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Published as Issue No. 130

June 30, 2015

HVPA AGM: The Annual General Meeting of the Houghton Valley Progressive Association will be held on Sunday, July 12, at 4 pm at the Community Hall. Officers will be elected and this will begin another year of activities in and around the hall.  If you are interested in contributing to the agenda for the meeting, contact Ken Munro.

Peter and the Bird Banders: Peter advises the next bird banding session is this Sunday afternoon (July 5) at Houghton Valley School. It will start about 1 – 1.30 pm and go to around 4 pm. The area is next to the community garden with the gardeners inviting the banders to join them around 3.15 pm.

There have been sessions with children from the school over the last two weeks with lots of Silvereyes, which seems to be a feature of this winter. More data and photos can be found on their blog post of Wednesday, 17 June 2015 and Friday, 26 June.

Off to the Dance: On her way to the recent Medieval dance held in the community hall, Meredith stopped by at the community garden to show her outfit to Nick from View Rd, and others. [No attachment]

Stolen Trailer: Jos of Houghton Bay Rd (adjacent to Sinclair Park) advises their caged trailer – the one they make available to other members of the community at no cost – was stolen on June 24.

Deck the Hall: One of the first activities to brighten up the community hall is this Friday July 3, from 7pm. Rather than paint the beautiful old (but dark) woodwork in the hall, the plan is to have colourful banners hanging from the walls. Everyone is invited to help paint them and you don’t have to be an artist! It will be a fun collaborative effort. Please email Miranda for more details if you are interested in coming along.

Reminder: As featured in the last issue of the newsletter, Founders Day at the Alice Krebs Lodge on Te Raekaihau Point will be held this year on Saturday, July 11th at 2 pm.

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 129

June 16, 2015

This issue looks more like a calendar with a surprising number of forthcoming events for a community with only a few hundred households.

Dancing without the Stars: Never done Medieval dance before? Who has, but here’s your chance, this Sunday at the Houghton Valley Community Hall, 80 Houghton Bay Rd. 3.30 – 6 pm.

“Come one, come all” invites Coral on behalf of the Friends of Houghton Valley “and celebrate the shortest day of the year. Best costume prizes for girls and boys and ladies and gentlemen, entry $5 or family $10. Fun for all the family!”

Janet Boutel will introduce the Early Dances. She is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music, London who studied Early Dance in Europe and attended many dance workshops, notably in Belgium, France and Switzerland and has taught Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque dance at such places as Cambridge University UK, Yale University USA, the Early Music Centre London. As a ballet teacher she is familiar with our hall. This is a Friends of Houghton Valley fundraising event.

Potluck Friday: On June 26, at 7 pm the first Potluck Fridays at the Community Hall gets underway with a talk by two local artists recently returned from overseas adventures. Grant Corbishley will share his experiences of making art with Chinese students, while Andrea Selwood will talk about her time as Artist in Residence at Bamboo Curtain Studios, Taipei and how she sees the link between art and building community. Bring some food to share. Tea and coffee provided, the hall will be warm and cosy.

Founders Day: Founders Day at the Alice Krebs Lodge on Te Raekaihau Point will be held this year on Saturday, July 11th at 2 pm. This event has been held for a number of years with increasing numbers of locals taking the ten minute walk up the hill from the end of View Rd extension to join members of the Kae Miller Trust for afternoon tea and see progress on the planting/restoration work carried out by TRiG. Kae’s vision for the retreat and peace and conservation was featured in a January 1982 article in the “Evening Post”. [Attachment missing]

School Fair: Saturday, 31 October is set for the school fair. Organiser Karen advises that prior to that they host monthly craft evenings where parents gather in the school library with refreshments and have a social, productive time crafting items to sell. They are always on the lookout for people able to pass on skills in making easy, saleable items, and also people to come and craft with the group. The next evening will be on June 19, where they will make hair accessories. If you feel you could run a session, or wish to come along for a fun evening, please contact Karen. “We would love to hear from you as we look to make the Fair more of a community-focused event.”

