Newsletter No. 247

February 21, 2024

The photo above shows students from Houghton Valley School, Te Kura o Haewai, doing research towards their first term project to help design a playground to replace the existing one near Hungerford Road.  Three groups of three classes walked down from the school with the aim of:

  • Exploring the possibilities of creating a better connection between the school playground and the public one, and what might happen in between them;
  • Sitting and absorbing the nature of the space around the play area and exploring its special features, including the stream;
  • Thinking about how a new playground could fit into a vision for the future of the valley;
  • And of course having a hands-on evaluation of the current play equipment!

Members of the community met and talked to the children as well to provide some extra insights into the area and its potential. In the next weeks, the children will focus on artwork to inform the playground design and potentially be incorporated into it, as well as working with a Māori designer to develop the concept.

Seeds to Feeds is here!

Saturday, 2 March 5.30 – 8.30 pm

We hope you are planning to come to another great Seeds to Feeds local food celebration at our community hall. It will again feature yummy vegetarian and vegan food, including:

  • Foraged salad, bread, preserves, dips;
  • Panzanella, vegetable tarts, roast vegetables;
  • Fruit and vegetable-based cakes and desserts;
  • Drinks from the wild South Coast.

You need to book a koha based ticket for the event, these are now available online, please book soon! Ticketing link

As this meal is about local food, we welcome any vegetable contributions you might have ready in the next week. Produce we are looking for includes:

  • Yellow or black tomatoes
  • Capsicums
  • Purple potatoes
  • Courgettes
  • Vegetables that can be roasted
  • Rhubarb
  • Salad items (on the day)

If you have something please contact admin@houghtonvalley.org.nz and we will put you in touch with the cooking team. If you would like to help with setting up and decorating the hall on the Saturday afternoon, please also contact us.

Houghton Valley Progressive Association

The hall had a bit of a spruce up by members last weekend, tidying the paths around the building and doing a bit of work inside. There is always stuff to do on such an old building, but it is worth the effort. Shortly we will be replacing the fluorescent light fittings with LED ones, and our water supply pipe needs to be replaced, having just joined the ranks of the 50% of Wellington’s water leaks actually being on private property.

The vote on the new Constitution for the Association was adjourned as there were several issues brought up that required some careful consideration and adjustment to the document. Several members have contributed valuable insights to make the template-based document work better for our organisation, and we still have plenty of time to do the best job that we can.

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