Local Happenings

November 14, 2018

School Fair a Great Success

A huge THANK YOU to all those who supported the school fair this year. In spite of the rain, which arrived about 12.15 pm, the attendance was good, and the atmosphere really great. Our new teacher Mr Harland was chosen to kiss the goat this year, we had the usual excellent entertainment from our children and their whanau, delicious food, and exciting stalls and activities.

Financially the result was almost identical to last year, with approximately $27,000 profit made on the day. This is fantastic news for the school’s fundraising kitty, and the money will be used for playground and IT upgrades. It was wonderful to see so many members of the wider community at the fair. A special thank you to Grant and the community gardeners, who ran the ever-successful plant stall – Ngā mihi koutou!

And the community says …

Thank you for saying thank you Houghton Valley School. We’re happy to support the greatest school fair in the southern hemisphere!

A Good Spring for Rain

The heavy rainfall in recent weeks has once more sent pollution into our marine reserve. This was reported in Stuff on October 26.

 

This happens during heavy rainfall, when the weir diverting the landfill pipe contents to the sewer overflows and sends the surplus into the bay. We have an archaic system and all our stormwater (and fresh stream water) is directed into the landfill leachate pipes.

The article suggests that the sediment is runoff from the developments up the road, but if one thinks about it, our soil is not that colour. This bloom is tainted with iron from the landfill.

The article also talks about the odour as coming from decaying seaweed at the pipe outlet. However the smell often comes out from the stormwater drains around the valley. Have a sniff next time you pass one.

And finally, although the pipe flushing has reduced the frequency of this sort of spill, one can see it isn’t the solution. We need to separate the storm and spring water from the leachate, and preferably recap the fields with clay to prevent good rainwater from percolating down and becoming contaminated.

E-bikes in Houghton Bay

Dave McArthur has interviewed another e-bike user from our community:

Most school days Andrea breezes into the Houghton Valley School on her e-bike to pick up Rim after school, her helmet a little blob of sunshine that can be seen from afar. It could be that a little bit of rivalry between pedal power and battery power starts at this point.

When asked what two words she most associates with “e-bikes”, Andrea says with great enthusiasm, “ Fun, Yeah!” and adds “No problems with parking!”
When asked what two words he most associates with “e-bikes”, Rim says without hesitation “Fast”. Then after some deliberation he drawls in a scathing way, “Unnecessary”. When asked to elaborate, Rim explains he cannot see the point of carting “a big heavy battery” around on a bike. Andrea protests that it is a great help to her when biking up the hills. Rim grudgingly concedes she has a point and flexes his muscles …

Art Studio Sale

Miranda has run out of room in her studio and would love some of her paintings to go to new homes before the new year. Prices will be low and all reasonable offers accepted. (Cash only sales.)

Dates are Saturday 24 Nov 9 am – 12 midday and Sunday 25 Nov 9 am – 12 midday at 56 Hornsey Road. The studio is round the back. You can see her work on her website at: www.mirandamunroart.com (Photo from website.)

Koha Coffee

Thanks again to Andrew for a November catch up at the hall for Koha Coffee. A keen eye might spot Claudia’s gluten free apricot sponge on the table but keen eyes don’t satisfy stomachs!

See you the first Saturday in December.

 

(128 recipients, 98 opens)

October 25, 2018

I’ve been away for a couple of weeks and it is lovely to be back again in Houghton Valley. Very sad to see the burnt out house in Hungerford Road though, I hope the residents are all OK. A neighbour was going to check to see if the community could help in any way. If you are happy to help if needed, go to our community Facebook Group Houghton Valley & Hornsey Rd Community Project and leave a comment on her post.

Jenny

School Fair This Weekend!

Saturday October 27, 10 am -2 pm, rain or shine.  

Come along to our annual fair for a great day out in the valley. We will have dog agility, kid’s sumo, petting zoo, pony rides, games, great entertainment from our local talented artists, clothes, books, toys, cakes and crafts on sale. A selection of great bargains to be had at the silent auction, and of course the legendary food court, with an even greater selection of curries and salads than ever before, a South African braai, Coco at the Roxy with ceviche and pulled pork, a NEW wood fired pizza stall, crepes, sausages, freshly squeezed drinks, Havana coffee ..the list goes on. We are aiming to be landfill free this year, so please bring your re-usable bags for any purchases. We look forward to seeing you there, possibly in the rain.

Pre-fair clothes sale

The clothes sale held on October 19 at the Community Hall was a great success. It was wonderful to see the Hall abuzz with local people, chatting, and browsing for clothes. The school fair organisers hope that this might be the first of many such events, and would like to say a big thank you for the loan of the Hall for both storage of clothes and the event itself. We would also like to thank Lesley of Instep Dance for her patience while we shared her space. Mel Dash, the organiser, reports takings of just under $1000 for the school, so from a financial and a community perspective,  it was well worth doing.

Little Free Library

Our first Little Free library is up and running now, located at 27 View Road. It was built by Morgan, painted by Jessica, and is hosted by  Brian.