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 128

June 2, 2015

It’s about us: a talk about the Houghton Valley environs by Grant Corbishley of Hungerford Rd will take place at the Roxy Theatre, Miramar on Thursday 11 June at 7 pm. For the past 5 years Grant has been listening to his neighbours; their stories, their knowledge of the local past and their ideas for the future. From these encounters, 30 local projects have been initiated. The talk outlines how these projects have bought about social change and greater cohesiveness amongst locals.

Friends of Houghton Valley: Four hundred dollars raised and 20 new members (now 200) was the result of a recent fund raising and awareness book sale at Lyall Bay held by this Group, created to oppose the size of a 13-house development at 215 Houghton Bay Rd. The next event is a garage sale starting at 9 am on Saturday June 13 at 8 Cave Rd. See the Garage Sale Poster.

Here from the USA: Nine days ago HV School hosted 16 students and their tutors from the University of Minnesota, Crookston USA. The visit, organised by omnipresent Dave from Houghton Bay Rd, began with a presentation putting the school’s coastal forest project into context so they might know where it fitted into the big scheme of things since Gondwanaland and why our valley is so special.

Then everyone volunteered over three hours of vigorous work clearing blackberry, gorse, cape ivy and other invasive species using grubbers and loppers. They departed leaving behind a large area between the Haunted Hut Track and Fantail Guide Track cleared ready for school students to plant with native trees.

Requiem for a Grey Warbler: Its not often we get an insight into the life and times of creatures that share our lives in Houghton Valley and which in turn might be a ground breaking development – involving lice!  Earlier this month bird enthusiast Rob and Janine of Houghton Bay Rd advised our very own bird-man Peter of Hornsey Rd they had found a dead grey warbler.

From the metal tag Peter advises the bird was banded at the little stream across the field from the kids playground in Houghton Bay on 7 June 2014. It was aged then as a first year bird so probably fledged in the Spring/summer of 13/14 and would have most likely have produced offspring last year. This is probably about an average age for a Grey Warbler; the oldest on record is just over 4 years. They are a bit like Fantails, breed very rapidly when they can but don’t live very long.

He further commented, “I coordinate a group that band birds in this area (sometimes local children are involved – see attached) and have been doing it for about 20 years. We get very few Grey Warbler recoveries, they are so small and bodies are rarely found.

“The body is now at Te Papa where it might go into the collection, but may have been dead a bit long. Otherwise Ricardo Palma the Te Papa (and world) louse expert will try and find lice, he has a female of an unknown species from a Grey Warbler but needs a male to positively ID the species which might possible be new to science. We have been trying to find one for ages without any success.”

[Watch this space for a world scoop]

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 127

May 19, 2015

Coral of Houghton Bay Rd writes: Since our first public meeting on 19 February membership of Friends of Houghton Valley Inc. has been growing steadily. We now have around 65 members and growing strong. Many people care about the character and environment of Houghton Valley.

During February and March our statement of claim for a Judicial Review of Council’s non-notified decision, consenting to the subdivision of 215 Houghton Bay Rd for the construction of 13 houses, was being considered and finalised by our legal team led by barrister Graham Taylor. This process was completed by mid-April when our claim was filed in the High Court. We are now embarking on some serious fundraising initiatives outlined in the attached flyer. Thanks for your continued support and valuable time.” Coral Hyam, Chair, Friends of Houghton Valley Inc.

Friends of Houghton Valley Fundraising Events-2

Tree Planting: Te Raekaihau Restoration Group (TRiG) invites you to their tree planting afternoon on Saturday, May 23, 2 – 5 pm at Te Raekaihau Park. Come and enjoy the first Houghton Valley planting for the season and help fill an empty forest under-storey with living green!  Please see attached flyer for more details.

Who let the cats out?: Kate, a Wellington East Girls College student from View Rd writes: “As part of a science fair test for a school project I am observing some cats’ hunting behaviour. To do this, I am putting some cameras and GPS trackers on cats from our neighbourhood, and seeing if they are hunting or not. Because of this you may see some cats walking around with harnesses on. If you are interested in the results of my study, completing one of my surveys, or getting your cat involved, please email me.”

All items of local interest welcome.

Norman and contributors

Published as issue No. 126

May 5, 2015

Book Swap: Lucy of Houghton Bay Rd followed up the suggestion of a book swap – “… sounds good, bus shelter [may be] too damp and access too free, how about a garage or somewhere at the school, under cover or a shed … just my thoughts, also what would you do when there are too many books etc?”

