Applying a Bioregional Approach to Local Food Resilience in Sumner, New Zealand

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Report prepared by

Robina McCurdy, Shane Orchard, and Bailey Peryman for

Habitat Sumner Project October 2013

1. Introduction – Why Local Food Resilience?

Local food production is of vital importance in these times due to a variety of factors,

including the following:

* Environmental & Agricultural factors –predicted increases in extreme weather events,

increased frequency and severity of earthquakes, serious loss of genetic diversity, and

evidence of rapidly decreasing food quality.

* Economic & Resources factors – economic downturn, disempowering political systems,

rising food prices, life-supporting resource depletion, fossil fuel dependencies, and

uncertain oil availability.

* Human & Social Wellbeing factors – increasing health issues due to poor diet (especially

obesity, diabetes, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder in children), and societal

fragmentation (breakdown of ‘normal’ family systems and isolation of the elderly).

Strengthening social and economic connections through a diversity of community food

systems functioning at a bioregional scale can improve food security for every household

and help to rebuild healthy social systems.

2. Why a Bioregional Approach? A Bioregion (‘Life Region’) may be defined as a watershed or catchment area with particular

characteristics of flora, fauna, people, economy, resources and history.

There are many perspectives regarding defining territorial scales – for example

permaculture systems in use globally vary from 10km to 100km from the main bioregional

activity centre. Food access boundaries expand as time efficiency and distance access

increases – so a significant factor is fossil fuel powered motorised transport, coupled with

the stability of access routes. If this is a non-issue, distance limits virtually disappear.

However, without cars, trucks, trains or cargo boats, we are relegated to human or animal

powered systems (e.g. walking, bicycles, horses) and local boundaries shrink markedly to

where regular human scale, face-to-face contact becomes the norm.

It is useful to consider this range of scales when evaluating and preparing for local food

resilience – firstly the present reality, so we can act immediately within our existing

situation, and secondly the future probability – so we can be properly prepared.

Topography, trading practices and proximity of staple crop agricultural lands, are some

factors which also play into this decision.

Unless we are a culinary-creative vegetarian living in a warm climate, we cannot meet all or

food needs within our immediate locality (i.e. walking distance). The more built up the

human settlement, the more spacious the staple crop requirements, and the larger the

animal consumed, the more we depend upon our outlying rural areas.

Eco-designing of cities into a diversity of village clusters integrating sizeable urban

agriculture areas would go a long way towards solving this ecological footprint and ‘food

miles’ dilemma. However this is not the current situation, nor the trend of developers, so

we need to work within the framework of what exists, whilst ‘pushing the envelope’

regional planning and sustainable resource management. For example contemporary

subdivisions often leave minimal space for vege gardens let alone fruit trees. A more

resilient food production system can be promoted by embracing the bioregional scale,

which can include curtailing our ‘food desires’ down to what can be sustainably produced

within our own bioregion.

3. Permaculture as Design System for Bioregional Food Resilience

3.1 Permaculture & Nature

Permaculture is a conscious land use and social design system based on ecological

principles, marrying the needs of people with the needs of the environment. Its ethics are

earth care, people care and fair share. It mimics the patterns and relationships found in

nature, whilst yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local

resources.

The requirements of nature are the first priority to address. There is a need to allocate areas

for both food production and nature, from a deep sustainability perspective, with the first

consideration being the ecological health of the area, e.g. hydrology, wildlife habitat and

forested vegetative areas. Ecologically sensitive areas may be ‘patches’ in the midst of other

zones, as well as on the extremities. Exclude from food production, the areas which nature

needs and also where the terrain and other conditions aren’t suitable for food growing - and

consider everywhere else as a viable candidate.

Evolution of the permaculture system occurs through continuing refinement and innovation

of production and distribution systems for food and other resources in ways that are in

keeping with permaculture principals (Figure 1).

Figure 1: A topical breakdown of the Permaculture Ethics and Principle

The originators of the Permaculture concept, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and others,

have written a succession of books on the subject, as well applying its design methodology at

every scale and educating many thousands of students in every continent. The

Permaculture principles introduced in the books Permaculture 1 and 2 have been

amalgamated and renamed in David Holmgens seminal book ‘Permaculture – beyond

Sustainability’.