People are welcome to take a book or leave a book that they wish to share. The requirements are that they are good books that are worth sharing. It is not a place to offload unwanted items. It is also important to consider that all ages will be using the library, so use discretion when leaving books. If the library needs a tidy up, anyone is welcome to do so. If it has been vandalised or is in need of repair, please let Jessica know.

We hope to have more Little Free Libraries in the community. If anyone is interested in making, painting, or hosting one, please contact Jessica. The idea is to connect with others in the community to create something that will contribute to the unique culture of Houghton Valley.

Happenings at Te Kawakawa Commons

At Te Kawakawa Commons locals gathered recently to celebrate their new garden shed built by locals from reclaimed material, and a garden upgrade and new watertank, which was partly funded by a grant from the Wellington City Council “Stone Soup” gardening fund.

The Commons is also supported by working bees with Conservation Volunteers. The next will be on Friday, November 23 and locals are always welcome to join in. We also look forward to the annual volunteer day with Rongotai College on November 30.

Koha Coffee

Come along to the community hall on Saturday 3rd November, 10.30 – 12.30, for coffee, tea, munchies and great conversation.

Houghton Valley Progressive Association Meeting

At the last HVPA meeting we discussed a refresh of Hall Management. The Hall Manager’s role is a voluntary one as the first point of contact for bookings and oversight of the hall. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to introduce some new ideas for community events and activities. As well, we are looking for expressions of interest for a contract for hall cleaning and that would suit a local resident. If you are interested in either or both opportunities, contact Ken for further information.

(123 recipients, 96 opens)

October 4, 2018

School Fair Update

Tuesday October 16: the school will be holding a craft night on in the school library from 6.30 pm, if anyone is keen to come along and help make some handicrafts for the fair.

Friday October 19: from 7.30 pm the school will be displaying and selling the better quality clothing donated for the fair. This will be held at the community hall. Koha donation for refreshments and browsing the clothes.

Both events should be lots of fun and a good way to meet some local people.

Saturday October 27: the fair is on 10 am – 2 pm, rain or shine. Donations of clothes, toys, books, crafts, preserves, plants or silent auction items still gratefully accepted.

More Events at the Hall

Koha Coffee Saturday October 6: this is the first Saturday of the month again for our usual community coffee, tea and munchies in the community hall from 10.30 am – 12.30 pm. Come and share your news and ideas with other locals, or have a game of table tennis.

Houghton Valley Progressive Association Meeting Sunday 14 October: HVPA will be having their next meeting on Sunday 14 October at the hall at 4 pm. If you have any ideas or anything to report, come along and share them. You can also sit on the new cushions made by Jess, the first HVPA sponsored project for revitalising or using our hall.

E-bikes in Houghton Bay

Local Dave McArthur is interviewing families around Houghton Bay who have embraced using electric bikes rather than cars as a mode of transport. Dave reports in the first of an occasional series:

This past decade we have seen a new electrical phenomenon in Houghton Valley. Suddenly local people are biking up our steep hills and into our high winds with the speed and ease of a top athlete. And, unlike our streamlined, lycra-clad athletes, they often are transporting their children and luggage with them.

The new electrical phenomenon is battery-boosted bicycles or “electrical bikes”. These come in a range of shapes and an early adopter was Andrew Williams. Over the past few years he and his daughter, Meredith, have become a familiar sight as they whizz down the valley to work in the Houghton Valley Community Garden by the school. From an early age, Meredith could be seen relaxing back in her buggy engrossed in a book or nonchalantly chewing a treat, such as a fresh carrot from the garden.

When asked what two words he most associates with “e-bikes”, Andrew says with relish, “Freedom…! Freedom…!”

Recently Meredith has outgrown her buggy a bit and can now contribute more to propulsion using an ingenious extension to the bike.

When asked what two words she most associates with “e-bikes”, Meredith says with great enthusiasm, “ Always exciting! Always!”

Little Sprouts Charity Art Auction

Three Houghton Valley artists, Grant Corbishley, Miranda Munro and Andrea Selwood have donated artworks to an art auction and sale to raise funds for the Little Sprouts Charity.

An exhibition will be held from October 12 to 28 at Bottle Creek Gallery at Pātaka, with the auction taking place on October 27. During the exhibition you can view all of the pieces that will be auctioned AND you can also explore, and buy, artwork from over 50 other amazing artists from across Wellington.

The Exhibition is free and open daily – see littlesproutscharityartevent.com/exhibition/ (link not current)

Grand Auction Evening – Enjoy a fantastic evening of food, drink and art at the Little Sprouts Grand Auction Evening. This event is being held in The Spine of Pātaka Art and Museum at 6.30 pm on Saturday, 27th October 2018. Tickets are $40 and are strictly limited – they will sell out fast. The ticket price includes canapes and drinks plus the unique opportunity to bid on 15 special pieces of art. Artists whose works will be for sale at the auction event include Heimler & Proc, Rohan Wealleans, and Micheline Robinson, plus an artwork created by Jacinda Ardern. Bidding reserves range from $250 to $2,000.

