The Fringe May 2024, Issue 237

ISSUE 237, JUNE 2024

ON OUR COVER: Dr Brendon Dunphy is pictured holding an adult grey-faced petrel, one of 85 species of sea bird in New Zealand. Ninety percent of these species are classified as endangered. See page 10 for more.

Every issue of The Fringe (and the Tītīrangi Tatler before it) since April 2011 is on-line at www.fringemedia.co.nz. Like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FringeWest) to hear when each issue is available and get other updates.

Scenic Drive completion delayed

AT has discovered an additional slip, between the two slips on Scenic Drive, between Woodlands Park Road and the Tītīrangi roundabout, that it has already started work on. The new target completion date will be in late July.

Work began on February 27, 2024 and the original plan was to finish within four months (weatherdependent), i.e. by the end of June 2024.

Power poles were removed with power lines relocated by Vector before drilling could start and repairs on both of the original slips got underway. However, a third slip (approximately 76 metres long) was discovered during excavation. Design work is underway for this third slip while repairs continue on the first two. Completing repairs to the third slip will delay completion by four to seven weeks, but this option is thought to be better than reclosing the road at a later date.

School buses will continue to take the existing detour, and the shuttle bus will continue to serve Woodlands Park Road until Scenic Drive can reopen.

Advertising:

Artworks and jewellery by Robin Kewell will be on display in Lopdell House’s first floor Seminar Room (420 Titirangi Road) on June 15 and 16, 10am-4pm

Books galore: but storage space needed

Laingholm’s Mary Hibberd spends most of her life knee-deep in books. Literally. Novels, history, children’s tales, animal antics, romance, war, travel, sport, adventure, poetry and biographies. And don’t forget stacks of LPs, CDs, DVDs and jigsaws.

Mary’s been leading a volunteer team at the monthly New Lynn Lions Club book sale for more than 25 years and she can’t even start to think how many books have passed through her hands. “There are so many I just don’t know.”

Neither does she know how much the Lions Club raises from the sales but it is significant. “They tell us the tally annually and it may be $35 -$40,000 a year. It all goes to charities.”

New Lynn Lions has been running books sales for more than 30 years but back then it was a men-only organisation.

Founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1917, the Association of Lions Clubs was set up to improve health and wellbeing, strengthen communities, and encourage peace and international understanding. It was called Lions, after the animal, and stood for strength, courage, fidelity and vital action. It has never had any religious or political affiliations.

When Mary became involved, she couldn’t be a member: it was still ‘men only.’ Her husband Bob was and Mary could ‘help out’ which saw her becoming an honorary member. She was offered full membership about 20 years ago.

Mary was already deep into the book sales by then. On the surface the sales seem very straight-forward. Books come in. They’re sold. They go out again. But like ducks on a lake, underneath the calm there’s a lot of activity going on.

Mary takes all the donated goods to her home. “Bob’s very long-suffering. I clutter the place while I sort, repackage, and then feed them back to storage at the Friendship Club by car or truck. We have another storage facility too but we have to move from that so we’re desperately looking for another

space,” Mary says. “It doesn’t need to be flash, just dry and with a couple of decentsized rooms with a good roof and walls.

“Each sale there are thousands of jigsaws, LPs, tapes, vinyl, toys and more. Much of it is sold but there’s always more coming through and the sorting process starts all over again,” she says.

With the sale starting at 8am on a Saturday, Mary and her team are on the go from Friday afternoon, setting up tables and laying everything out. They keep going until they’re finished – no matter how late at night that is. Next morning, there’s usually a queue waiting to get in. Rain or shine,

“Some people buy only one of two books but others may get 25 or more a month. They could be buying for friends, family or people who aren’t able to get out. It’s a community thing and with everything costing $1, it’s great buying,” says Mary.

Come 4pm on the Saturday afternoon, Mary and the team have sold thousands of books. Those left over get repacked and stored for next time. Others donated during the day go home with Mary for checking, repacking and storing. Another cycle is complete.

Until she was 40, Mary would read a couple of books a week and loved it. “Then life took over – children, jobs, family commitments. My life is working. And I love it.”

While Mary would enjoy a bit of spare time to put her feet up with a book (she’d quite fancy a good murder mystery), there’s always more to do, finding and training new volunteers, organising the sales and finding space for more storage. She’d welcome help and can be contacted on 027 487 0639. If you can assist with new premises for book storage, please ring Steve on 021 769 540.

The next book sale is on June 15, 8am-4pm at the New Lynn Friendship Hall, 3063 Great North Road, New Lynn (down the driveway by the traffic lights.)

