Carver Renata Tane explains the newly unveiled sign for Kerikeri Community Gardens while Therese Wickbom of the Bald Angels Trust looks on. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
Carver Renata Tane explains the newly unveiled sign for Kerikeri Community Gardens while Therese Wickbom of the Bald Angels Trust looks on. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
A weekly round-up of news snippets, events and oddities from the Bay of Islands and around the Mid North
Do you want to grow your own veges but don't have the space or don't know how?
If so, Kerikeri Community Garden could be for you. Located on Kerikeri Rd close to the Old Packhouse Market, it a combines a community garden producing vegetables for the needy with a series of plots for group or individual use.
It is an initiative of the local charity Bald Angels on land donated by Ken and Phyllis Rintoul.
Bald Angels founder Therese Wickbom said she was looking for individuals, whanau, community groups, clubs and businesses to join the garden.
"Plots are free and ready to plant. All you need is a few seedlings, a willingness to grow and a bit of time to devote to helping us tend the community plot," she said.
"You don't need to be an experienced gardener as our volunteers have a wealth of knowledge that they're happy to share. All you need is a commitment to maintaining your plot and respecting the land and the project's values ... It's a great way to put cheap, healthy food on your table this summer, and we can promise a great sense of achievement when you harvest your goodies."
Produce from the community plot is distributed to day care centres, Kerikeri Kindergarten and families in need via agencies such as the police, Hospice, Women's Refuge, Plunket, Kawakawa Foodbank, and Ngati Hine Health Trust.
A new sign marking the Kerikeri Community Garden has been unveiled by the carver, Renata Tane of Oromahoe.
The sign was carved from a slab of totara and designed by a Year 10 arts student at Kerikeri High School, Shannen Frear.
Members of Bald Angels Charitable Trust, garden volunteers, friends and whanau braved a chilly Friday afternoon to take part in the unveiling. The blessing was by Alan Munro of Te Tii.
Writers workshop
Kings Theatre Creative, in Kawakawa's historic move theatre, continues a month of Sunday film and literature sessions this weekend with guest authors Rae Roadley, Connie Atkinson and Derin Attwood sharing their tips and experience with budding writers.
Topics covered will include editing manuscripts, writing memoirs, getting published and writing for children. The sessions run from 1-4pm; entry by koha of $2, $5 or $10.
TPPA protests
Protests against the TPPA trade deal will be held in the Bay of Islands and Hokianga this Saturday.
The Kerikeri march will start outside the library on Cobham Rd, while the rally in Kohukohu, North Hokianga, will start on the Village Green. Both are scheduled to start at 11am.
Opponents fear the TPPA will restrict New Zealanders' access to medicines and allow the government to be sued if it passes laws which are not in the interests of overseas corporations.
Ponies to the rescue
Glenys Rossell, RDA committee member, left, and Diane Vogels, RDA volunteer, with a few of the gingerbread horses the group sold at Kerikeri's Farmers Market. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
Gingerbread ponies have been raising money for the real thing, with sales of the sweet treats helping Bay of Islands Riding for the Disabled (RDA) pay for events and equipment.
The ponies, made by Kerikeri's Farmers Market bakers and RDA volunteers, sold for $2 at a recent Sunday market. Kids could buy a plain pony and decorate it with a variety of icing and sprinkles.
Proceeds from the national fundraising campaign are split between RDA's national body and local groups.
Bay of Islands RDA currently has 37 riders on its books, most aged between 5 and 13. Sessions are held three times a week at the group's new covered arena at the showgrounds in Waimate North.
Rawene man Kevin Rasmussen is on a mission to show Northlanders how easy and inexpensive it is to create a garden which will keep giving all year round.
Mr Rasmussen, who has taught permaculture and sustainability for more than 10 years, is planning a free community education programme in Kerikeri and Rawene for anyone genuinely interested in learning the secrets of growing simple and healthy food.
Participants in the nine free evening sessions will learn how to come up with a food production plan to suit their property and their families' needs.
To find out more contact Mr Rasmussen at kevinrasmussen4@hotmail.com, (09) 405 7654 or 405 7659.
The Russell Wharf Trust is holding its second annual raffle, with a prize worth more than $10,000, to raise money for wharf improvements.
This year's project is to beautify the end of the wharf and build a terrace connecting the wharf to the beach. It will cost about $80,000 and take 18 months, with most of that time taken up by resource consents.
The prize is two nights luxury accommodation at Eagles Nest in Russell for up to six people. The first night's meal will be cooked by a private chef; the second day includes a guided tour of Russell, lunch at the Duke of Marlborough, a water taxi to Waitangi Treaty Grounds for a private tour, then back to the Duke for dinner. The final day includes wine tasting at Omata Estate vineyard.
Tickets cost $100 but only 100 are available so the odds of winning are a lot better than Lotto.
Contact Riki Kinnaird at riki@theduke.co.nz for a ticket. The winner will be drawn on August 23.
The history of whaling in the Bay of Islands is the subject of next week's guest lecture for U3A (University of the Third Age) in Kerikeri.
Speaker Lindsay Alexander, of Russell, has just published Chasing the White Whale, which brings together 19 tales of shipwreck, murders, flagpoles, whale ships and whalers. The book is the result of seven years' research.
His talk starts at 10.30am on Monday, August 17, in the St John Ambulance Hall at 367 Kerikeri Rd.
Young ambassador
The 2015 Lions Young Ambassadors Award competition is being held at the Okaihau Town Hall this evening.
Hosted this year by the Okaihau Lions Club, the contest is open to one or two students from each high school between Kawakawa and Kaitaia.
Contestants submit a CV of their achievements; undergo an interview by a three-member judging panel; and deliver a five-minute speech on a subject of their choice. The winner receives $1000 towards further education or travel.
Do you have news or an upcoming event you'd like to see in this column? Send it to us, including your full contact details, to baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz.