3.2 Permaculture Zoning Pertaining to Bioregional Food Systems Analysis &

Planning

Zoning is the central design principle being used in this bioregional approach. Zoning is the

spatial analysis and conceptual design of an area, to achieve ease and efficiency of land

management, resource and energy flows. The most concentrated zone, Zone 1, ‘hugs’ the

main activity centre/facility, and is where the most frequent engagement, observation,

labour, harvest and intensity of use happens – and the least frequently used and attendance

needing area, Zone 4, is at the periphery/extremities of the land. Zone 5, the wilderness

area where nature reigns supreme, is generally a conservation area beyond that, or

interweaves through the other zones.

By applying the same functional and agricultural zoning approach which one systematically

uses in designing a single property, to food production at a bioregional scale, a diverse range

of appropriate spaces within close-knit human settlements their rural hinterlands, are the

locals ‘food basket’ and ‘grazing ground’.

4. Production, Activities, and Locations for each Zone

4.1 Zone 1

Zone 1 is the intensive high-use, regular interaction areas of daily contact for the purposes of

management, tending and harvesting. In this zone grow many of the annual veges species.

Typical crops for Zone 1 include fast-growing veges, especially salad greens, herbs, and

dwarf fruit trees.

Concepts include:

Small-scale Composting

Wood Fired Ovens / Pizza Ovens

Small Chicken Coops, guinea pig or rabbit Hutches

Container plantings (e.g. veges in buckets or pots)

Seeds Balls – vege seeds impregnated into clay balls and hurled into existing (usually

weedy)

Vegetation along sides of roads, vacant sections, etc.

Creating products which add to the food system locally, not necessarily used by

home producer (e.g. compost materials).

Location in Bioregional Food System: Home Gardens and ‘Neighbourhood Nodes’.

Specific Physical Spaces include:

(a) Neighbours sharing garden space eg taking down a fences, inserting a gate or creating an

opening in the hedge in between

(b) Public spaces in built up residential, business and light industrial areas, accessibility for

picking as passing by, for example:

‘Verge & Edge Gardens’ (on/up/alongside small spaces, verges, walkways,

alleyways)

‘Guerilla Gardening’

‘Vertical stacking’ - using shared structures eg fences for espalier fruit trees, power

poles for vines.

Notes:

Public food picking is a less acceptable part of our contemporary culture in New

Zealand, raising is required to shift attitudes;

Caution – check out any public spaces in advance for impact of animal excreta, use of

chemical sprays and contamination from previous land use.

4.2 Zone 2

Zone 2 is less intensive than Zone 1, with the main seasonal human activities being to prune

and pick fruit. In an orchard, natural pest management plants are used, additional fertility is

given to trees by integrating with chickens. Zone 2 is typically used for staple crops, fruit

trees, herbs, smaller animals (e.g. chickens, ducks commonly in Food Forest or Forest

Garden systems).

Concepts include:

Food Trucks, Fruit Drives, Food swap / food exchange, Seed exchange / banks / library,

Kitchen incubator (small business service centre), Kids Edible Gardens, Local & Mobile

Butchers, Mobile Kitchen / Mobile Pizza Oven, Community Food Stall, Organic Shop,

Neighbourhood/Open Orchard, Shared-use commercial kitchen, Aquaponics, Urban apiaries.

Location in Bioregional Food System:

‘Neighbourhood Nodes’, Community Gardens, Allotments, School Grounds, Vacant Land,

Periphery of Parks & Reserves.

Specific Physical Spaces and Suburban Strategies include:

Redesigning suburbs, villages and towns for greater green space, water harvesting and food

production. Schools can support staple food gardens, seed banks, and serve as plant

distribution centres.

By creating a Local Seasonal Fruit Harvest Calendar, an entire suburb can become an ‘edible

landscape’, with locals ‘scrumping/gleaning’ excess produce (usually fruit, similar to a

‘guerilla gardening’ at a larger scale) - basically ‘backyard blitzing’ of fruit trees to

counteract lack of time and energy in growing/tending own orchard. As a compliment to

this, suitable public land can be set aside for a neighbourhood orchard.

A ‘Local Growers Collective’ can distribute produce and revenue. Negotiate access to places

where surplus food exists - operating on a Zone 2 geographical and strategic level, but

concentrating on Zone 1 for harvesting and consumption.