– Moira Kennedy

Mary Hibberd: knee-deep in books.

A remarkable thing

Mixit has just made a remarkable announcement. A landmark arts programme for 20 years, to put it simply, Mixit engages with young people from former refugee and migrant backgrounds from all over Auckland, and more recently all over Aotearoa. But it is the quality of that engagement that makes it unique.

I believe it goes back to two core ingredients; visionary leadership and grounded research. The vision quota was created and held by Wendy Preston, and she still helms the organisation. The research, in 2005, looked at the needs and issues of former refugee youth in Aotearoa, the obstacles they faced and how an arts project could help build core life skills and capacity to help with successful integration.

The outcome of that research became Mixit, a weekly community initiative which uses participation in creativity as a powerful means to build self-confidence, communication skills, team-work and problem solving. Here’s the bit I like: it’s under the guise of undeniable FUN. And with all this comes a place for socialisation and a sense of belonging. Can you not imagine what this reliably weekly safe place to be has meant for many hundreds of young refugees, some with traumatic pasts, struggling in a totally strange land?

If this was the end of the story it would be enough. The next part of the story is, in my experience, extremely unusual.

Neville Kay first encountered Wendy Preston as part of her research in 2005. Years later, Neville saw how that early research had developed and he reached out to reconnect. At that time he was nearing the end of his life and wished to align with mahi that was making a real difference for young people, something he had been committed to throughout his life. Neville was a stalwart and tireless campaigner for social equity and human rights. He felt that Mixit was a great fit with his values and wanted to ensure he could set

up a platform that could continue impacting in a meaningful way. Neville sadly passed away in 2022, but he had made sure his legacy was in place. The result of his generosity is the Neville Kay Mixit Memorial Scholarship, established to enable young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to pursue their tertiary education goals.

As Wendy Preston says:

“This is an extraordinary line of support for those who have no networks or established connections in this country. They do not always have the capacity to navigate our tertiary institutions, while simultaneously overcoming huge odds. Often it’s the teens in the families we work with who carry the burden of lifting their family up and into a brighter future. However, it’s hard for them not to be overwhelmed by these responsibilities. Additionally, they can have other barriers to overcome - such as past trauma, struggling with English, negotiating culturally foreign worlds, together with a limited understanding from parents about what it actually takes to make it through to graduation in New Zealand. A great deal of wrap around understanding and support is needed so that they can successfully become part of our future as a diverse, vibrant, multi-cultural, multi-faith society. This is not an option for Aotearoa – it IS our future. Neville Kay’s recognition of Mixit is a wonderful validation of the hard mahi we have been committed to week in and week out for nearly 20 years. He could see that we are making tangible, transformational differences for young people and wanted to swing in and help support these future leaders.”

Three talented students will be supported for the duration of their tertiary study. They are:

Arezo Nazari from Afghanistan, studying law towards becoming a Human Rights lawyer.

Sajal Taneja from India, studying Health Sciences in preparation for Medical School.

Mixit performing at the April 2024 International Cultural Festival

Both Arezo and Sajal are Auckland based and regular Mixit participants.

Fatemeh Azimi from Afghanistan is studying medicine towards becoming an Anaesthesiologist. She is Dunedin-based, but came to Auckland for the 2024 Summer project.

That short paragraph holds and signals such potential; for each individual, for their families, for our society. Neville Kay; not a name on every lip, but a true hero. Patronage on this scale is not common in our society. But it is also a salute to Mixit, for their enduring love and support for our former refugee New Zealanders. They have earned the privilege of gifting and managing these scholarships.

Scholarship recipient Arezo Nazari reflects:

“As an Afghan girl my education is important to me because currently a lot of my friends in Afghanistan don’t have the same opportunity, or even a right to education. However,

Unfunded Plans & Policies

Former Auckland Council CEO Mr Jim Stabback warned of the dangers of accumulating unfunded plans and policies, describing them as one of the millstones around Council’s neck.

During my time on the Waitākere Ranges Local Board, I was talked out of voting against some plans and policies that I saw as too costly because I was told they would have no effect until funded. Said another way, they would sit dormant until decision-makers chose or had the ability to commit the funding.

Last week, my understanding received a reality check, and I gained a fuller understanding of Mr Stabback’s warning.

