Houghton Valley Email Newsletter
25 August, 2011
Hot off the Press! Houghton Bay intersection upgrade: Today we received an amended plan for the re-design of the Houghton Bay intersection from city council traffic engineer Stuart Bullen. He commented: “I am still in discussions with parks over the issue of relocating the boulders back slightly to allow vehicles to park and pedestrians to walk freely on the footpath. The proposed bollards although would improve pedestrian safety do not need to be installed if we believe that no safety benefits are gained.”
He wants to hear back from our community asap so work can be started in November, and finished for summer. Please have a look at the plan; better still take a copy down to the beach and see first hand what is proposed. One idea mooted earlier is locating the ‘pedestrian refuge islands’ on The Esplanade 30 metres or so further towards Island Bay.
If there is sufficient interest I am willing to host a meeting next Thursday September 1 at 7 pm to discuss. In the meantime please send Grant your comments for circulation, also advising if you would like to meet.
– Norman
EVENTS CALENDAR
- Saturday 27 August: At 11 am a small group is going to meet and discuss plans for maintenance of the garden around the Alice Kreb cottage and ecological restoration of the Te Raekaihau headland. Other interested people are most welcome, but please note there will be a proper working bee the following weekend.
- Sunday 28 August: Planting at 10.30 am near the playground on Houghton Bay Rd – with the friends of Buckley Rd.
- Saturday 3 September: From 2 – 5 pm there will be a working bee up near the Alice Krebs Cottage on Te Raekaihau headland, and a variety of activities will take place around the cottage and the Peace Grove. Please bring the implement of your choice: a spade for planting or shelving tracks; a metal rake for rolling up tradescantia weed; a pruning saw or loppers for trimming karo; hedge clippers for cutting grass; and of course gloves and something for afternoon tea.
Stewardship debate: Do we want a system of Stewardship for Houghton Bay? What kind of community do we want to live in? Should it be a legal entity or just a communication network? Do we need vision statements? Is there a better word than stewardship? Would it include a local economic systems and sharing resources? These are some of the questions currently being asked in response to jenny’s initiative. Below is a summarised version of many locals views and a fuller account can be found on our Facebook Page.
- “The word Stewardship doesn’t sit well with me. I looked it up in dictionary. I think something like Community Living for Houghton Bay something with a co-operative feel. Where we live is about the people and the land together. I have been caring for the land for thirty years my relationship with that activity is very happy. I would like more of what I didn’t have in the past; connection with others. How can I connect with others who may be feeling alienated. How can we make Houghton Bay a safe haven for our children now and in the future? What can we offer in this way ? How do we sow seeds to help this grow?”
- “I suppose I see Stewardship as a coordination of all the projects within the area so that people are working for a common cause but in their own field. Hence the individual plans, but all worked up in light of what else is going on. I think this is an excellent first draft – the value of such a statement comes when all proposed projects are measured against it prior to any decision to go ahead with, modify, or reject, them.”
- “Some people get clear by thinking/writing, others by doing things and building on what emerges. Similarly some individuals see what needs to be done and get on with it, others prefer to work in a group. There’s no right or wrong way for a community to progress apart from celebrating its diversity.”
- “And as Jenny points out, there are further layers of more focussed plans and documentation, which can usefully grow from such a start. I think that vision statements should be just that; visionary and that doing what the Council does (as in lots of words and paper) isn’t how the community needs to do it. Our experience with getting people along to plant is; you have to appeal to them emotionally i.e. have a good time, have some sense of connection, make them feel that they are involved with something really important.”
- I thought the idea of a vision is great. One thing that I think would be a community asset – and I realise this would have to come from the Council – is a couple of tennis courts. You may know there used to be two courts years ago in the school grounds. I like the ideas, I could also add transport/carpooling, and something about private sustainable development i.e. ideas and advice on solar energy and rainwater harvesting, home gardens etc. Maybe we shouldn’t call them plans yet as it seems a bit official.”
- “An alternative to Stewardship could be the Maori word kaitiaki (guardian).”
- “I like decentralised adaptive models and I have been thinking that if we were able to develop a really effective (and fun) communication network embracing the 4 – 500 houses, then maybe thats enough to activate stewardship i.e. if someone notices a problem on the tracks, locals broadcast it on the network, and it gets dealt with by those with the time and energy. Using mobile technologies is a possibility (apart from the lack of reception), and perhaps sound works could work (as we are mainly a valley), or light works.”
A Whanau Forest Project: The HVS Rainforest is a special part of Houghton Valley. Every student at HVS is part of a whanau, that takes care of the forest. Recently, the school received a donation of trees from the council and during the next four weeks parents and kids and teachers will working together planting and caring for the rainforest.
Support for Houghton Valley community garden: fruit trees from Operation Green Thumb will be arriving soon. Several bags of coffee grounds were delivered thanks to Steve from Buckley Rd (Mojo coffee).
Regards, Grant