All proceeds from ticket sales and artworks sold will go to the Little Sprouts Charitable Trust to help change babies’ lives.

(123 recipients, 79 opens)

September 20, 2018

Houghton Valley School fair

Saturday October 27, 10 am -2 pm

The school fair is fast approaching, and the school would love to see lots of people from the Houghton Valley Community sharing the day with them. There will be entertainment, great food, games and activities including pony rides, petting zoo, bouncy castle and all the usual favourites: craft stall, silent auction, toys, books and clothes, cakes, tea shop… the list goes on.

As well as being he school’s annual community event, the fair is also its biggest fundraiser, and this year the money raised will go towards the playground, and updating the school’s technology.

If you are able to donate second hand clothes, books or toys in excellent condition, or to make some craft items, jams or chutneys for the fair, it would be much appreciated. Items can be dropped at school, or be picked up – please contact the school or Karen.

They are also planning a pre-fair social get together at the community hall, where there will be some of the best clothes for sale – the date is likely to be the evening of Friday October 19th – please let Karen know if you might be interested and the date will be confirmed.

Plants for the school fair

The local community has contributed to the school fair for several years now, by running the plant stall and supplying plants for the stall.

The time is right now if you want to plant some vegetable seeds or make herb cuttings. That will give them about six weeks to grow enough but not too big. Also if you have some seedlings in your garden, potting them up now will mean they are reasonably settled. If you have some plants in pots already, give them a weed or prune to make them look attractive. Plants are usually delivered on the day, it is good to give them a decent water the night before.

Building work at the school

Dear Neighbours of Houghton Valley School,

From 7 September Construct Wellington Ltd will be building a new classroom extension near the gates to Houghton Valley School. This work is expected to be completed by the end of January 2019 at the latest.

• Vehicle parking and traffic: Most traffic around the main gate will be between 7 am and 8.30 am. Contractors will aim to park in the bottom car park;
• Noise: There may be noise during the hours allowed by Council: 7.30 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday and some Saturdays, particularly the week of Sept 15  – 21 as the piles are put in.

We know there has been a lot of building work at school over the last year or two, and we thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the school, or Shane of Construct.

New shed celebration at Te Kawakawa Commons

Te Kawakawa Commons is having its Grand New Shed Opening Sunday 7 October at 1 pm.  Bring a picnic lunch or enjoy the snacks on offer, check out the new fruit trees and vegie garden layout and explore the numerous bush tracks. The shed is sponsored by the Houghton Valley Progressive Association and the Council “Stone Soup” funding for community gardens. The new shed is beautiful but really just a great excuse for a spring community get-together (maybe in the sunshine!) See you there! Ring Ken for more information.

Events around Wellington

September 19: Celebrate 10 years of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve at the PechaKucha Taputeranga evening, 7.30 pm. Twelve speakers will present their views on the South Coast and the Reserve.
September 22: Check out the Otari-Wilton Bush open day  from 10 am – 2 pm. There will be plants for sale, guided walks, kids’ activities, and food and handmade gifts for sale.
September 22 – 30:  Enjoy activities and colourful and fragrant puāwai – including thousands of tulips – at the Botanic Gardens Spring Festival.
September 21 – 30: Join New Zealand’s biggest citizen science project to gather information on the abundance and distribution of the New Zealand pigeon, also known as kererū, kūkū or kūkupa. You can log your observations at The Great Kereru Count. (link not current)

(list cleaned of paradise.net and clear.net defunct addresses??)

(mailing list clean-up, 123 recipients, 86 opens)

August 28, 2018

It’s tui time again in Houghton Valley

Those of you who live in the lower part of Houghton Valley will be once again surrounded by the continuous sounds of tui as they call to attract mates or fight off competitors. The Council may not approve of our abundance of karo trees, but the birds are certainly happy with their sweet flowers. Play the recording below for to experience their sounds near Hungerford Road.

Photo above is by our ex-local bird man, Peter Reese.

Are you going to our iconic event: The Great Debate?

This Thursday Houghton Valley Playcentre is holding its 21st  annual “The Great Debate”, a comedy debate between central and local government politicians, and TV and local personalities. This year’s moot is that “It is easier running the country than being a stay-at-home-parent”.  The fantastic line up of speakers are:

• JO RANDERSON (writer, actor)
• TAMATI COFFEY (TV presentor, Labour MP)
• ANAHILA KANONGATA’A-SUISUIKI (Labour MP)
• BRIAN DAWSON (Wellington City Councillor)
• FLEUR FITZSIMONS (Wellington City Councillor)
• DAVE TOWNSEND (local personality)
• NICOLA YOUNG (Wellington City Councillor)
• all led by our charming host and MC MP for Rongotai PAUL EAGLE

There will be nibbles provided, drinks available for purchase at the bar and raffles on the night. Local band The Wooden Box will be playing live music.

