Sustainable Backyards Trail
FRI 31 OCT - Sun 9 Nov 2025
Green technology
Are you curious about humanure, harvesting water, or perhaps setting up a root cellar or seed-raising station? You can explore a range of green technologies on the Backyards Trail — and if tech and construction piques your interest, don’t miss the Sustainable Builds Trail.
Locally sourced and saved
Get ideas on making the most of your harvests while reducing the load on your wallet! From drying and preserving through to producing oils, hydrosols, soaps and salves, even cleaners and fertilisers — there’s heaps to learn or to purchase.
Plants of all shapes and sizes
Stroll through backyards that aren’t afraid to be different! Mixed in with veggies you’ll find helpful flowers, laden fruit and nut trees, medicinal herbs, edible weeds and fungi. Peruse native plantings and sub-tropical species; you might even find some sought-after seedlings to join your own plant menagarie.
Thriving communities
Discover gardens with people at their heart. You’ll find hosts in Crop Swaps and farmers markets, running workshops or creating veggie boxes, exploring the maramataka and providing for pātaka kai and food banks. Our hosts cultivate communities along with food.
Bring the whole whānau!
Enjoy learning together as a family and exploring simple ideas that the kids can do at home. Check out the Garden Explorers section of the Sustainable Trails booklet when it comes out for fun, free activities for budding gardeners.
The Backyards Trail invites you to connect with gardeners who grow healthy, affordable backyards keeping the environment in mind. We’re Aotearoa’s longest-running sustainable gardens trail — check out what makes us great!
Just what is a sustainable backyard?
Our hosts are on a journey to work in harmony with nature rather than against it — from pest-controlling plants to upcycling over buying new, they take a zero-waste approach. Using practical techniques that minimise harm to te taiao, our gardeners nurture not only their whānau but the world around them.
Learn & grow
Expand your understanding of sustainable food production, harvesting, and preserving your garden’s bounty. Be guided by hosts, participate in workshops or pick up a ticket to a range of affordable events. From kids to garden experts, there’s room to grow!
Healthy soil & healthy animals
Experience permaculture through food forests, no dig gardens, hügelkultur or agroforestry. Learn about the perfect ingredients to build soil and how companion planting keeps plants healthy and strong. No doubt you’ll pick up the endless benefits of backyard chooks and worms, as well as tips for ducks, sheep, cows, and even mealworms!
Do it yourself
Our gardeners are a clever bunch, making use of all sorts of materials to keep costs down and divert useful stuff from landfill. On the Backyards Trail, you can see bedframes turned into climbing structures, clotheslines as supporting cloches, and find far more than one use for old tyres. Source all sorts of tips and tricks for making the most of what you already have!
No matter your set up
Do you have a steep section, experience strong winds, or simply wonder what will grow in the shade? Perhaps you’re starting from scratch or a long term gardener. We have tiny backyards to multi-acre farms, a-few-years-in to well-established, and tidy to intermingled — you’re sure to discover unique, practical, affordable inspiration no matter your challenges, budget, or lifestyle.
