Whiringa-ā-rangi / November 10, 2024
Houghton Valley School Fair
Saturday, November 16, 10 am – 2 pm
The fair is coming soon, and the fair drop zone is open! Please bring your pre-loved goods in GREAT condition including:
- Clothes;
- Books (especially children’s picture books and junior and young adult novels);
- Toys;
- Plates for the plate smash (in not so great condition);
- Lucky dip items i.e. small toys;
- Fabric remnants (1/2 m and longer for the craft stall).
The fair drop zone will be open Monday – Friday between 8.30 am and 3.00 pm at the Nikau Classroom against the back wall. Please separate your items into the various categories. Bring any plants on the day of the fair before it starts.
Otherwise, just come along on Saturday. It’s a fabulous day out for the whole family with something for everyone: bouncy castle, cute bunnies and lambs, candy floss, pre-loved clothes, toys, books, raffles and silent auction, plants and exquisite handmade crafts. Enjoy plenty of games, activities, face painting and live music for all – not to mention delicious food stalls, tea rooms and fresh coffee.
They are aiming for Zero Waste, so please support this by bringing your own bags, keep cups, plates.
Our Changing City Exhibition
WCC has created Our Changing City, an interactive pop-up exhibition designed to raise awareness about the impacts of climate disruption and explore how we can collaboratively prepare plan for a resilient future in Pōneke.
The exhibition will be on display from 30 October to 16 December at three local venues. It offers an engaging, hands-on way for the Motukairangi / Eastern Ward to learn about climate challenges such as floods, landslides, and sea-level rise. It also provides practical examples of what we can do to plan for these disruptions in our homes, workplaces, and communities.
Our Changing City focuses on the past, present, and future of the Ward, integrating scientific insights and mātauranga Māori. The exhibition will be available at the following locations:
- Motu-Kairangi Miramar Library: 30 October – 13 November
- Te Awa-a-Taia Kilbirnie Library: 15 November – 29 November
- Ākau Tangi Sports Centre: 2 December – 16 December
Seeds-to-Feeds Wild Spring Lunch
The lunch last Sunday went off splendidly, with nearly 40 people setting the hall humming. The food was excellent, the hall looked great, the guitar music was soothing, and we all had lots of good conversation and made some good connections between local stalwarts, new locals, and guests from elsewhere just coming to enjoy what we have to offer here in Houghton Valley.
This is just the start of our Seeds-to-Feeds season. We will be growing food over the summer towards an evening meal in March, just one of many put on by various suburbs around Wellington.
We will put together a slideshow of the photos taken by a Timebank photographer for the next newsletter.
Weeding Rhamnus on Te Raekaihau
On Saturday, the Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau group held a community weeding session and trialled a competition: The Rhamnus 1000. Evergreen buckthorn – or Rhamnus alaternus – is a big threat to Te Taiao on Te Raekaihau. It prevents native plants from establishing by forming dense stands of salt and wind tolerant bushes that grow on steep escarpments.
So the aim was to cut down, bag stumps, pull out seedlings or strip the regrowth of previously cut saplings of 1000 of these plants during one morning weeding session. Brian created a points schedule for motivation. Between nine of us we managed to amass 604 points. No mean feat considering the steep terrain, tangly undergrowth and older cut branches to work through, but a fun way to help get on top of a problem weed that fortunately hasn’t spread beyond this area yet.
The group will be holding another competition later. They need to work on the prizes though … 🙂
Funding for our hall and Community Association
In August we applied to the WLG Community and Environment Fund for $1,500 for 12 stacking chairs for the community hall, to make events and workshops more comfortable and seating arrangements more versatile. Our application was successful, so we will order the chairs shortly. We thank Wellington Airport and the Trustees of the fund for their support!
We also applied to Wellington City Council for $1,000 towards operational expenses for the Community Association, something they give every year to Residents’ Associations. This includes any expenses other than for the hall, such as food for events, photocopying etc. WCC have now granted this, we thank them for this financial boost!
Our Wee Free Library
Our Wee Free Library near the Playcentre and Community Hall has been succumbing to wind and rain damage since it was first installed in 2019. We’re not sure if the one remaining book was intentionally placed there, but it kind of says it all!
Is there anyone with time and a creative bent who would like to make another one for us? We can help with materials if needed.
Please contact admin@houghtonvalley.org.nz if you are interested.
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