This is one of the Playcentre’s big fundraisers for the year, all proceeds go towards our fabulous volunteer-run Playcentre in Houghton Valley. The details are below:

• The Great Debate
• Thursday 30 August @ The Pines
• Doors open 6.45 pm, debate starts 7.30 pm
• Tickets $25

Milk delivery update

Eketahuna Country Milk have been really pleased with the response to glass bottle milk deliveries. They are looking to start the market supply in about 6 weeks. Some details:

• The milk will be pasteurized;
• The milk will be full cream (the old silver top);
• It won’t be skimmed initially;
• They will look to develop the range in the medium term;
• The milk isn’t registered organic but is free from hormones and antibiotics;
• The cows are all grass fed and free range;
• The herd that the milk comes from is a jersey X herd. They haven’t tested for A2 milk but approximately 80% of the herd are A2.

There is enough demand for them to develop a home delivery system. There will be a delivery charge, yet to be determined but as low as possible, and hopefully as the number of customers increase they will revisit this charge.

They deliver meat as well at the same time as the milk and they plan to deliver in the early hours of the morning, so you will wake up with your meat and milk at the door.

Timber for the community gardens

The old telephone pole jarrah timber planks have been delivered and carted in to the community gardens near the school for rebuilding the beds on the lower site (pictured). The new beds will be constructed collaboratively, organically, and in true vernacular style. Come along on Sunday afternoons about 2 – 5 pm if you want to be involved, or just come to look, chat or help weed the the other beds.

Koha coffee – Saturday September 1

Koha Coffee will be held in the community hall from 10.30 am til about 12.30 pm this Saturday. Come and share your news and ideas with other locals and enjoy good food and coffee.

(171 recipients, 95 opens)

August 16, 2018

Do you want to get your milk in glass bottles?

A couple of Eketahuna farmers (Steve and Pip Olds) are setting up a dairy processing plant to produce milk in glass bottles for possible delivery to households in Wellington. They will initially sell their full cream milk at weekend local markets in Lower Hutt and Central Wellington, run as a refilling station.

They are also gauging interest to see if a home-delivery service will also be viable, and if so in which suburbs. If you are interested in home delivery (and/or the bottle refill option at the markets) you can read more about it and register your interest here. (link not current) You can also listen to their RadioNZ Interview.

Kae Miller Trust founder’s day planting

Founder’s Day for the Kae Miller trust was celebrated on July 21. Twenty four plants donated by the Forest and Bird Nursery were planted in the nearby Peace Grove to infill between the flax plants. Afternoon tea was held at the lodge including some of the Trustees and two of Kae’s grandchildren, with a surprise visit from two Maori women, one of whom had stayed in the lodge just after her baby was born at the Tapu te Ranga Marae in Island Bay.

They had come to bury the whenua of her son who is now 17 months old. They planted a small manuka near the blue seat, and sang a haunting waiata into the beautiful blue horizon.

The headland is special to many people, and over the years there have been plantings for whenua, memorials and dedications to International Peace. Not all are strictly ecological plantings, so please be aware that they have meaning to someone and treat them with respect.

Guardians of the Bays

The Guardians of the Bays group had their AGM on August 1. This resident’s group is opposing the airport runway extension proposal on social, cultural and environmental grounds. An extension would also have a visual impact on a reasonable number of our local people.

The minutes report that they have had a quiet year while the resource consent is on hold, but have still been working on the case.

Fruit Tree Plantings

Three Fruit Tree Guardian groups turned up at Innermost Gardens on August 12 for a fruit tree planting workshop organised by The Sustainability Trust, and to collect their fruit trees to plant on public land in and around Houghton Valley.

The fruit tree sites near the school welcomed a new apple and a replacement feijoa for one that had died.

Three feijoa trees made their way to Te Kawakawa Commons. Also two fruit trees were planted near the top of Sinclair Park, no pictures as yet.

Forest restoration in Australia

One of our dedicated tree planters was recently on holiday in Northern New South Wales when he stumbled upon a very successful community led coastal reforestation project. He was making his way down to the beach at Fingal Head and couldn’t help but notice the beautiful bush on the track. It was around dawn and there was a noisy chorus of Australian birds. He discovered that the place had been extensively sand mined in the 1960s and was left as a wasteland. A community led planting initiative started in the 1980s and the results have been nothing short of spectacular.

He bumped into a couple of blokes who were involved in the project and spoke at length with them about it. He found it heartening to see such a successful community led initiative. Planting trees is a simple but positive action that we can all take to help mitigate the damage we are doing to our planet.

(170 recipients, 98 opens)

August 2, 2018

A Boost for our Community Gardens

Our two local community gardens have received grants from the Wellington City Council for improvements to their infrastructure: about $3,000 in total. The garden next to the school will get some new raised beds using more permanent material. Some old jarrah telephone pole timber has been sourced as a durable, non-treated option. Te Kawakawa commons has funding to install a water tank next to its new shed and to build a herb garden.

