31 October 2022

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has strengthened it’s commitment to sustainability, launching a partnership with the local Canterbury Community Garden Association to supply the “soil food” generated by its food dehydrator to the organisation.

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Launched at the CCGA’s recent AGM, the partnership is a key step in the Centre’s move towards more sustainable operations.

Te Pae Christchurch General Manager Ross Steele said the Centre was delighted to partner with the Canterbury Community Garden Association (CCGA), the Just Dirt Trust and City Care in the distribution of the soil food created by the Centre’s onsite dehydrator.

“Sustainablity is a key tenet of operations across the Centre, and something we committed to very early on in our journey. With operations now well underway, it’s exciting to be able to recognise an initiative that we have been working towards since pre-opening.”

“The partnership also aligns well with our parent company ASM Global’s corporate social responsibility program ASM Global Acts, particularly the key program areas of protecting the environment and strengthening our communities,” Mr Steele said.

“With the Centre now in full swing, it’s fantastic to see weekly pick ups of soil food underway and to hear about the benefits local gardeners are finding as they use the soil food.”

Rachel Vogan, Capacity Builder at the CCGA said the organisation was proud to partner with Te Pae Christchurch, City Care and The Just Dirt Trust on this project.

“Creating connections, reusing of waste products to make compost is huge for our organisation. Currently, the CCGA is actively engaged with 52 community gardens in the region. This type of relationship is what community gardening is all about, sharing knowledge, and turning waste into something nutritious to feed our soils, it’s a win win,” she said.

“I love that it’s recycled from a waste product that may have ended up in landfill.” The “soil food” dehydrator used at Te Pae Christchurch is provided by Sustainably. It has the capacity to process 200 kilograms of food waste a day and works by heating the Centre’s excess food (food that is unsuitable to be donated to Foodbank Canterbury) to a set temperature over nine hours, reducing the food to a soil-like consistency which is rich in nutrients.