Sustainable community organisation, The Green Lab, has been running free workshops, converting old aluminium signs into planter boxes.
Lab director Bridget Allen was inspired to tackle the recycling initiative after she noticed perfectly good signs being thrown away.
The Green Lab is involved with a range of greening and growing projects around the city. It was first formed after the earthquakes, with the aim of bringing outdoor spaces back to life.
Workshops to construct the recycled planter boxes are held at the Philipstown Community Hub, an accessible shared space for residents.
Allen hopes the workshops will teach people new skills, and inspire them to set up growing projects in their own backyard.
"If you've got, say, a small apartment and you might only have a balcony, you can still grow some plants. Also a lot of planter boxes are used around when you're unsure of the soil as well and maybe there's contaminants in the soil."
She's keen to engage with the community and is also working with the likes of Climate Action Campus and the Avon Hub.
Volunteers can either take the planter boxes for a small donation, or leave them to be used in future community growing projects.
Allen aims to broaden the scope of the workshops in the future and is looking for more items they can recycle.
- By Emily O'Hagan, made with the support of NZ On Air