Amy Bird, WCC Community Resilience Advisor, who manages the Wellington City Council “Stone Soup” pool of funding for community gardening, visited the valley garden last Sunday and met with six of the garden regulars. As usual many more ideas about resilient communities than just community gardens were discussed!

WCC sees community gardens as small-scale, low-investment neighbourhood communal gardening ventures, where the primary purpose is growing vegetables or fruit. They support community gardens through:

• Creating partnerships with organisations like the Sustainability Trust, Mokai Kainga and Enviroschools;
• Supporting the development of a local community gardens network with funding from their general grants pool;
• Providing public land for gardens;
• Recruiting volunteers and linking them with projects;
• Providing subsidised compost and free mulch.

And while we are on the subject of local food, next year’s Neighbours’ Day is planned to be held from March 22 – 31 2019. Ten days to celebrate ten years! A good time for a harvest festival, or any other neighbourly type activities, have a think about what you could do.

Call for Proposals to use our Hall

At the HV Progressive Association AGM the committee decided to invite proposals for attracting more community use of the hall, or engagement with the Association. If you have an idea, they can help fund it from a total pool of $3,000. The pool may be for one or several proposals so even if yours is just a small cost still get the idea in. Ideas floating around are:

• improving the seating with new cushions;
• better heating;
• a new coffee machine;
• registering with TimeBank;
• a mini-beer festival.

You can discuss any ideas at Koha Koffee if you want a sounding board, otherwise email your proposals to Ken.

Koha coffee – Saturday August 4

Koha Coffee will be held in the community hall from 10.30 til about 12.30 this Saturday. We are hoping to make it a regular event now on the first Saturday of each month.

Come and share your news and ideas with other locals and enjoy good food and coffee.

Houghton Valley Progressive Association Subscriptions

With a new year starting, the HVPA is asking for you to renew your membership or to support the organisation by joining up. Membership is $10 for a single or family (and with your membership you get a free set of 6 hall cards!)

You can pay online to Houghton Valley Progressive Association at BNZ Kilbirnie, 020 520 0143013 00. Please make sure you provide your name and Sub2018 in the payment details.

To receive your cards please email Ken with your address details or come to Koha Coffee to pick them up.

(169 recipients, 98 opens)

July 18, 2018

Back to straight newsletters again!

Kae Miller Trust Founder’s Day

The Kae Miller Trust is celebrating its Founder’s Day this Saturday 21st July at 1pm. This is held at the Alice Krebs Lodge (the little building up on Te Raekaihau headland). The lodge will be open for visitors from 1pm, if you would like to come and see inside and find out about its heritage and the remarkable woman who built the lodge. Afternoon tea will be provided. A little earlier (11am) there will be a small number of native shrubs planted in the nearby Peace Grove created by Kae in the 1980s.

Little Blue Penguins

The Kororā or Little Blue penguin is the smallest of all penguins. It is recognised by its plain steely blue coat above, with satiny white below. Whilst younger birds are much less settled, fully mature birds tend to be sedentary and return to the same site every year. Colonies are only visited at night for breeding.

Houghton Bay has a resident population of Kororā with many recorded sightings on Naturewatch. Our beach is an off-leash dog exercise area, and it is well known that dogs are one of their biggest threats, with a number of dog attacks recorded in the media over time. If we can protect our resident population of Kororā, it’s likely that we will see increased numbers of them.

A local dog owner has succeeded in training his dog to avoid Kororā, by using a found penguin carcass and a training collar on a low setting as a deterrent. If you are interested in training your dog please contact Brian. Timing for the training will depend on the availability of another dead penguin!

Report of the Houghton Valley Progressive Association AGM

About twenty people braved the weather on Sunday 8 July to attend the AGM of the Houghton Valley Progressive Association. It was gratifying to see such a response to the organisation’s appeal for support.

The meeting began with a mihi and waiata for the guest speaker, Luana Carroll, the principal of Houghton Valley School. Luana then introduced herself and spoke of her focus over her first two terms at the school; getting to know the children and grappling with the issues of the National Education Review, the new School Charter and the school as a Civil Defence Centre. She welcomed community input into developing the School Charter, the intention of which is to make us consider what we want for our children. She also expressed her gratitude for the community help at the school fairs, and said she would like to find ways for the school to give as well as receive.

