Megan Hayes of Kaeo, left, is treated to a Mother's Day brunch by husband Hemi Kiro and son Jahrome. At right is Alexa Bell of Flourflower, the fundraising brunch venue. PHOTO / SUPPLIED
Megan Hayes of Kaeo, left, is treated to a Mother's Day brunch by husband Hemi Kiro and son Jahrome. At right is Alexa Bell of Flourflower, the fundraising brunch venue. PHOTO / SUPPLIED
A weekly round-up of news snippets, events and oddities from the Bay of Islands and around the Mid North
Kerikeri Cooking Club raised a whopping $3071.50 for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation with a Mother's Day Pink Brunch.
Members, volunteers and friends cooked 350 meals at Flourflower, the club's base just off Waipapa Rd. More than 160 local businesses gave donations or sponsored raffles and spot prizes.
Following the huge success they are already planning for next Mother's Day.
A conservation group called Guardians of the Bay of Islands - the driving force behind Project Island Song, which aims to restore the Bay's native wildlife - is looking for 100 volunteers to help replant part of Urupukapuka Island later this month.
The Guardians have spent the past four years replanting Urupukapuka's Ihumatea Bay in native trees and shrubs, and now they're ready to start on adjoining Squid Bay.
The group hopes to put 1750 plants into the ground on Sunday, May 24, but they'll need 100 extra pairs of hands. Volunteers need to be reasonably fit because the site is steeply sloping. There's also a 20-minute walk to the bay from the drop-off point at Otehei Bay.
Fullers GreatSights will provide free transport to the island; volunteers will need to bring a clean, sharp spade and a bag to carry it in, a packed lunch, water, sunblock, towel, suitable clothing and footwear.
If you want to lend a hand email Rod Brown at summerhouse.kerikeri@gmail.com or phone (09) 407 4294. Planting is highly weather dependent - if it has to be postponed it will be rescheduled to the next fine day.
You can help make the Bay of Islands even more beautiful by volunteering on a one-day planting project later this month. PHOTO / LARA KAY PHOTOGRAPHY
The Guardians started replanting the islands, most of which were cleared for farming, in 2003 and in 2009 the Department of Conservation eradicated the islands' many thousands of rats. Since then the numbers of tui have exploded and rare saddlebacks (tieke) and North Island robins (toutouwai) have been re-introduced.
So far volunteers have planted 44,000 trees and shrubs. Waewaetorea Island was completed in 2011; this winter's target islands are Urupukapuka and Moturua.
Casino night fundraiser
Paihia's volunteer firefighters are once again taking part in the annual Sky Tower Challenge with their main fundraiser a casino night at the station this Saturday.
The event will be run by the Bay of Islands Rotary Club, which is well practised in putting on an entertaining evening of horse racing, roulette wheels, blackjack and charity auctions.
Doors open at 7.30pm; tickets from GoldnGifts on Williams Rd, Paihia, or by calling (09) 402 6987.
Five members of the Paihia brigade will run up the 1103 steps of the Sky Tower on May 23 while weighed down with 25kg of firefighting gear to raise money for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand. They will be joined by volunteers from many other Northland brigades.
Paihia holds the challenge's fundraising record after raising more than any other brigade for five years in a row. In total they have made just under $50,000. Much of their physical training takes place on the Opua steps.
Far North Mayoress Leoni Carter will host Pink Ribbon breakfasts in Kaitaia, Kerikeri and Kaikohe next week to raise money for breast cancer research.
Breakfast menu options will include muesli and yoghurt or a savoury or sweet muffin, tea, coffee or juice, for $10 per person. The proceeds will help the Breast Cancer Foundation fund research to improve breast cancer survival rates.
Mayoress Leoni Carter, pictured with husband John, is hosting a series of fundraising breakfasts. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
District councillor and health board deputy chair Sally Macauley will speak at the breakfasts along with breast cancer specialists. Competitions and spot prizes will be offered. Donations of pink items for selling, such as baking, welcome.
Mrs Carter said with eight new diagnoses each day, every woman knew someone who had been affected by breast cancer.
"We all need to do our bit to support an organisation that's funding research to save lives," she said.
Breakfasts will be served from 7-9am at Kaitaia's Te Ahu Centre on Monday, May 18; the council Chambers in Kaikohe on May 20; and Flourflower at 2 Cochrane Drive, Kerikeri (off Waipapa Rd) on May 22.
Email Adele Thomson at Adele.Thomson@fndc.govt.nz to attend a breakfast. If you can't make it but still want to donate, click here.
Puff and Pull
Don't forget the biggest event in Kawakawa's calendar is happening this Sunday - the Puff and Pull Carnival, in which schools, community groups and businesses compete to see who can pull a 28-tonne steam locomotive down the main street in the shortest time.
The main event runs from 10am-1pm, when SH1 through town will be closed to traffic. The day's activities start at 8am with a fundraising walk called Trek the Track; after 1pm the fun will shift to Johnson Park for an afternoon of music, kai and stalls.
Clean-up crew needed
A group of civic-minded Haruru Falls residents are organising a clean-up this Saturday of roadside bush near Waitangi Golf Club used by illegal rubbish dumpers.
Anyone who wants to lend a hand can turn up at the site, on Haruru Falls Rd about 1km from the Wairoa Bay turnoff, from 8.30am. Bring gloves, boots, overalls, drinking water and possibly a high-vis vest and hard hat. The site is down a steep bank.
Volunteers will be treated to a barbecue afterwards. The Far North District Council will provide skip bins for the rubbish. The clean-up is being led by Bruce Gordon, who was recognised recently by the Lions for his volunteer work around the Bay of Islands.
If you see anyone dumping rubbish illegally, take a note of the vehicle's registration and any other identifying details, then call the council on 0800 920 029.
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.
