time!”
