The Story so Far

Established in 2015, Richmond Community Garden has grown from humble beginnings as a small garden patch behind Avebury House into an expansive site hosting multiple diverse community projects. Here is how it grew:

Where we began

In March 2015 a small group started gardening together at Avebury House, in the small kitchen garden

Building our soil base

We created our first Hügelkultur beds – building raised beds by layering rotting logs, branches, and organic waste under a thick layer of soil

Lease with LINZ

On May 1st 2017, the Richmond Community Garden Trust were issued with a 2 year lease from LINZ for 1 acre of Red Zone land, 6 months later the lease was amended to cover 2 acres of land

Landscape plan

An initial landscape plan was designed by the team at CCC Heritage Parks

First Gala Event

We ran our first Gala event in the space

Weaving our first beds

Rekindle ran a willow and hazel weaving workshop with the garden crew to create planter bed edges.

A café from day one

The café idea began as a mobile coffee cart, trialled in 2017 with a visit from the Red Cross community coffee van. RNZ reported plans for a café and kayak hire as part of the garden project.

Necessary Traditions Festival

The garden was part of the Necessary Tradtions Festival, run by Rekindle, their earth building workshops constructed components of our mudhouse.

The Little Shop

The Little Shop was set up, selling products developed by our trustee, Julie Crook

Special Garden Areas

We established some of our first special garden areas: the Four Maidens bed, demonstrating a co planting systlem, the Koru Garden, with native edible species planted in a koru design; and the Willow Fedge (part fence, part hedge) was planted.

Garden & community events

We ran our first Car Boot Sale, and first Matariki in the Zone event, during Feasta 2018, we were part of the For Love of Bees cycle tour, we ran a stall at the Arts Centre Monster Garage Sale, and at Meet in the Middle, we organised a Wild Edible Food tour with Peter Langlands; we assisted with the design and set up of the CCGA stand at the Horticultural Society Autumn Garden Show promoting community gardening.

First Olive Picking Project

We had our first olive picking project, that would lead to the set up of the Olive Oil Co-op Avebury Mens Shed to build the compost bins that have been foundational in our composting programmes

Riverbend Refuge

The Green Lab’s project restoring native riverside habitat and mahinga kai values, with lots of help from the RCG crew.

Bee Awesome

Bee Awesome installed their first test bee hive in our space

Lease with LINZ

The RCGT signed a 5 year lease with LINZ

Jane Goodall visit

Jane Goodall visited the garden, a huge highlight in the RCG timeline, as well as features in the Press lifestyle magazine, Cuisine magazine

Meadow & garden expansion

We planted the meadow and explanded the whole garden site

More events

The 2nd Red Zone Birthday and Gala events were held

Letterbox Sculpture Competition

We ran a sculpture competition, deigning a work using letterboxes salvaged out of the Red Zone, with the winning piece Letterbox Love by Andrew Powell being installed at the gardens riverside entrance

The Riverlution begins

The Riverlution concept began shaping up

The initial café concept breaks ground

Early in 2019 we partnered with Greening the Rubble (now Green Lab) to consult the community on the café, and landscaping started later that year.

Garden of Curiosities Lease

Lease signed for Garden on Curiosities area, which has developed into out Fungi Farm site

More special garden areas

More features were added to the site including our mud kitchen, chicken coop and ping pong table.

Garden & community events

We ran our Spring Fair and Xmas Night Market and we collaborated with the Festival of Adult Learning and attended another GROW festival The Swanns Road Parklet project comenced Covid,

Swanns Rd Parklett

The Swanns Road Parklet project commenced, with collaboration from Green Lab

Covid 19 hits Aotearoa

The pandemic slowed the café build, so we used the pause to run an online survey, which showed strong local support.

The house that RCG built

With Avebury House busier than ever, the Trust asked LINZ about using a Vogel Street house as a meeting space for community groups. 

Fungi Farm

A mushroom-themed education, play and foraging area was announced for the river corridor in January and installed that year.

What was in the ground

By September 2021: the food forest, chicken coop, wayfinding at Swanns Road and Woodchester corners, Riverbend Refuge, Di’s Heritage Garden, Avon Forest Park restoration sites, Adventure Ave, and café landscaping.

Repair Cafe

First Repair Riverlution event, monthly event since then

Cleaning the awa

The Avon Ōtākaro Network’s In River Project began clean-ups in October 2022. Rubbish they recovered later became Justin Galligan’s sculpture on our Arts Trail.

Community Drop off station Launch

The first interation of our ongoing Drop Off Station was installed. Built by our local Mens Shed group, based at Avebury House.

Trapping goes city-wide

The Ōtākaro Urban Trapping Project expanded in early 2023 to cover the corridor from the City Centre to New Brighton, run from the Eco Hub.

Planning for impact

Our Impact Action Plan was developed in early 2023 with Rose Challies (Terra Nova Foundation), setting direction for 2024 to 2027.

Keeping NZ Beautiful

Riverlution won the Community Group Award at the 2023 Beautiful Awards.

Riverlution Café pours its first espresso

LINZ gave us a surplus building that fit the café site, and funding from Lotteries, Christchurch City Council and Rātā Foundation completed the fit-out. The building then had to shift 10 metres for resource consent, with help from Murray (Maiden Group), David (Rotary) and Alistair (Crane Trucks). It moved to its final spot just before the 2024 Richmond Gala.

Riverlution Parkrun laces up

More than 400 runners and walkers turned out for the first Riverlution Parkrun, Canterbury’s seventh. It launched on 14 June 2025.

A change at the top

Hayley Guglietta steps down as Chair after 12 years, and founding member Cathy Allden takes over. Hayley stays on as Treasurer.