Bringing a Garden Back to Life at St Joseph’s School

Date: 3 November 2025

Helping Hand: Mitre 10 MEGA Te Rapa & Ruakura

Project: A complete refresh of the garden space at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Fairfield

The team at Mitre 10 MEGA Te Rapa & Ruakura in Hamilton is proud to have delivered a complete refresh of the garden space at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Fairfield, turning an unused, overrun area into a thriving outdoor learning space for students.

In early 2025, St Joseph’s School reached out with a vision for their forgotten garden. The school’s Enviro class wanted a space they could cherish and learn in, a garden that would inspire pride and hands-on learning.

To understand the scope, Abby Camp (Marketing, Sustainability & Community Manager) and Corban Fray (Marketing Co-Ordinator) visited the site and met with the Enviro class teacher. It’s fair to say the garden was looking tired: overgrown, cluttered, and far from the vibrant learning space the students imagined. But we saw the potential and knew this project aligned perfectly with our values and commitment to supporting local communities.

The first step was figuring out what it would take to bring the garden back to life. Our incredible Garden Specialist, Jenna Zanchettin, led the planning with her expertise and passion, creating a detailed approach to replanting and revitalising the space.

Preparation was a major stage: water blasting, cleaning, removing debris, and repainting the shed, fence, garden beds, and worm farms. This phase was delayed for weeks due to persistent wet weather, but thanks to our dedicated team members who put their hands up, we pushed through and got the job done.

On Monday, 3 November, our owners Hayden and Abby Camp, along with a team from the store, headed to St Joseph’s to prepare the garden beds for fresh plants. The Enviro class joined in for hands-on planting, making it a true community effort.

The result? A modern, healthy garden space that will serve as an outdoor classroom and provide fresh vegetables for school families who might otherwise go without. Seeing the students back in their garden and excited to care for it was a highlight of the project. It’s more than a garden, it’s a space for learning, growing, and giving back. We’re thrilled with how it turned out.

Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton – Proudly locally owned, supporting our local community.