Best Bangers in the ‘Bridge – Rewarding Our Volunteers

It’s official. The sausages were sensational at the Ambury planting days last year. And the word from this year’s volunteers is that they are STILL sensational!

Over 3 weekends in May 2024 volunteers planted over 10,000 trees and flaxes in the wetlands on the Ambury foreshore. They did so well that the final planting day on 2 June 2024 was cancelled as all the mahi was done.

Once again Friends of the Farm supported the rangers by providing a sausage sizzle for the hard working volunteers and again purchased the goods from the lovely butcher in the Bridge. Of course, a vegetarian option, fruit and cordial
were provided.

Local Robyn says, “Tree planting is a great family outing. It’s satisfying to plant trees with your children and when you come back six months later you can see how the trees have grown and the difference they make to the landscape. It’s
also teaching children to care for the planet and make a difference.”

Friends of the Farm members were delighted to see the planting attracted a wide cross-section of the Auckland community and that people travelled from other suburbs to take part.

Friends of the Farm is a group of volunteers based in Māngere Bridge whose aim is to build a caring, connected and waste-wise community. They organise a wide range of free, family-orientated activities, and aim to encourage and involve people in reducing and recycling waste and raising awareness and connection within our neighbourhood.

Among Friends of the Farm’s recent activities were a Repair Café at the Māngere Bridge Library and an E-waste day. Repair Cafes are a growing movement in New Zealand, and Friends of the Farm (FOF) have held five in the last two years. Skilled volunteers are on hand to repair and fix broken items for free. In March 2024, 52 items were repaired and locals were thrilled. Watch our website or Facebook page for when the next Repair Café at Mangere Bridge Library will be held.

For the E-waste day in early April, FOF partnered with Penrose-based company Computer Recycling to run the day. There was a great turnout with people from all parts of Auckland arriving to drop off a huge variety of items, from laptops, fridges, washing machines, microwaves, phones, cables, and anything with a plug. Over 400 cars came through and around five tonnes of waste was collected. Computer Recycling repurposes and recycles what they can and extracts valuable materials and resources from electronics otherwise destined for landfill.

For further information check out or website https://aboutmangerebridge.nz

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