The group then discussed the issues facing the HVPA, each taking a minute or two to express their thoughts. The general feeling was that both the Association and the hall were necessary for the community. Thoughts and ideas canvassed at the meeting included:

• HVPA has a strong influence when lobbying local government. The old title of “progressive” comes from this lobbying role to get the best for the community. The Council needs a community group to interact with;
• If the hall and the HVPA go, they would be hard to get back. The hall is the only facility in the valley that can be hired out;
• Next year a new act will require HVPA to come up with a new constitution. Two people have offered to investigate alternative structures, including a marae;
• Let the hall serve the school and Playcentre and vice-versa. The school is bursting at the seams while the hall is often empty. Playcentre has used the hall for rainy day dancing. It is a great opportunity for the school and play centre to work together with the HVPA on community and environment issues. Could we build some of these ideas into the curriculum?
• The school has the Fair, the Playcentre has The Great Debate, what can the HVPA do?
• It is hard to get involved as parents, parents will go where their children go. Include children focussed activities in the hall;
• There’s enthusiasm in the community to get involved. The committee needs to let people know how they can assist, and what activities are suitable for the hall;
• A calendar of current hall use would be useful to see where the gaps are. A flyer with the calendar asking for suggestions and community needs to go out to reach new residents not yet on the newsletter list;
• A second table tennis table has been offered, as well as an offer to re-cover the cushions;
• The HVPA doesn’t turn down any reasonable suggestions and can offer koha and rent-free sessions, and even some funding to get projects started. Anyone with an idea needs to be the champion of the event.
• Suggestions so far: register hall on TimeBank, mid-winter dinner, craft beer festivals, pre-fair storage, clothes auction for school fair, dance for adults, yoga and art classes, fruit and vegetable swaps, theatre groups, fix it workshops, bring back the bird banding.

So all in all the event was positive and should result in some renewed vigour. We will keep you updated as the ideas, research and and planning unfolds.

(170 recipients, 98 opens)

July 4, 2018

Welcome to part three of our three-part look at the Houghton Valley Progressive Association in the lead up to their AGM on July 8 (4 pm in the hall). We hope to see you there! In this newsletter we look at how the HVPA could be active in promoting community stewardship (kaitiakitanga) of our valley and coastline. These are the questions we have been asking about potential stewardship of Houghton Valley:

• How can we care for the soil, the water, the air, the plants and the creatures in our valley and our bay?
• How can the HVPA help the community pool their environmental care resources – knowledge and labour – to achieve the best possible result?
• How can we develop kaitiakitanga as a lifestyle, a cultural, a recreational and an educational opportunity?

Although stewardship encompasses many aspects of the environment, forest restoration has been one of the more popular activities, so we will look briefly at what has been happening with the restoration of our local reserves.

Forest regeneration in our valley

Due to early farming in Houghton Valley our present forest cover is secondary growth developed from completely bare hillsides. Once farming ceased the slopes quickly reverted to gorse, which regularly went up in flames around the 5th of November. It was not until sky rockets were banned that natural regrowth started to make good headway.

Intentional planting of natives in the began in the 1970s. The corner of Buckley Road and Houghton bay Road was one of the first to be planted, to ‘beautify’ the newly completed rubbish tip. In the 1980s, Kae Miller planted natives on Te Raekaihau Headland (the reserve at the end of View Rd South), and other locals planted more fire resistant natives to try and prevent the constant setbacks.

Forest restoration has blossomed in Houghton Valley, and recently there have been several different groups planting at Te Kawakawa Commons, Buckley Road Reserve, the gully between the school and the playcentre, the zigzag (steps down to Lyall Bay), Te Raekaihau Headland, Cave Road, and Te Raekaihau Point. The Wellington City Council has also been involved, providing hundreds of plants for locals to plant, and ranger assistance.

Different approaches to forest restoration

All these groups have been working independently and following their own ideas about environmental restoration, or just working things out as they go. Some have done their own research about what is best for their patch, others rely on the recommendations of the Council. Some battle on with just a few loyal volunteers, others tap into resources such as Conservation Volunteers, internet volunteer opportunities, students or corporate volunteers, or they ask the Council for help.

The Council will not let volunteers to use machinery or sprays on their land without specific training, but will do such work if asked. Council contractors often are fairly heavy handed when clearing or maintaining tracks, and many a lovingly planted tree has been mown down if it was too close to the track. They also use sprays to control weeds, which not everyone appreciates.

Some groups prefer to do their restoration without chemical or mechanical assistance, maintaining that chemical sprays reduce both the microbial and future plant diversity of the regenerating area, and that weeds can be used as protection for new plants in a harsh climate. It needs more after care, but no revegetation project will be successful without after care. No matter how thorough the preparation, weeds will still return before the new plants are big enough to shade them out.

Some of our projects

Te Raekaihau Restoration Group: plants up on the Te Raekaihau Headland have to cope with some very harsh conditions. Some plants were chosen for survival out in the open but were planted by clearing pockets amongst the weeds. Other plants were chosen for planting in light wells cleared in the karo canopy. Karo has been deemed a “weed” by ecological purists. However it isn’t long lasting and it is ready made shelter for young trees. It is more fire resistant than gorse and the flowers provide good fodder for bees and birds. Where light wells were not created, understorey plants have not survived as the light levels were too low and not enough rain reached the plants in the summer. TRiG works in conjunction with the Kae Miller Trust, which has also done planting around the Alice Krebs Lodge on the headland.

