The Northland township of Maungaturoto has had a floral makeover and now, inspired by the success of that project, the community is pulling together to plant fruit trees to provide food for the locals.
Diana Moore and her husband Richard masterminded the initial sprucing up of the town, and now, with help from volunteers, they have a new project.
This Saturday the soil will be tilled at the Maungaturoto Country Club so that an orchard of 60 trees can be planted to provide locals with fruit.
The town has a population 837, according to the 2013 census, and is located close to the Otamatea River 45km south of Whangerei.
The Moores say when they first moved there from Kerikeri, Maungaturoto was a sad and shabby place, and they say it felt like a dying town.
So they decided to make a change.
They say the beautification idea had the blessing of council as long as it was self-funded. Richard drew up plans to transform most of the gardens in town. And through donated labour and money, the town started to bloom.
So successful was that community effort, the locals decided the next move would be a food forest.
They say the orchard will not only continue the process of beautifying the town, but also get families outdoors to forage for free fruit.