I recently posted about the proposed Vehicle Kilometres Travelled Reduction Plan (VKT-RP) and the huge cost that Council would have incurred if we had adopted it. Money had been spent developing the VKT-RP for a while. However, when it was finally presented to the Governing Body, it included a request for $20 billion over the following decade for its implementation. Shock, horror: everyone knows we don’t have a spare $2 billion annually. I voted to accept the Plan as unfunded, foolishly thinking this meant it and its potential costs would disappear.

going to University can be very challenging for a former refugee. My first challenge was the financial struggle of fees and course materials, which were impossible for me to pay without support. It is an honour to be awarded this Scholarship which has opened doors to my dream of becoming a Human Rights lawyer. This Scholarship has also given me hope and encouraged me to work harder to give back to NZ society through my studies.”

Visit the Mixit web site to see more stories, pictures.

www.mixit.co.nz

Stop Press

You may know Robin Kewell as the man who brings great movies to Lopdell House (Titirangi Flicks). But there is much more to this multi-faceted man. A pilot, jeweller, film-maker, potter, painter, snow sculptor, writer, story-teller, diver, dreamer.

All this and more to be revealed at an exhibition of his jewellery and paintings at Lopdell House in June. Facets will give a small window into this extraordinary life. Robin will be in attendance over the two-day exhibition and stories will assuredly be flowing. June 15 and 16, 10am-4pm; Seminar Room, Lopdell House.

Fast-forward two weeks, and I’m back at the next Transport and Infrastructure meeting. The VKT-RP is being quoted not just once but often.

I challenged why the VKT-RP was relevant, as it was not funded. I was directed back to the previous resolution which, although it left the VKT-RP unfunded, had still endorsed using the VKT-RP findings to inform Auckland Council and Auckland Transport in upcoming decisionmaking.

Of course, using the VKT-RP findings to inform upcoming plans and policies requires funding some of the delivery costs that weren’t available in the first place. Situations like this contribute to Council’s continual Budget deficits.

The problem is we spend so much political and bureaucratic time and money building these plans and policies that when the resulting recommendations are not deliverable (for whatever reason), we won’t trash them because of what that may infer.

Auckland Council has accumulated over 300 historic plans and policies, many of which remain unfunded, confusing both thinking and budgets.

Simplification is crucial if we are to “Fix Auckland.” We should start by scrapping all the deadwood in our unfunded plans and policies list.

– Ken Turner, WestWards

Scholarship recipients: Arezo Nazari (left) and Sajal Taneja (right)

Places to go – Things to do

Out and About in the West

Event organisers: Do you have an upcoming event you’d like listed in The Fringe? Send the details, including a contact person and number, to info@fringemedia.co.nz.

Readers: While we take care to ensure listings are correct, errors may occur. Check with the contact person if possible, especially over the festive and holiday season

Exhibitions

w – 22, Talking Earth, a collection of pottery by Rebecca Steedman; Corban Estate Arts Centre, 2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson. Phone 838 4455.

w – 22, In our spring garden, photographer Samson Dell reflects on the challenges of capturing gender fluidity in static images; Corban Estate Arts Centre, 2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson. Phone 838 4455.

w – 22, The essentials of being a native, Matt Tini explores colonial influences on the representation of indigenous peoples; Corban Estate Arts Centre, 2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson. Phone 838 4455.

w – August 4, Making do rhymes with poo: a new multimedia installation with video and live performance by Justene Williams (Australia); Te Uru, 420 Tītīrangi Road. Phone 817 8087.

w – August 4, Eternally Temporary: Landscape paintings from the Kelliher Art Trust Collection; Te Uru, 420 Tītīrangi Road. Phone 817 8087.

w 8 – August 18, Toi Whakaata/Reflections: surveying the work of sculptor Fred Graham (Ngati Koroki Kahukura, Tainui); Te Uru, 420 Tītīrangi Road. Phone 817 8087.

w 8 – August 25, Rehutai: works by Shannon Te Ao, Arapeta Hakura and Ngahuia Harrison; Te Uru, 420 Tītīrangi Road. Phone 817 8087.

w 2, Pony Rides, Huia Road Horse Club; 436B Huia Road, Laingholm; 3-4pm; $5 per child per ride. Phone 027 499 1732.

w 4 – 15, Tītīrangi Theatre presents It’s Never Too Late by Ron Aldridge,

w 8, Free whānau movie screening of Sing, coordinated by the Titirangi Community House and Titirangi Library; Titirangi War Memorial Hall, 500 South Tītīrangi Road; 6pm. Bring your own snacks, blankets, bean bags, pillows or low-back picnic chairs. Phone 817 0011.

