July 2, 2021
Koha Coffee This Sunday
The next Koha Coffee will be this Sunday July 4 from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at the Community Hall. Katy is hosting. Here’s a message from our recent host Jimmy:
“Over the last three months, I have hosted Koha coffee at the Houghton Valley community centre as a part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. I have enjoyed meeting new people in the community and I think my coffee-making skills have improved (but maybe not my tea). Thank you for letting me host this event and I look forward to seeing you around.”
Invitation to a Community Visioning Hui
Houghton Valley Community Hall, Sunday July 11, 3 – 4.30 pm
For some time locals have been thinking about a 100 year vision for our special South Coast community, wondering what it might look like in 100 years. They have even been thinking about whether it could be renamed.
Imagine if the valley and the hills were planted in flourishing native forest, with sunny pockets for wild fruit trees and other plants to forage. Imagine a stream with freshwater wildlife running down to the beach. Imagine emerging from the forest and coming across breath taking views, open spaces with picnic areas, sports and playgrounds, an urban farm and a local composting hub at the centre of a community resilience project.
Imagine if the area had a different name, going back to our mana whenua roots. Imagine so many other things! What can you imagine? How can we get to there from here? We need to develop our vision, identify some key stages and begin the journey.
Immediately prior to its annual general meeting, the Houghton Valley Progressive Association will be hosting a Visioning Hui to begin brainstorming this 100 year vision and present some projects that we can engage with and begin now. Short presentations will give the background and discussions will give you the opportunity to have your say and make your suggestions. The topics are:
- Introduction to the 100 year vision;
- Restoration planting on Te Raekaihau;
- A community/Kaicycle composting hub;
- Creating an overarching name for the area: Haewai.
Fuelled by inspiration and refreshments, you are invited to stay on for the Houghton Valley Progressive Association AGM. We hope you will consider becoming involved with the organisation that can help our community turn our dreams into reality.
Houghton Valley Progressive Association AGM
Houghton Valley Community Hall, Sunday July 11, 4.30 – 5.30 pm
In this 1960 picture of the hall from the Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, we know who the official in the suit is [Frank Kitts] but we don’t know who all the people doing the work are! Doing the work in the background to keep the hall a community asset is an ongoing task for the Houghton Valley Progressive Association, but engaging with and supporting community projects and events is also a vital role.
The Association’s AGM will follow on after the Visioning Hui on Sunday 11 July. At the AGM we elect the President, Treasurer, Secretary and Hall Manager for the year. This year there are a few gaps in the major roles and we need new community kaitiaki to help share the roles that keep our community represented. It is not sustainable for the same few people to be continuing year after year, but maybe we need to rethink these roles and inject some inspiration into them.
The President’s role could be a community co-ordinator, with funding behind it to enhance and promote community activities and concerns. The treasurer could be a fundraiser for community projects. The secretary could be in charge of community communications: the newsletter, the website, noticeboards. The hall manager could work towards a vision to refresh and upgrade the facility and bring it into the heart of the community. Each role could have a small team to help create inspiration and to share the workload.
Please think about this and if you have an interest, come along and share your ideas and your care for the future of this special place. Children are welcome. If you have any items for the agenda please send them to the president, Ken. We will send out the agenda via members and a special newsletter a few days before the meeting.
Houghton Valley Stream
We have had a bit of rain recently, and guess what happens? The surplus ground water collects and finds channels to travel along, and hey presto we have a stream! And that’s only the water from one side of the valley. Unfortunately, it eventually finds its way into the landfill pipes, which is what we want to try and change, to give it a chance to find its way unmolested to the sea.
(152 recipients, 99 opens)