But wait, there’s more: Jessica from Houghton Bay Rd, the artist of the mural at the community hall, and others have been talking about the idea of painting a bus stop to look like a book shop – to host the book exchange! If you are interested in planning and taking part in these activities come down to the community garden this Sunday at 3.15 pm to discuss over a cup of tea.

Also (Lucy adds): “you might like to include in the newsletter, organic raw milk, available at collection sites near you, www.windriverorganics.co.nz for more info. Not tried it yet but intend to make cheese. I think you order online and pick up from Newtown.”

All the News: Houghton Valley Progressive Association president Ken from Hornsey Rd installs a new noticeboard adjacent to the bus stop at the Community Hall in Houghton Bay Rd. It will complement the newsletter to keep passers-by informed about forthcoming events at the hall and other community activities. Thanks to French Door Factory in Rongotai for their support.

Rivers and Coast Users Survey: Houghton Valley residents may be more interested than most in completing a Wellington Regional Council survey on issues which encourage, or discourage, people to use harbours, coasts and rivers. There’s also a prize for completing the survey. [Survey link not current]

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 125

April 21, 2015

Book Swap?: on our Facebook Group Rachel asks: “Is anyone keen on a book swap box or similar being installed somewhere in the area? I was thinking perhaps in or near a bus stop or possibly even the community garden?? What does everyone think to the idea please? Any suggestions on where to install if keen?”

Weed bashing: TRiG had another great weed-bashing session up on Te Raekaihau last weekend.  With local help we raked up a huge amount of tradescantia (wandering willy) into a pile high enough to see the sea above the bush!  We also have been cutting some steps in the steep parts of Ruru Track, although still more are needed.

They are only dirt steps, so please still take care when walking the track.  We are planning a tree planting session on May 23 (dependent on the delivery of trees) so keep this afternoon free. If you’d like to help more regularly (we make the weeding every bit as fun as the tree planting!) please contact Jenny.

Happy ending: A very happy Brian of View Rd reports his missing dog Whī was found and thanks everyone for their help.

Also Found: Work-persons last Friday rediscover and uncover the drain at the Houghton Valley stream mouth buried by last week’s storms.

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 124

April 7, 2015

School Fair: Karen advises the date for this year’s Houghton Valley School Fair has been spookily set for Saturday October 31, 10 am to 2 pm, and comments “We hope local residents will put the date in their diaries and come along. We would also like to request donations of any surplus fruit or veggies so we can make chutneys/jams/etc. As the Fair approaches donations of items we can sell will also be very gratefully received. Thank you in advance.”

Houghton Valley Progressive Association: The next meeting is this Sunday, 12 April at the Community Hall at 4.30 pm.

Lifting the creek: A conversation at the community garden on Sunday discussed what progress has been made by Council people we have been working with, to get the project into the Long Term Plan.

Whether anything more happens or not, locals appreciate what has been achieved so far; the creation by consulting engineers, Cardno Consultants, of a detailed plan to Lift the Creek. This is a big step forward as it will continue to evoke discussions and used as a basis for in-house (community) consultation about what is wanted in the way of finer detail – and have some fun designing the creek within the park, and possibly creating some related art events.

In a follow-up conversation today Councillor Sarah Free advised of the possibility for on-going clean-up work using the Council’s annual budget for landfill remediation.

Working Bee: TRiG will be having another working bee on 18 April 2 – 4 pm to work on the Ruru Track on Te Raekaihau. We will be doing weed control, track upgrading and maybe some selective logging of karo to create light wells for tree planting, which is coming up in May. If you think you would like to come and want a reminder closer to the time (or more information), please email Jenny.

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 123

March 24, 2015

Bound for Taipei: Transpiring from her recent artwork, Flow Chart and HV group presentation for Water Wheel Symposium (March 2014), Andrea Selwood from View Rd travels to Taiwan in April – May. With support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation she will participate in an artist residency at Bamboo Curtain Studios, New Taipei City.

During her 6 week stay Andrea will form an art response to the theme of People and Place by engaging with community; local historian, environmental group, and artists including visiting scientist and artists within the international program. She intends to map symbolically, the ‘lost’ Plum Tree Creek and make artworks which test nearby water quality. Andrea hopes to feedback her experiences of this large scale model, stream restoration project, on her return to the Houghton Valley community.

