The One Love Christmas activity at Imrie park in December was a way to bring the neighbourhood together and provide families with seedlings for their new gardens.

The One Love Gardens initiative, which kicked off in November, saw 50 garden boxes installed in four streets in Mangere on Deborah Place, Tranent Street, Imrie Ave and Friesian Drive.

This initiative is a partnership between One Love, Healthy Families Manukau, Manurewa-Papakura and Alliance Community Initiatives Trust.  It tests what a sustainable food system could look like in South Auckland and the installation of the gardens are part of the first phase.

Alongside a bouncy castle, sausage sizzle and different games and activities, the Christmas event was a chance to talk about gardening including what and when to plant for the summer months with advice from Kelly Francis from Whenua Warrior.

The next phase of the initiative includes installing more gardens in the One Love neighbourhood in the new year.