Processing of fruit can happen together as a community at the local hall/community centre

(e.g. ‘Waiheke Island’s Great Plum Drive’).

‘School as a community resource and community as a school resource’ - schools have a huge

potential for vege gardens, and children love being kaitiaki of seeds. Children are usually

willing, and it establishment/guidance/supervision works well if focused on community

support rather than depending upon parents… first get it started then enthusiasm generated

amongst parents. Schools ideally require a ‘Needs Assessment’ with regard to gardens and

food to determine what kinds of support is needed, as it can differ widely from school to

school.

Local Infrastructure opportunities include:

A multiple-use certified kitchen for value added produce, so one facility can be

shared by many. This is an example of a Small Business Incubator, which people can

use at a defined time to do a specific activity, and open for other groups to do their

activities also within those premises;

Mobile Butchers kitchens (note that a mobile/home kill butcher requires

regulation/certification) where community has more control over the meat they

purchase;

Shared Small Processing plants (e.g. Food Dryer, Apiary, Grain Mill), these could be

mobile in a stable trailer;

Central location/facility for collective harvest to be brought to and divided up for

shops, community and disadvantaged peoples;

Seed banks, nurseries and plant materials – including distribution facilities based in

schools;

Aquaponics systems – hybrid of agriculture and hydroponics, introducing fish into

that system which feed off the waste;

Internet Distribution systems - can assist making year-round production systems

viable.

4.3 Zone 3

Zone 3 & 4 require tending and harvesting of animals and plants. Zone 3 typically includes

broad scale farming systems of grains, pulses and other staples, medium-sized animals (e.g.

sheep, goats), and commercial fruits.

The scale could be small (e.g. planting and managing nuts in local reserves or parks) or large,

(e.g. regarding the whole of Canterbury as Zone 3) in relation to the Zone 1 home base.

An example for Sumner might be that ‘Zone 1’ suburban neighbours could band together to

own a block of production land for staple crops by sub-leasing from a farmer in Loburn.

Alternatively, the land could be closer to Sumner, and goats and sheep already exist in open

spaces in the Scarborough area.

Concepts include:

Community-supported agriculture/fisheries/restaurants/composting, Education for urban

farming, Co-operatively managed land on lifestyle blocks, Food hub, People’s grocery,

Farmer’s Markets, Nurseries, Apiaries, City Farms, Staggered-income diversified agriculture,

Alley Cropping, Food Forests on Community Land

Location in Bioregional Food System:

Peri-urban areas, Open Spaces and Hinterlands, Lifestyle blocks/hobby/farms in semi-rural

areas.

4.4 Zone 4

Zone 4 areas typically evolve over time, with people investing in the process. Examples

include nut trees, animal fodder, larger animals (e.g. cattle, cows, deer).

Concepts include:

‘Sharefarming’ /sharecropping/shared animal husbandry - a Joint Venture/CSA approach to

animal raising & crop production.

Grain Mill, Forest gardens / Food forests, Foraging, Biodiversity (agricultural).

Location in Bioregional Food System:

Rural pastoral and forestry lands.

4.5 Zone 5

Zone 5 is to enjoy and protect. Nature governs, and systems have taken time to evolve and

mature slowly. Produce from wild harvest can include seasonal foraging of fruit,

mushrooms, berries, wild game (e.g. pigs, goats, deer), watercress, seaweed, fish shellfish. It

is our responsibility to nurture and replenish Zone 5 areas, which can include enhancing

them by restoring or replicating and distributing elsewhere. It is possible to enhance wild

harvest opportunities in an ecologically sensitive way to what already exists eg along road

verges, tracks, walkways. Plant/seed and harvest native edibles and traditional foods.

Research and create maps of locations of food resources and utilitarian materials – e.g. flax,

raupo.

Concepts include:

Education and training are needed to bridge concepts and learn food preparation and

processing. Promoting the ‘Food Commons’ concept could help to shift attitudes in NZ from

wild harvest being ‘for those who can’t afford to buy food at supermarket’ to thinking of the

‘edible landscapes’ of the ‘food commons’, as part of a fully-fledged ecologically balanced

bioregion.

Location in Bioregional Food System:

Wilderness areas, Park edges, Water bodies (wetlands, rivers, lakes, oceans), Back Country

Hills/Mountains, Open Pastures, Roadside Verges & other ‘neglected’ land.

