He kai kei aku ringa - There is food at the end of my hands. Whiringa-ā-Rangi is a time to enjoy the new warmth as Kōanga begins to turn into Raumati. It’s a great time of year to get out and enjoy your local reserves! It’s also a great time to put some extra love into your garden. You might consider strengthening the positive environmental impact of your garden this season by either: going organic, starting a compost heap, growing native plants or food plants, eliminating invasive plants, or trapping for pests. One step at a time, your garden can become a strong ally in our collective sustainability journey! We hope that you enjoy reading this snapshot of our Whiringa-ā-Rangi 2023 newsletter, where some of the content is time and date specific, some is seasonal, and some is timeless.
There were many ways that our supporters got involved with Kaipātiki Project this month including our AGM, a Titiwai guided walk, regular regeneration days and our “I didn’t know that” Speaker Series to name a few.
“‘It is becoming summer, and the sun is strong.” - Te Papa Museum Website
A Call to Attend Our AGM
Kaipātiki Project has had a remarkable year with significant milestones and heartwarming achievements. Despite the global challenges, we are deeply inspired by our volunteers, team, funders, partners, and all our supporters. This inspiration drives us to take action, grow as an organisation, and work towards a sustainable future for people and nature. Our AGM is a time to showcase our work and celebrate those who have made it possible.
Announcements
New Te Reo Māori names
Kaipātiki Local Board have recently adopted new Te Reo Māori names as part of Te Kete Rukuruku. Nine reserves and one outdoor classroom in Northcote will now carry te reo Māori names that reflect the area’s natural environment and cultural history. Our Auckland shared details on the names and their meanings, and the new map highlights locations. This is an important and exciting development, and we see it as a key part of ecosystem regeneration in Aotearoa.
School Holiday Activities
Some fantastic young te taiao enthusiasts joined us at Kaipātiki Project over the school holidays for plants, art and... eels!
We had an amazing time exploring the gardens and getting creative with the incredible Sophie Austin. The tamariki explored in the reserve, tasted flavors of herbs, flowers, and kōanga fruits from our community teaching gardens, and finished with creative projects using natural materials. What a treat it was to have these youngsters at the hub, enjoying nature and getting creative. We look forward to offering more opportunities like this in the future. We even enjoyed a surprise highlight in the form of this 2-year-old tuna that we found right on our driveway! We are still unsure of how he got there, but we acted fast to ensure a safe journey on to the next awa.
Speaker Series Enjoys Successful Launch
Our “I didn’t know that” Enviro Speaker Series has enjoyed a successful start with great feedback from our guests! We’ve seen three incredible speakers so far and are looking forward to three more. The first talk in the series was hosted by our very own, Neil Henderson. He shared insights into the intriguing world of Pekapeka, and shed light on the local conservation efforts led by Kaipātiki Project to protect them. Our second event was a globetrotting adventure with Dr. Kevin Lee. An extraordinary scientist, he shared his firsthand accounts of studying extremophile microbes living in the harshest regions of our planet. Vanessa Cocal-Smith gave an intriguing presentation on her work in the geoheritage space. Focusing on the Thames goldfields, Vanessa showed the incredible power of new technologies to help us better understand the development of land-use and culture from a geological perspective. Thank you to our amazing speakers and enthusiastic guests!
Read More
If you enjoyed these highlights and want to see what else you missed from our Whiringa-ā-Rangi 2023 newsletter then click here to read it in full.
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