w 8, The Ngaio Marsh Awards, in association with the Arataki Visitor Centre and Auckland Council, invite booklovers to an event featuring Michael Bennett, Nalini Singh and Rose Carlyle. Refreshments provided; Arataki Visitor Centre, 300 Scenic Drive; 2pm; Free but RSVP required: https://events.humanitix.com/mystery-in-the-forests. Phone 892 4778

w 8, Tītīrangi Folk Music Club presents Sammy Leary; Tītīrangi Beach Hall, bottom of Tītīrangi Beach Road; 8pm; $15, members $10, under 18 free. www.titirangilivemusic.co.nz or text Cathy on 021 207 7289.

w 12, Waitākere Greypower Association Annual General Meeting with a guest speaker from State of Grace Funerals, New Lynn; Te Atatu South Community Centre, 257 Edmonton Rd, Te Atatū South; 12.30pm.

w 14 – 30, My Journey to the stars, a solo exhibition by Rohit Vig; Upstairs Gallery, First Floor, Lopdell House, 418 Tītīrangi Road. Phone 817 4278.

w 15, New Lynn Lions Club $1 Book Sale: Books, Magazines, CDs, DVDs, LPs and jigsaw puzzles; New Lynn Friendship Club Hall, 3063 Great North Road, New Lynn (down the driveway by the traffic lights); 8am-4pm. Contact Mary Hibberd on 027 487 0639.

w 15, Matariki Whānau Day, a day of free fun and learning to celebrate Matariki; Arataki Visitors Centre, 300 Scenic Drive; 10am–2pm. See https:// www.facebook.com/events/396427156693484/

w 16, STNN (South Tītīrangi Neighbourhood Network) hosts an update on predator control with guest speakers; Tītīrangi Community House, 500 South Tītīrangi Road; 2pm. Email southtitiranginn@gmail.com for more.

w 16, Konohete Po – Music for Matariki, featuring local Māori musicians and performances, storytelling and art; Arataki Visitor Centre, 300 Scenic Drive; 4–6pm; Free. See https://www.facebook.com/events/369074879497116/

w 19 – 22, Lopdell Film Festival, Tītīrangi Theatre, Lopdell House,

Places to go – Things to do

Madman. Friday 21, 10.30am, The Miracle Club (M) Comedy/drama; 4pm, Inspector Sun Animation/Family (PG); 6pm, Wicked Little Letters Comedy/ Drama/Crime (R15); 8pm, The Eight Mountains Drama/true story (M).

Saturday 22, 11am, Archive Hour, a selection of short films from the New Zealand Film archives; 1pm, Goodbye Christopher Robin Family/drama (PG); 3pm, The King and I Musical/Drama (PG) a Classic Movie, introduced by Sir Bob Harvey; 6pm, One Life Drama/true story. (PG); 8pm, The Moon is Upsidedown Comedy/Drama NZ new release (R16).

w 20, Waitākere Forest and Bird presents Frank Lepera on predator-free Waiheke; Ranui Community Centre 474 Swanson Rd, Ranui; 7.30pm; koha appreciated. Phone Liz 027 476 2732 or email lizanstey@hotmail.com.

w 22, Glen Eden Bowling Club presents the Brown Brothers, celebrated for their top quality performances of Soul, Motown, RnB & Old School; Glen Eden Bowling Club, 25A Glendale Road, Glen Eden; $25/$30 (nonmembers). Bookings essential: email bar.chair@glenedenbowlingclub.org. nz or phone 818 4532.

w 25, Tītīrangi U3A – informal learning for over 50s, guest speakers, study groups; West Lynn Garden, 73 Parker Avenue, New Lynn; 1pm. Contact Jan George, 027 478 4119 or jan@jangeorge.co.nz. www.u3a.nz.

w 26, West Auckland Historical Society presents Madame Butterfly, Jacqui Knight on tthe importance of Butterflies in New Zealand; Waitākere Gardens, 15 Sel Peacock Drive, Henderson; 7pm. Phone 836 5917.

