We planted 30 trees today, mostly tagasaste, which fixes nitrogen and helps to improve the soil, and can later be be coppiced for firewood and sacrificial mulch. It will serve to shelter the holly oaks while they get established to form the main long-term shelter. We even managed to sneak some lavender amongst proceedings too. Many thanks to everyone who turned up to help!
To celebrate Her Royal Majesty’s birthday, let’s build a compost station and some raised beds after lunch on Monday. Kick-off at 1pm on Monday 5 June (more event details here), and subject to availability we can get a few tree and nursery species in the ground too.
It might be a bit wet to try to get a shed in place on the back of a truck, but Malcolm from PCC is keen to get the water tank sorted soon.
If you are interested in participating in the community food forest garden project, please contact Jonathan at the Residents’ Association through the Contact Us page with your email address and/or a contact phone number, so we can keep a mailing/phone list of interested folks. For instance, one of the first things we need to figure out is the best way to facilitate discussion and coordinate resources and tasks between working bees, whether that be email, Facebook, this website, a wiki, smoke signals, or some other method.
It was almost a day for hats and umbrellas last Saturday, but the rain was kind and merely washed the station so Ngāti Toa Kaumata Taku Parai could bless the new Pukerua Bay station building and the He Ara Pukerua heritage sign. Greater Wellington Regional Councillors Jenny Brash and Barbara Donaldson cut ribbons to formally open the station, and Porirua Mayor Mike Tana unveiled the He Ara Pukerua sign, which is the first to mark a Pukerua Bay heritage site. 27 May 2017 will also be remembered as the day well-known Pukerua Bay resident Ray Brown sang his song “Pukerua Bay” which he composed in 1958.
He Ara Pukerua is the name of the Pukerua heritage project, and recognizes the many tracks which are part of Pukerua Bay’s history. There are many other places of interest in the history of Pukerua Bay and the Heritage Group is seeking contributions or memorabilia towards recording them.
If you would like to share your memories please contact Margaret Blair on 021 1373 263, or email pukeruaheritage@gmail.com
Photography © 2017 Ivor Earp-Jones.
Pukerua Bay Residents Association is working with Muri Road residents and Porirua City Council to improve aspects of road and pedestrian safety along Muri Road.
We’re after feedback by the end of the first week in June before 28 May.
In early 2016, we asked Muri Road residents to take part in a survey on how Muri Road could be made safer for everyone.
They told us that they wanted lighting along the road improved, some form of footpath and to reduce the speed of cars using the road.
With this information we put in a successful bid to the Council for funding to undertake a village planning project for 2016/17 to make changes that would improve road and pedestrian safety.
This document outlines proposed work to improve lighting, walkability and the speed of cars along Muri Road. It also outlines some opportunities for other work that could be done at the same time.
Please study this document and provide any feedback on this form by the end of the first week in June before 28 May.
It can be dropped into the letterbox at 84 Muri Road or dropped back to the Council’s Village Planning Team at the main administration building in Cobham Court.
Feel free to discuss this project with us (Iain MacLean 027 420 3056, iain@maclean.name or Pauline Morse 239 9838) or with the Council’s Village Planning team who can be contacted through the main Council number 237-5089.
Your feedback will be incorporated into development of the final plan and we will be in touch to outline the next steps. Continue reading “Muri Road safety improvements — community feedback wanted”
(DRAFT)
Present: Iain MacLean, June Penhey, Kate Dreaver, Brian Sullivan, Jonathan Harker, Paul FitzGerald, Pauline Morse, Dale Williams (PCC).
Community: Peter Roach, Ashley Price, Guy Marriage, Nikky Winchester (Community Hub Group).
Apologies: Rebecca Davis, Jenny Brash (GWRC). Continue reading “May 2017 Residents’ Association meeting minutes”
Click here for more event details.
Hi folks, it’s really happening! Let’s all catch up tomorrow at 10 am (see event details) and meet and greet. We have our garden plan (PDF) to work from, and we need to mark out where the things will go, who has access to what resources, and what we can get started with first.
The council have already mown and mulched the site for us, so that’s the first thing done from the list of tasks in the plan. Likely candidates for things we can start doing are:
We are currently investigating the option to move one of the old shelter buildings from the closed Muri Station onto the site, to use as the potting/tool shed, and the council are willing to provide a water tank for garden and Civil Defence use.
Join us in celebrating the new METLINK station shelter (funded and installed by GWRC), and heritage signs at the Pukerua Bay Railway Station on Saturday the 27th of May at 10am. Mayor Mike Tana will present and open the archway and reveal the new Heritage Sign on the platform. All Pukerua Bay residents and visitors are warmly invited to attend.
For further details about the event, please click here.
Background: The Pukerua Bay Residents Association has worked tirelessly in partnership with Porirua City Council to provide a beautiful new wooden archway and historical information sign.
The timbers used in this sign and the others to be installed, come from the Airlie Road over-bridge which was originally built in 1937 and demolished in 2010.
We invite you to share your memories, memorabilia or materials relating to Pukerua Bay. These will complete the research that has been done so the final map can be drawn. Please contact Margaret Blair on 021 1373 263 or pukeruaheritage@gmail.com.
This month’s update (PDF) is published on behalf of the Predator Free Pukerua Bay project. If you are interested in participating, email predatorfreepkb@gmail.com for more information.
Autumn is definitely with us now – longer, cooler nights means that rats and mice are looking for warmer lodgings. It’s a great time to check your roof cavities and out-buildings for signs of rats and mice and place traps accordingly. We had great success at our house just by moving our trap into the garden shed (previously, it was just outside by the shed door): we caught a mouse and a rat that very night! We have also heard of others putting a little bit of bait at the tunnel entrance as a lure, which has been successful.
March and April’s catch numbers continue to increase.
Total reported catches since 12 November 2016: 262 rats; 375 mice; 10 mustelids (all in the Scientific Reserve); and 32 hedgehogs.
Welcome on board to our newest trappers! At the end of April, we have 102 properties involved in Predator-free Pukerua Bay (about 14 percent of all Pukerua Bay properties). All of the original 90 traps/tunnels provided by the Department of Conservation have now been sponsored – what a great effort from the community! Continue reading “Predator-free Pukerua Bay March and April 2017 update”
