Building a Resilient, Sustainable, and Thriving Community for the Future
Kia ora koutou,
Thanks to those that came along for our kids school holiday session last week. How fantastic it was to have a māra filled with the humming energy of tamariki hunting for snails! The Growing Point team have also just finished and submitted our final Hua Parakore diary that marks the completion of our Puāwai year – one (giant) step closer to becoming fully verified in time for the māra’s 10 year anniversary 💕
Kia ora koutou,
This coming Tuesday is our kids’ event at the māra – please read on for info about the session, and feel free to share with friends of whānau who might like to bring their lil’ gardeners along. We’re also kicking off our first Microscopy & Compost course session on Tuesday, so it’s set to be a busy week.
Kia ora koutou,
Wow, what an incredible event we pulled off yesterday hosting over 70 people in the māra to grow a deeper relationship with Matariki and te tau hou Māori. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou! We are so proud of and impressed by all of the support from this lovely māra community. There’s so much work behind the scenes: hours prepping kumara, soup-making, learning waiata, stringing lights, lending us a brazier, and much more. We’re deeply grateful for the volunteers putting in the extra yards and giving so much time and love. If there was ever a time the community part of community garden was at its best, it was yesterday. Thanks for choosing to be a part of the garden whānau.
Tēnā koe,
As you’ve likely seen, the weather for tonight and tomorrow morning is not great. As such we’ve made the call to postpone our Matariki Dawn Ceremony by one day. We really hope you’re still able to make it, and if you haven’t registered yet there’s still time: click here
New date & time: Sunday 29th June, (this coming Sunday)
Please note we have a new 6am start time
Unfortunately, the ground will be too wet to dig and light a hāngi pit in time, so we’re pivoting to roasting the kumara in our pizza oven. Aside from this change, the rest of the ceremony is going ahead as planned!
Manawatia a Matariki!
As this year comes to a close and we welcome in Te Tau Hou (the new year) we’re sending love and gratitude to all of you who are so important to our māra – we are only a thriving hub because of YOU and all of the generosity, manaakitanga, hard work, patience and passion that you bring.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please register via the yellow link bow below if you’re joining us for Matariki. It’s vital that we have a handle on numbers to keep everyone fed, happy and spaced. Registering also provides us a way to contact you directly in case of postponement (a call will be made late this week if the weather looks poor).
Submissions for the Regulatory Standards Bill close at 1pm tomorrow – run, don’t walk!
It’s absolutely vital that as many of us as possible make submissions to tell the government that it’s a (clearly) terrible idea to put the rights of overseas corporations and private propety over the rights of people and erode protections for both Māori and the environment. Submitting is easy:
Kia ora e te whānau,
As many of you are aware, our relationship to nature as growers often asks us to speak up for the protection of people and the natural world when under threat. We have an important call to action this week, and are asking you to seriously consider making a submission against the Regulatory Standards Bill. More information below our Matariki event section – mauri ora!
Kia ora koutou,
We can really feel Takurua (Winter) rolling over us now! Cold, crisp mornings, afternoon downpours and the smell of wood smoke in the evenings as household fires are lit.
Kia ora koutou,
Hope you’re enjoying the longer weekend and finding space to enjoy the sunshine. Not much to report this week, so read on for a look at the upcoming events in our māra.
Kia ora koutou,
So cool to have many of you along for our cover crop workshop, screen printing and pizza. We’re looking forward to seeing these upcycled shirts and tees appearing around the neighbourhood!
P.S. scroll down for a new ‘flashbacks’ section with early photos of the garden as we get close to our 10 year anniversary.
Event this Sunday, 11am-2pm: Workshop, Screenprinting and Pizza!
Arohamai – this upcoming event was missed out of the recent email newsletter so a few people have missed the memo. It’s still going ahead! Details as follows:
If you’re joining us for pizzas it would be great if you could bring a topping or two to share – we’ll provide the bases (gluten free) and sauces.
If you’d like to join for some screen printing BYO old shirts, teatowels, hoodies, pillowcases or assorted fabrics to upcycle and adorn with our very own garden imagery and designs!