Houghton Valley Email Newsletter
January 15, 2011
I hope you had a pleasant break!
Newsletter in print: Christine from Cave Rd has offered to coordinate a list of non- emailers. If you know of someone, phone Christine.
Traffic Issues: The Houghton Bay Progressive Association agreed to write to the council to follow up on the traffic issues at the corner of Houghton Bay Rd and the Beach. The Association also agreed to explore the costs of installing a park bench in View Rd Park in honour of Piebe Kooistra of Hungerford Rd. For 30 years or more Pieter has cut tracks at keep them open within the park.
Houghton valley Community Garden: Local families are now harvesting lettuce, spinach, strawberries, herbs and potatoes. New plots are now being prepared for the winter crops. There is still space available for those who wish to start a plot. A comment: “I interviewed a well known economist this week, who told me we are heading for a world food shortage. I have a little garden at home but my enthusiasm was renewed.” 🙂
From Dave the caretaker at Houghton Valley School: For the past four or five years Houghton Valley has hosted groups of  American students touring New Zealand as part of Australearn. As part of their tour they volunteer a couple of hours working on community projects. There are two or three tours a year and Houghton Valley school has been fortunate to be able to be the beneficiary of their labour. Sometimes they have helped around the school with the landscaping but more recently they have contributed to weed control and the creation of the tracks through the HV School-WCC Coastal Forest Regeneration Project.
Another group of 20 arrive at 9 am on Thursday 20 January and the focus will be carving out new sections of the Haunted Hut track and the Fantail Guide track. This is so people can stroll down through the forest to the Community Garden and playground with greater ease. It’s light work and a great opportunity to meet these young people from all over America amidst the ambiance of our new forest. Simply bring a spade and/or a grubber and stout shoes. They are gone by 11.30 am.
If you have any ideas or stories for the newsletter please contact me.
Have a nice windy weekend, Sam 🙂