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Growing Skills, One Planter at a Time – NZCT Supports Green Lab Summer Workshops

"The Green Lab has shown us how to create trap boxes and insect hotels as a way to support the community and the environment. I’ve brought many groups of people to these workshops and have watched them thrive as they learned new skills and built community connections. Having a sense of purpose and direction makes them feel more personally empowered and socially responsible – and this spills over into many other aspects of their daily lives."
Dan Heaphy, Support Co-ordinator at Hōhepa Canterbury

New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) has awarded a $7,015 grant to Christchurch environmental group The Green Lab to help cover the cost of their summer outdoor building workshops, enabling local participants to gain practical construction skills and create green spaces for their homes and neighbourhoods.

The Green Lab create and curate spaces that foster community connection and wellbeing, with expertise in community co-design, nature-based landscaping, and education. Their workshops are open to the public, and groups like Hōhepa Canterbury have come to the workshop to support their people, bringing together young families, retirees, students, and beneficiaries to build planters, stools, worm towers, insect hotels, and birdhouses.

Sebastian, a local father and participant, says "We’re a family of six with kids aged three to ten years-old and we all feel very welcome whenever we attend the building workshop. The pre-made kits are easy to assemble with great support from staff and the other attendees. It’s wonderful to meet up with the regulars every week to chat and work together side by side."

Dan Heaphy, Support Co-ordinator at Hōhepa Canterbury, adds, "The Green Lab has shown us how to create trap boxes and insect hotels as a way to support the community and the environment. I’ve brought many groups of people to these workshops and have watched them thrive as they learned new skills and built community connections. Having a sense of purpose and direction makes them feel more personally empowered and socially responsible – and this spills over into many other aspects of their daily lives."

NZCT’s GM of Grants, Marketing and Communications, Ben Hodges, adds “The Green Lab’s workshops not only teach valuable skills but help people connect with their community and the environment. We’re proud our responsible gaming partnerships with our Christchurch venues have enabled us to support bringing people together and making green spaces accessible to everyone.”