Te Kawakawa Commons: Te Kawakawa Commons is a community garden and recreation area that provides a sanctuary for local families and wildlife alike. With the establishment of vegetable gardens for public use, the planting of native vegetation to encourage wildlife, and the
building of a network of short tracks, the area has been transformed from a scrubby wasteland into a valuable community resource. With generous amounts of mulch supplied by the Council over 6 years there has been a very high plant survival rate and energy in fact has to go into creating airspace for competing plants and to keep the paths cleared to enjoy it all. Without the help of the Conservation Volunteers they would be struggling to do this.

Friends of Buckley Road Reserve: since this group started in 2002, with the help of the WCC they have planted more than 6,000 trees in the reserve that runs the length of Houghton Valley, alongside tracks and under the karo canopy. Flax planted in the wetland below the playground near Hungerford Road has unfortunately succumbed to yellow leaf disease, but other wetland plants such as kaihikatea are still thriving.

Houghton Valley School Rainforest: since 2004 school students have been planting trees with the help of the school caretaker. There is an outdoor classroom where children can learn about the environment and how to care for it. Tracks through the forest are popular for exploring, playing and cross country running.

This area has been looked after by more than one interest group, and their approaches have been quite different. In the last couple of months the WCC was asked to help clear a small part below the road that included old man’s beard amongst the weeds. It has now been planted with Council supplied trees by students from outside the community. The results look impressive to the casual observer, but now there is no sign of the many self fertilised regenerating seedlings that had been growing amongst the weeds.

Another sad thing is that in 2002 the area was cleared in a similar fashion and planted with trees, very few of which have survived. So the net result of forest regeneration in the last 16 years is virtually nil, whereas other parts of the rainforest that did not undergo clearance in 2002 are coming away well.

It is hard to know whether the lack of success over the last years was the result of the initial condition of that particular patch, the effects of clearing and spraying, or the lack of aftercare, but we do know that we need to ensure that this time they survive!

Drawing on our cumulative experience

What lessons can we take away from the success or otherwise of our tree planting efforts in the valley? There is now enough cumulative experience that we can start sharing what works and what doesn’t. Wouldn’t it be good to pool our knowledge and come up with a best solution approach to forest restoration in Houghton Valley? Another thing is that trees need five years of care once planted, and weed and pest control is virtually ongoing. So once a person or people have taken on a small patch, to have enough time or energy to work elsewhere is difficult to achieve. So to create a labour pool as well as a knowledge one, could mean we help each other out with our projects; making for variety, further sharing of knowledge, and an increase in community feeling.

What can the HVPA do to assist planting groups?

• The Houghton Valley Progressive Association could help co-ordinate a valley wide collaboration of knowledge and labour resources, with people meeting in the community hall to share their ideas;
• The HVPA has charitable status, and with that comes a level of respectability and trust. Funding from grants needs to channel through such an organisation, and corporate volunteer groups may prefer a similar backing to a project;
• The HVPA carries public liability insurance, often necessary in these times, which can be extended to approved projects.

Making Kaitiakitanga part of life itself

Tree planting, beach clean-ups, stream restorations, these are all seen as feel-good activities, but they are mostly on the fringes of daily life and are usually sidelined when the pressure of keeping afloat becomes too much.
Kaitiaitanga is an essential part of Maori culture, and for them a lifetime commitment. Is it possible to make looking after our wider environment an intrinsic part of our lives? How could we achieve it? We would love to hear your ideas.

We all understand about looking after our house and garden, and one would hope that most people take pleasure and pride in doing so. Looking after the environment could be seen as gardening beyond the boundaries, or suburban permaculture. It can be a way of getting fit, improving health, educating children, or simply feeling good. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a tree you have planted grow and thrive, and over many years the pleasure increases exponentially!

(169 recipients, 98 opens)

June 27, 2018

Welcome to part two of our three-part look at the Houghton Valley Progressive Association in the lead up to their AGM on July 8 (4pm in the hall). Our school principal, Luana Carroll, will be the guest speaker at the AGM.  This is a chance to welcome her and hear how the school values their relationship with its community. As well we will discuss the future of the Association.

In this newsletter we look at the HVPA’s greatest asset: the community hall.

However firstly, a word of explanation as to the origin of the content of these newsletters. It has been put together by a group of locals concerned about the future of the HVPA. The viewpoints and suggestions expressed are theirs and not of the organisation per se. Some of the viewpoints are provocative, to stimulate discussion. For if we lose our organisation through community indifference we also lose our community hall. Maybe it is worth sticking our necks out to create a reaction if it helps to keep them both going. We fully realise that the views may not be yours. If you want your views or suggestions to be heard then come along to the discussion. That is what community is about!

These are the questions we have been asking about the community hall:

• Do we still want our community hall with the problems of use and maintenance that ownership entails?
• Will the hall ever be the main focus of our community again, and is this important for our community?
• Should we treasure our hall and pass it on to the next generation?
• The hall is currently underutilised, how could we use it more?

