Te Awamutu Altrusa club president Christine Melville enjoying the relaxing benefits of gardening.
Gardening has long been recognised as having a positive effect on wellbeing, both physical and mental. You’ll get no pushback on that from Te Awamutu Altrusa Club crew involved in the annual Home and Garden Ramble.
A recent brush with one of life’s sorrows reminded members of that and led to the decision being taken to link this year’s ramble with the 2026 national Mental Health Awareness week.
While the dates don’t exactly align, the sentiment does, suggested one of the ramble’s key organisers and longtime Altrusa Club member Robyn Atherton.
“Strong connections – with whānau, neighbours, community, and the places around us – can help people feel supported through life’s ups and downs. In a rural district like Waipā, those connections are often found not only around kitchen tables and sports fields, but also in gardens, paddocks, walking tracks and quiet outdoor spaces.”
New Zealand will mark Mental Health Awareness Week next week (October 12-18), with the theme ‘Belonging Matters’. Altrusa’s Home and Garden Ramble on November 1 – which is its 31st ramble – will support that message by inviting the community to reconnect with the healing gift of nature by visiting 12 Te Awamutu homes and gardens. Ticket-holders will be able to wander through established plantings, seasonal colour and a variety of outdoor spaces. Some of the participants are opening both their home and garden, while others are opening just one or the other.
Te Awamutu Altrusa is part of an international non-profit network of Altrusa clubs improving communities through leadership, partnership and service. A goal shared by all focuses on improving literacy, and the Te Awamutu club runs projects each year to promote reading.
The Home and Garden Ramble is the club’s major fundraiser, regularly donating many thousands of dollars to the community. Last year alone it raised more than $14,000.
Proceeds from this year’s event will go towards Te Awamutu Riding for the Disabled, and the Te Awamutu Information Centre, as well as other Altrusa community and literacy projects.
Robyn Atherton, who has been a member of the club for 25 years and co-ordinates the ramble, told The News she is always surprised at how readily people are prepared to open their homes and gardens in support of Altrusa.
“Every year I worry about not being able to find enough gardens to keep the ramble fresh,” she said, “but people are very generous and I never have any problems in the end.”
She said the ramble route is fairly spread out around Te Awamutu and surrounds.
“That is quite deliberate. We get around 450 to 500 visitors on a ramble, and we want to avoid having too many in just one area at a time.”
Organisers said the fundraiser is a reminder that wellbeing can be nurtured in small, everyday ways, and that spending time outdoors, sharing a cup of tea with others in a garden can create a welcome break from daily pressures.
Te Awamutu Altrusa club president Christine Melville enjoying the relaxing benefits of gardening.
