Latest News & Resources
Growing Food in the Southern Lakes - September Edition: Digging in for Spring
Growing food in the Southern Lakes is a shared effort. Sixteen growers, foragers, and food-lovers from SLKC and local food growers are pooling what actually works in our climate, so beginners can start with confidence.
For September, the focus is spring garden prep, planting out your seedlings, caring for fruit trees and berries, and deciding whether a tunnel house is right for you. We'll also cover which spring weeds to pull (and which to eat), plus a foraging feature on plantain and simple pantry condiments from kitchen scraps.
Food Resilience Tour at Wao Summit 2026: A day inside our local food system.
How resilient is the food system that feeds our region? This year’s Wao Summit Food Resilience Tour takes you behind the scenes to meet the growers, researchers and community leaders already working to create a stronger, more local and more connected food future.
Growing Food in the Southern Lakes - August Edition: Seeds, Spuds & Scavengers
Growing food in the Southern Lakes is a shared effort. Sixteen growers, foragers, and food-lovers from SLKC and local food growers are pooling what actually works in our climate, so beginners can start with confidence.
For August, we're covering seed raising, potato varieties, and what to sow and plant out this month. We'll show you how to garden alongside Central Otago's rabbits, from plant choices to fencing, how to identify chickweed and what to do with it, and share two recipes: sauerkraut and yoghurt flatbreads.
Growing Food in Southern Lakes - July Edition: raised beds, manures and perennial propagation
Growing food in the Southern Lakes just got easier. Fifteen local growers are teaming up with Wao each month to share what actually works in our climate, helping beginners get started with confidence. This month we discuss how to build a raised garden bed, using animal manures, propagating perennial plants and seed raising basics.
A Fantastic Evening of Local Food Connections
Wao's Green Drinks event, Growing Local Food Networks, brought together growers, foragers, hunters, fishers, preservers, bakers, and food enthusiasts to explore three community-led food resilience concepts: Carb Club, Seedling Co-op, and Kai Connect. The evening sparked strong interest, new connections, and enthusiasm for strengthening local food networks across the Upper Clutha.
Growing Food in Southern Lakes - June Edition: build a compost, improve your soil, plant garlic.
Growing food in the Southern Lakes just got easier. Fifteen local growers are teaming up with Wao each month to share what actually works in our climate, helping beginners get started with confidence. This month we discuss how to setup a compost, improve your soil and grow garlic.
Growing Local Food Networks Focus of Upcoming Wao Green Drinks Event
The Green Drinks event will explore how distributed local food network models could play an important role in strengthening resilience across the region.
Growing Food in Southern Lakes - May Edition: Build Soil, Save Seeds, Prepare for Spring
Growing food in the Southern Lakes just got easier. Fifteen local growers are teaming up with Wao each month to share what actually works in our climate, helping beginners get started with confidence. Up first: Build Soil, Save Seeds, Prepare for Spring.