June 2017

Garden holly oak shelter belt started

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!

Garden holly oak shelter belt started Read More »

Food forest garden Queen’s birthday working bee

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.

Things we need

  • Used pallets (7 initially)
  • Some sleeper timbers
  • Lengths of driftwood from the beach
  • Plants. Currently, donations will be gratefully accepted of the following trees and shrubs for the nursery and beginning shelter layers: tagasaste (Cytisus proliferus), holly oak (Quercus ilex), common lavender (Lavendula augustifola), and feijoa (any good variety).

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.

Allotment beds at Innermost Gardens, Wellington.

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Train station and heritage sign opening day photos

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.

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