5. Applying a Bioregional Approach to Identifying Local Food Opportunities in Sumner, New Zealand 5.1 Methods

Overview

An interactive workshop was conducted to prepare a bioregional assessment and plan to

identify local food opportunities. The workshop process included three key phases:

- awareness raising and identification of the various types of local food systems

available

- review of Permaculture principles and definition of the 5 zones to be used in the bio-

regional analysis approach followed by analysis and mapping of current local food

sources and systems

- Identification of opportunities for enhancing Sumner local food sources and systems,

together with notable issues and constraints

Background research and awareness raising

In preparation for the workshop a literature review and background research was

conducted to identify and document a summary of local food systems. This document was

used in the educational resource in the first phase of the workshop and accompanied by a

visual presentation. A brainstorming exercise was conducted to identify any further types of

local food sources and systems that were known to the group.

Bio-regional assessment of current local food sources and systems

A review of the permaculture principles and definitions of the 5 zones was conducted to

brief the group on the approach prior to the assessment exercise. A crowd sourcing

technique was then used to identify what was already known about local food sources in the

bio-region. This was facilitated using an exercise to prompt the identification of current local

food sources and systems using symbols representing various food groupings, placed onto

local model-map by workshop participants.

Identification of opportunities for enhancing Sumner local food sources and systems

To identify further opportunities the bioregion was first characterized using a range of

criteria of importance to local food production. These included

- Soil types;

- Current vegetation and natural habitat patterns;

- Water and moisture sources;

- Sun and shade regimes;

- Other climatic attributes (e.g. frost, wind exposure) and known micro-climates;

- Transport systems and other infrastructure; and

- Identification of social systems, nodes and key characteristics that are integral to a

local food system are also identified (community resources).

With this information in mind a brainstorming exercise was then conducted to identify

opportunities to improve local food sources and systems in the bio-region, in each of the 5

zones. For each opportunity identified, notable issues and constraints were also assessed.

5.2 Results

5.2.1 Definition of the Bioregion

Our workshop’s definition of Sumner Bioregional boundaries: the coast and foreshore along

Avon Heathcote Estuary / Te Ihutai to the spur dividing Redcliffs from McCormacks bay, and

along the crest of the hills behind, to include all of the Redcliffs, Richmind Hill, Sumner and

Taylors Mistake catchments. The area is characterized by a patchwork of different and

somewhat fluid zones, with the back of the valleys and upper hill slopes being Zone 4 and 5.

5.2.2 Inventory of current local food sources and systems in the Sumner

Bioregion

Tree crops & Fruit:

(a) Brownlee Reserve guerilla orchard pears -– top of Clifton Hill, cnr. Panorama and Clifton

Hill Road – handful of various fruit trees.

(b) van Asch, half a dozen plums, a dozen apple trees, and walnuts

(c) Wakefield Avenue, elderberries

(d) Heberden Avenue, plum trees

(e) Mulgans Track, plum trees

Approximately 5% household self-reliance fruit trees, therefore there is an opportunity to

increase the number of fruit trees.

Main crops – staples:

Beyond bioregion - Marshlands, Canterbury Plains

** Not much happening in Sumner – areas of previous supplies no longer available.

Animals & Birds:

Kotare Produce –eggs and rhubarb

Sheep (Council) hill country (anything which is not a formal area) – Greenwood farm

(Specified local animal/bird production – not relevant for this area)

Nurseries:

(a) Horotane Valley

(b) Sumner Community Gardens – surplus seeds

(c) community/school gardens

Beehives:

Upper Clifton Hill Road – Richmond Valley side – son and father – will take bees out to

where pollination is needed around country.

Wild Harvest:

Wild mushrooms along tops of hills

Rabbits and hares Port Hills

Mussels – Taylors Mistake, Port Levy

Parsley, spinach – Richmond Valley, Evans Pass, Scarborough

Rosemary – Clock Tower foreshore

Fish – Scarborough rocks, Estuary mouth, Taylors Mistake

Seaweed – foreshore

Olives – Amanda Cropp – harvested Sumner flat –Stromboli press outside of Sumner

Seed Banks:

Sumner Community Gardens

Certified Kitchens:

Sumner Bowling Club

Sumner Old School Hall (great kitchen – unknown if certified)

van Asch Deaf Education Centre

Wilderness Areas:

Sumnervale Valley

Wakefield Avenue area

Native reserves / restoration areas – including Rapanui / Jollies Bush/ Mahoe-nui / top of

Evans Pass Road

Beginnings of: Nicolson Park around to Whitewash Head Road, coastal strip all way round.

