Kylie Penn, of Kerikeri's Illumination Workshop, with a couple of her Mac's Patch puppet characters. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Kylie Penn, of Kerikeri's Illumination Workshop, with a couple of her Mac's Patch puppet characters. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Kerikeri Youth Theatre classes
Kerikeri Theatre Company has announced two new classes for 2022, one designed for children and youth and the other for adults. The Youth Theatre with Kylie Penn and the Magic Playhouse is held at the Black Box Theatre on Monday afternoons across term two and isfor budding young performers. There will be three classes with students grouped by age. The first is for 7-10-year-olds, the second for 11- to 13-year-olds, and the third for 14- to 18-year-olds.
Students will learn a variety of theatre performance techniques and work together through the process of devising small performances. They will work with Kylie to devise a brand new show, which will be performed in public at the Turner Centre in July 2022.
The second class is Improv Acting Classes with Vivian Thonger, designed for adults. It will improve existing acting skills and teach students to think on their feet. Vivian is "deep diving" into the realm of improv. Classes are every Tuesday for eight consecutive weeks starting from April 12 at the Black Box Theatre. She will be encouraging and challenging students to extend their acting capabilities and build on-stage confidence.
Waitangi Treaty Grounds is supporting educators who will be teaching the new history curriculum with on-site guidance.
The Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum was launched this month and will be rolled out in all schools from next year.
Waitangi Treaty Grounds is offering workshops and tours to support educators to build on their professional knowledge and deepen their understanding to implement the new curriculum.
Waitangi is offering an Aotearoa NZ's Histories Museum Tour or teachers can book a full-day workshop as part of a four-day Aotearoa Histories Programme. This programme is in partnership with Manea Footprints of Kupe, Heritage New Zealand, Explore Group, the Duke of Marlborough and Leisure Time Tours.
The Education team at Waitangi won a Ministry of Education contract last year and assisted with the development of classroom support materials for the new history curriculum.
A piece by artist Catherine Dunn who is exhibiting at the Little Black Gallery from April 8. The work was to have been exhibited at KOAST late last year but it was cancelled due to Covid.
Five Northland artists are preparing for a group exhibition at the Little Black Gallery in Kerikeri that opens on Friday night.
It's the first exhibition for the year, mainly thanks to Covid and lockdowns, so the exhibition focuses on happier new beginnings as a nod to the beginning of the end of this phrase of Covid.
Joint owner of Little Black Gallery Anna Hamilton says it's time to refresh creativity and open the doors again.
"There's so much exciting talent in the Far North and we are really lucky to be able to work with many artists, not only in the exhibitions but in displaying their work throughout the year."
The featured artists are Catherine Dunn, Di West, Wendy Galbraith, Teresa Gordon and Elisabeth Wakeford. Two are regular exhibitors, while Di West, Teresa Gordon and Elisabeth Wakeford are new to the Little Black Gallery. The latter three were exhibitors in the Covid- cancelled KOAST last year.
Catherine Dunn is a fulltime artist based in Doves Bay. Di West was born in New Zealand, immigrated with her family to Australia at the age of 3 and returned to New Zealand in mid-2016 and settled in the Bay of Islands.
Elisabeth Wakeford is a self-taught artist with a passion for colour, texture and contrast. Teresa Gordon, although born in the Waikato, has lived in Northland for over 20 years. She started painting full time in 2004. Wendy Galbraith's paintings reflect her concern for the environment. She works in acrylics and uses layers of paint and pattern to create her semi- abstract compositions. She lives in Kerikeri.
The exhibition runs until late May, 10am–4pm daily, Tuesday to Saturday. Contact Anna Hamilton 09 407 1311 or 021 771299
The team from Bunnings partnering with volunteers from Project Island Song to build flat-pack tracking tunnels on Moturua and Urupukapuka Islands.
Last week, volunteers from Project Island Song and a team from Bunnings from across the Northland region came together to help preserve the local wildlife on Moturua and Urupukapuka, two of the seven pest-free islands in the Bay of Islands.
The islands have been pest free since 2009 and the natural ecosystems are being restored. Thousands of trees have been planted, and seven rare and endangered species have been reintroduced with many more species planned.
The activity is part of a unique partnership between the Guardians of the Bay of Islands and Te Rawhiti hapu (Ngati Kuta and Patukeha).
"Our vision is to protect and help restore the ancient dawn chorus of the Bay of Islands and ensure this wildlife sanctuary is around for future generations," said Richard Robbins, general manager at Project Island Song.
The Bunnings team built 60 flat-pack tracking tunnels for students to set up during their island visits. Bunnings team members also travelled to Moturua and Urupukapuka islands with Project Island Song volunteers to lay out some of the tracking tunnels, and are donating fencing that will be utilised to protect native plants and trees on the islands.
The tracking tunnels will help Project Island Song monitor the success of the wētāpunga programme, which saw over 200 giant wētā that were bred at Auckland Zoo released onto three of the pest-free islands of Ipipiri, the eastern Bay of Islands.
Book celebrates 30 years
The family firm: Tim Strachan (centre) the founder of Promax Plastics, with Walter (left), the managing director, and Hamish, the North Island factory manager.
Promax Plastics in Waipapa manufactures water tanks and accessories; polyethylene water storage and transport solutions to be precise. They describe it on their website as "liquid management solutions" for all sectors, civil, rural and industrial.
Now they are telling their 30-year history in book form. The somewhat wordy title is Together, making a difference today to sustain life tomorrow, and charts the company's journey from a Whangarei packing shed to what they call "world-leading manufacturing facilities in Kerikeri and Rangiora".
The company founder was Tim Strachan. He made his first water tank in a kiwifruit packing shed in Whangarei in 1992 at a time when the region was severely affected by drought. When they first started they had a staff of three. Now there are 40 staff members in the Waipapa branch and 10 in Rangiora.
The book gives an insight into the Strachan family history and farming background, the significant milestones they experienced over the past 30 years and what drives the family to succeed.
Tim Strachan retired in 2016 and handed over the management to his sons, Hamish and Walter. Hamish is the North Island factory manager and Walter is the company's managing director.
"We've come a long way but there is more to do. I hope anyone who reads the book picks up on our determination to stay humble and keep improving," says Walter.