Multi-storey apartments mooted for Houghton Valley

The Houghton Valley Progressive Association is struggling to look after their dilapidated hall, and are considering selling it. A developer has expressed an interest in buying the land and wants to build a multi-storey apartment block on the land. The upper apartments would take full advantage of the spectacular views.

“We can do our bit towards solving the housing crisis” says a HVPA spokesperson.

This is only a scenario and not a reality, but it is a fact that members of the Houghton Valley Progressive Association once believed ‘they’ had no choice but to demolish the hall, sell the section and maybe use the proceeds to buy play equipment or a similar gift for the valley. In 1997 they got to the point of inviting real estate agents in to advise on the sale of the land. However, a resident and relative of the original donors of the land, pointed out to the meeting in no uncertain terms:

“You can’t sell the community hall, because it belongs to everyone!”

 As far we we know, our community is the only one in Wellington to own both their hall and the land; others are owned by the Council and/or sit on Council land.

History of the community hall

In 1929 a local family donated a piece of land to the HVPA, and the association raised 100 pounds towards materials and used voluntary labour to build a hall. The design had to be shortened as excavation of the rocky soil was so difficult. It was opened on 10 August 1929, and was named the Haughton Valley Hall. A lower terrace of the land was developed into tennis courts.

The use of the hall was intended to be for community meetings and club rooms, but early on it was rented to the education department for use as the valley’s first school.

The hall was the hub of Houghton Valley community throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s and WWII. The HVPA ran it to full capacity with regular dances, sporting activities, civics classes for children, League of Mothers meetings, and card and quiz evenings.

However community use of the hall declined in the 1950s with the advent of the car, cheap petrol, and television. Indeed those who lived through this period describe community life in terms of “before the car” and “after the car”.

The hall’s dominant use from 1942 was as a Playcentre but this ceased in 1997 when the Ministry of Health decreed the lead paint on the outside walls made the building unsafe for children. So the HVPA leased old the tennis court land to the Playcentre Movement, and the current playcentre was constructed that year.

Another important community use of the hall in this period was as a Civil Defence Centre. Up to 50 local residents met there regularly till the early 1990s to train in triage, social welfare, communication and other systems so that the community could be more resilient in the event of an emergency.

Other activities included Cubs, Scouts, Brownies, the Townswomens’ Guild, the Tennis Club. The hall has always been a place of dance and music, more recently taking the form of dance studios.

By the 1980s there was serious concern about declining use of the hall and by the 1990s it also needed a lot of work. When the playcentre lease and the sale idea fell to the ground a few local residents stepped up and volunteered considerable time and even materials to repair rotten walls, replace the roof and strip and paint most of the building to avoid demolition. The hall has since been repiled and the floor strengthened to enable vigorous activities such as dancing.

This generation of Houghton Valley residents inherits a community hall in a far better state than twenty years ago.

For the next 12-15 years, the HVPA successfully maintained a regime of ensuring the maintenance costs were covered by allowing small businesses to use the premises. It was mostly used as a dance studio and still is today. One local took on most of the maintenance during this time.

In 2012, there was a change in management, and a renewed commitment to make the hall once more a community resource and the hub of community activity. Lectures and public meetings, Neighbour’s Day celebrations, banner painting, Koha Coffee mornings and a kitchen upgrade was the result of the revival. However keeping this momentum has proved difficult, because the hall had become virtually invisible over the years it was let out, and the focus of the community has shifted to the school.

We are on the cusp of change

A lot of the discussion from the hall’s history is very similar to our concerns today, in particular the balance between use and income to ensure maintenance, but also how the use of the hall reflects the ebb and flow of community involvement generally.

The community use of the hall is currently at an ebb again. These days people lead incredibly busy lives whether they wish to or not. The popularity of the school has meant the arrival of more younger households into the area, and family life is generally all-encompassing.

However, over the years there have been several occasions of crisis, and each time a few individuals have come forward and either revived or downright rescued the hall. Long may the cycle continue!

Koha Coffee Saturday June 30

Not a complete ebb though … this Saturday June 30 Koha Coffee will be held in the community hall from 10.30 til about 12.30. If you haven’t been to the hall, or not for a long time, come and experience its old fashioned charm for yourself; have coffee, eat goodies, play table tennis or the piano, dance in front of the mirrors, browse the lending library, and meet and chat to other locals. And if you have been recently, come and catch up again.

Envisioning the future of our hall

So what happens now? That’s the question the last quarterly HVPA meeting asked, and is looking to the community for their ideas. Do we keep the hall partially rented and partially used by the community, leaving the the responsibility of looking after it to a few volunteers? Or do we lease the hall fully to someone and use the total rent to keep it in good shape? Is there anything else that could be done? A timeline is also required as we need to appreciate our current users.

Thinking outside the square

The Common Unity Project has set up a Remakery in Epuni to rebuild and upcycle unwanted stuff including old bicycles and remnant fabrics. The operation also promotes urban food growing and bee keeping, has a local food shop and a local food catering service. School children grow sunflowers for bees and sell their seeds around the country.

(167 recipients, 100 opens)