Distribution Nodes:

Old Sumner School hall – summer seasonal food swap and plum drive events (kitchen used

as a base for making sauces/jams).

Garden City 2.0 FoodBag delivery service

Summary of Analysis:

Sparse food production areas

Lots of wild food

Potential for more

Potential for added value produce with local thinking from backyard

Green pasture on north ridge with shelter belts

5.2.3 Identification of opportunities for enhancing Sumner local food sources

and systems by zone

Zone 1:

* Food Club – 17 Marriner Street available (Cost: $30.00 per month for front room)

* Wood-fired oven - communal oven for pizza nights and neighbourhood scale bread

baking.

Zone 1 & 2:

(a) Community gardens

- increase multiple options/extend functions eg add commercial kitchen

- more land and safer site, especially chosen areas with its uniqueness e.g. by

kindergarten so children can pick strawberries

(b) Fruit trees, with associated Wild Harvest areas – huge potential here.

- Where? Start with Van Asch and Sumner School.

- Make a pitch to Council for vacant land for community orchard.

- Have dedicated orchards and allocated wild harvest places

- Run like ‘Project Crimson’ approach – driven by a Sumner ‘Food Club’

Zone 5:

Wild Harvest

There is a huge potential in Sumner bioregion,

- kai moana e.g. mussels, paua

- wild herbs e.g. spinach and parsley growing wild in valleys

- native edibles e.g. kawakawa for teas

- harvesting wild game e.g. rabbits – a ‘pest’ species so a double-advantage possible

5.2.4 Constraints and opportunities for achieving community-scale food

production

• Good gardeners and people with good knowledge of food growing, when to harvest –

important to make it explicit that it is collective and working as groups – coordinated

• Local authorities may prefer a clear/clean look – area broken up into ‘squares’ –

structured, allocate certain amount to each property. Aesthetically pleasing.

• Improvement of water quality by awareness of nature of catchment floor.

• Quality of wild harvest – investigate and identify clean sources

• Some Other Viable Product Ideas: Pine Nuts, Saffron, Hemp (along ridgelines) –

great for oils, seeds, fibre and good for rejuvenating soil.

• Collaborative projects between the community and local authorities who may have

suitable land available. A good model is a community-council project in Nelson.

Council has a MOU agreement with a community group (in this case a Ratepayers

Association), who want to plant and manage a reserve for food production in an

appropriate way (in this case by managing as a community orchard).

5.2.5 Incentives for Participation

• Competitions in Sumner – best taste – select varieties – grafting – transplanting

• Tours and educational events – e.g. bus tours and workshops, could be centred on

local schools and /or community gardens, with children showing others around to

enthuse peers and/or other attendees.

• School badge – can facilitate children’s involvement.

• Tap into other community groups to get volunteers – food types to suit different

social groups.

• Special Trademarks or branding for Sumner products to raise profile.

Appendix 1

Key components of Bioregional Approach to Local Food Resilience

(adapted from Earthcare Education Aotearoa, 2013)

The essential factors in a comprehensive approach to local food resilience to develop

interconnected resilient food growing communities, with fun ways of motivating and

organizing whole families to get involved, are:

Education is required to support food production processing and local distribution

systems - people growing, food processing activities and distribution logistics suit

different people with different skills, e.g. gardeners, accountants etc. There is also a need

to consider and embrace cultural traditions.

Create a multi-tiered Permaculture design strategy - applied at backyard,

neighbourhood, local, and regional scales;

Awareness raising and personal empowerment activities hand-in-hand with growing

food;

Piggy-back on existing social, sports, organisation and business networks, with

'good fit' food resilience functionality;

Developing an interactive local seasonal calendar for land management, food

production, harvest and distribution, linked with social-cultural events;

Extensive and efficient use of local resources; from double-up use of existing

processing facilities to the replenishing wild harvest areas; and

Enriching regional food economies through production systems and value-adding

activities, to further increase local food resilience and household wealth in the region.