Year of the Morepork (Ruru): From Jenny, from Houghton Bay Rd. For 2015, Te Raekaihau Restoration Group (TRiG) will be focusing on restoring and enhancing the Ruru Track on Te Raekaihau, a pretty, bushy walk we want people to enjoy, enjoy caring for it and see it develop over time. We recently made a great start of weed clearing and have plans also to improve the track, create light wells for the planting of canopy tree species, and introduce more under-storey plants and ferns.

Other projects include repairing the track signs, making steps, re-establishing the seat at the main track junction and after the success of the Community Hall project, creating some cut-out Ruru to put at the track ends and build a tool shed at the Alice Kreb’s Lodge. We’d love it if you could help with any of these projects; please let us know what you would like to do. We have funding for materials and other expenses. There will also be regular Working Bees: the next one is on Saturday, April 18 at 2 pm.  Contact us for more information.

Runway Extension: Comments are now open on the Council’s 10-year plan. Presently around 70% of submitters support this proposal, completing the direct feedback form here will take around six minutes. {Feedback link not current]

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 122

March 10, 2015

TRiG News: Jenny advises: “Te Raekaihau Restoration Group has been awarded a grant of $13,000 for help to restore the forest cover on the headland. This comes from a bequest from a relative of Kae Miller, via the NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust. Big smiles! Meet at the View Road South Road end at 2 pm, or if you are late follow the signs along the Kae Miller (lower) track to get to Ruru Track (the one with the bulldog memorial), where you will find us. Bring gloves if you can and refreshments and come and meet some great people. We are holding our first working bee for the year this Saturday, March 14 from 2 – 5 pm, to prepare our next planting site on the Ruru Track above the Pines. Come and have fun clearing some tradescantia patches. With metal rakes it is like rolling up carpet!”

Membership: Attached is a Membership Form for residents wishing to join Friends of Houghton Valley Inc. and their latest Newsletter. The organisation was created recently, in the first instance to challenge the Council decision to grant a non notified consent to build 13 houses at 215 Houghton Bay Rd. The issue has prompted an article and several letters from both sides of the debate in recent issues of Cook Strait News. See below:

Cook Strait News 1    Cook Strait News 2

Calories unlimited: Sunday, March 1 saw two afternoon teas within 200 metres of each other; the constant community gardeners enjoyed their regular break while in the Community Hall 40 plus people ate and drank after looking at art work from local artists on Neighbours Day.

Miranda of Hornsey Rd wrote, “It was wonderful to see so many people pop into the hall to see local art and have afternoon tea. People caught up with neighbours they hadn’t seen for a while, or didn’t realise were neighbours, while others enjoyed being in the hall again – one after 30 years absence!  A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to a great day.”

Adult dancing class:  A new dancing class for adults has started in the Community Hall at 10 am Saturdays. If you are interested or need more information contact Lesley.

Norman and contributors

Published as Issue No. 121

February 24, 2015

Neighbours Day Sunday 1 March: Join friends and neighbours at the Community Hall this coming Sunday to celebrate our and catch up with what’s happening in our neighbourhood.  The hall will be open from 1 – 4 pm, showcasing art work from local artists of all ages. Afternoon tea at 3 pm.

Make It! Day: Neighbours got together last Saturday afternoon to make fabric lampshades and pompoms to brighten up the hall. Thanks to all who came. The hall is looking great!

Friends of Houghton Valley: Coral of Houghton Bay Rd wrote; “More than 30 interested supporters turned up to hear Barrister Graham Taylor speak about preparations for a Judicial Review of WCC’s decision to grant a non-notified consent to build 13 houses at 215 Houghton Bay Rd. After looking at Council information relating to their decision, Graham explained that some key facts were not considered in their decision and feels that we can win a review of the decision.”  Read full report.

Options Report: Nikki Wood from the City Council advises they expect shortly the final options report from Cardno consultancy on Lifting the Creek. They will then come to a Community Garden Sunday afternoon tea to share and discuss the staging proposed. She commented they are very happy with the report which meets the brief written by the Houghton Valley community and Council.

Norman and contributors