July 2, 2024
Kia ora koutou,
The weather is wintry, the days are short and the rain has finally started soaking the ground. If you are starting to suffer from Cabin Fever, how about getting out and doing some local tree planting?
Throughout June, our local group, Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau, has been working on weeding and planting up some sites in our wonderful headland reserve. The photo above shows the work done at the track entrance opposite Princess Bay. The track, affectionally known as Piebe’s Track, honours the local who made many of the tracks on the headland before the Council started taking an active interest. In this session steps and weeds were cleared and a range of interesting coastal plants were planted. The regular rain will get them well established.
Planting will continue weekly throughout July, alternating Saturdays and Sundays. The next session is Saturday 6 July. For more details go to their Facebook Group or sign up for their Newsletter.
Koha Coffee
Sunday July 7, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm
Leone is hosting Koha Coffee this month. We will be alternating Saturdays and Sundays now – finally back to our pre-Covid routine. Come to the Houghton Valley Hall (80 Houghton Bay Road). Bring some kai or a koha and chat with neighbours.
Also, for a bit of fun and hall promotion, we will be setting things up nicely to take some photos of the hall “in action”, that is, furniture, food, fairy lights and folks enjoying themselves. If you like taking photos, come along and show us your skills. If you are camera shy, we can make sure you don’t feature – we’d still love to see you!
Good news!
The Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Long Term Plan has included $50,000:
“To support a Houghton Valley / Haewai Catchment co-design process with Mana Whenua, the community, Wellington City Council and Wellington Water Limited, to remediate issues with the stream through a former landfill.”
Hurrah! Many thanks to Yadana Saw for prodding and guiding us through this process. We are still not sure about Wellington City Council’s position, but the funding will be contingent on it being a co-design process, which was one of our primary aims. The next steps will unfold in due course.
About the Houghton Valley Progressive Association
Houghton Valley Progressive Association is your local Residents’ Association. The HVPA committee members are involved in many of the activities around the community such as the Seeds-to-Feeds dinners, Koha Coffee, workshops, the playground design, the Lifting the Creek project, the website and this newsletter. We also support local groups such as the local community gardens and tree planting groups. And of course we look after our nearly 95-year-old community hall.
So yes we support the community, and would love you to show your support for what is happening around the community by becoming a member. We have some great events and activities planned, and our Centenary is coming onto the radar, so things are getting exciting!
Membership is $10 per person. Please make your payment online to: Houghton Valley Progressive Association 38-9024-0613101-00 with your name and 2024-25 Sub in the payment details. Then send your name, street address, phone number and email address to admin@houghtonvalley.org.nz so we can add you to our membership register.
Funding Opportunity
Do you belong to a local group that needs funds? The WLG Community & Environment Fund provides grants to organisations and community groups located within Motukairangi / Eastern Ward for the promotion of education, community, environment, arts and culture, health and sport. The Trust has a total of $75,000 to allocate in 2024 with grants between $1000 and $10,000 considered. The 2024 funding round is open between the 1st – 31st August 2024. More information
(166 recipients, 114 opens)