Community elder and member of the PIACT Advisory Group, Teremoana Rima, says the garden is an opportunity for those in retirement to be a part of something purposeful. 

"We started the garden in 2019 and it's somewhere for us retired people to come and spend time together, do a bit of weeding, planting and everything that we produce goes back to the community. 

"We grow everything from carrots, potatoes, cabbage, silverbeet, basically whatever we can. We do our best to provide to as many families as we can."

Mr Rima says for a lot of the elders helping out with the vege garden, it also provides a sense of nostalgia. 

"I'm from the Cook Islands, a lot of us were born and raised in the Pacific Islands; we talk about how we used to do the gardens back home. For me, it reminds me of my parents and my grandmother who loved to garden. 

"We also learn to be smarter with how we garden because the climate and the way crops grow is a bit different here than it is back home."

Mr Rima is grateful that he can be a part of something that gives back to families in the communities. 

"This is what we're here for, to provide for the community. Whatever we can grow, we do it and give it to families; it's also a lot of fun for us to do the gardening together."