402a Titirangi Road, Titirangi Village Ph: 09 817-9937 www.tonicspa.co.nz

w 27, Hautapu dawn ceremony to welcome Matariki. Meet at Arataki Visitors Centre; Arataki Visitors Centre, 300 Scenic Drive; 7-8.30am. Places limited. RSVP essential by email to Arataki.centre@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz by Friday June 21.

w 28, Tītīrangi Folk Music Club presents Friday Folk, an informal gathering of musicians, singers and listeners; Tītīrangi Beach Hall, bottom of Tītīrangi Beach Road; 7.30pm; $5. www.titirangilivemusic.co.nz or text Cathy on 021 207 7289.

w 30, Tītīrangi Potters present Soup in a handmade bowl fundraiser. Buy a beautiful pottery bowl during the Tītīrangi Village Market and have it filled with hot soup; Tītīrangi Community House, 500 South Tītīrangi Road; 10am-2pm; $25 – $45. All proceeds to Tītīrangi Fire and Emergency.

w 30, Tītīrangi Village Market; Tītīrangi War Memorial Hall; 10am-2pm. Contact tvm.manager@gmail.com or phone 022 631 9436.

There is so much happening in and around our community, including many regular events, that we can’t fit everything into these listings. If you can’t see the event you’re interested in, visit: www.fringemedia.co.nz/ourplace

Skin Ultimate –The Power of Three

Choose from Moisture Lock, Illuminate or Ultimate Rejuv, a trio of treatments to bring out the very best in your skin. Receive treatment and product discounts. T’s + C’s apply.

Coastal sea birds need our help

Dr Brendon Dunphy dreams of living in an era when he could have grown his tomatoes in bird dropping (guano) fertiliser in the Waitākere Ranges.

Brendon is an associate professor at Auckland University’s School of Biological Sciences with an interest in sea birds. Here in Aotearoa there are 85 species – the most of anywhere in the world – but 90 percent of them are endangered.

Some sea bird colonies are being displaced further south by marine heat waves caused by climate change. By summer this year, New Zealand had experienced the warmest 12 months in our oceans for more than 150 years. And things are likely to get worse.

Yet, as Brendon says, amidst the bad news there is cause for hope.

“Twenty years ago, there were only 40 grey-faced petrels at Bethells but because of predator control there are now 200. And, although sooty shearwaters have had a bad year, taking longer to find food with chicks starving, it seems the flesh-footed shearwaters will be less affected by marine heat waves. They could adapt.”

The grey-faced petrels also grace the Manukau shores from Tītīrangi to Cornwallis and are the focus of Brendon’s research. Just back from Australia, the petrels are ready

A safer Glen Eden together

The Glen Eden Community patrol is once again operational, thanks to support from Waitākere Ranges Local Board.

As a member of Community Patrol NZ, the group has been patrolling in areas including Glen Eden, Tītīrangi, and Kelston since late 2023.

Waitākere Ranges Local Board allocated $5,000 to the group, as part of their placemaking efforts to regenerate the Glen Eden area.

Deputy Chair Michelle Clayton says: “The safety of Glen Eden is always paramount for our board. We’re pleased to help revive such a great initiative after its hiatus in 2021, to make Glen Eden a greater place to live, work and play.”

The patrols act as a deterrent to crime and anti-social behaviour by being highly visible.

From reassurance patrols following incidents such as burglaries or suspicious activity to collaborating with local law enforcement on initiatives, they seek to contribute to the safety of the Glen Eden, and wider West Auckland community.

The Glen Eden team has been recruiting and training members and more are needed: you can join this vital community effort too.

Find out more by visiting cpnz.org.nz/join-cpnz/ or reach out to the Glen Eden team through their Facebook page or email Gleneden@cpnz.org.nz to get involved.

to breed. The birds have been fitted with ultra-light GLS (GeoLocatorS) trackers which, as Brendon remarks, are a whole lot cheaper than the $50,000 it costs to send a research vessel over the horizon to monitor their activity.

“We can find out where they go and what they eat. And because birds produce the same hormones as humans we can monitor their mercury and stress levels from feathers,” explains Brendon. “We see them as an integrated storyteller of what’s happening at sea. If we can control predators on land, we can give them a better shot at surviving climate change.”

Some species interact more with fishing vessels than others, and Brendon thinks making cameras mandatory on commercial fishing boats has taken too long.

Brendon works collaboratively with a range of environmental agencies and international researchers. Changes in fish habitats are being observed. For example snapper are being caught further south, salmon are starting to struggle in Marlborough, and kingfish are appearing in Dunedin Harbour.

Although Auckland Council’s 2022 biodiversity monitoring report shows some bird populations in the Waitākere Ranges have increased over the past decade, e.g. riroriro (grey warbler), pīwakawaka (fantail), korimako (bell bird) and tauhou (silvereye), foreshore adaptation plans need to consider sea birds’ needs and not just humans’, says Brendon.

“Use of the periphery of the ranges is exploding, with tracks closed and Auckland’s population growing,” says Brendon. “Sea birds need sanctuary from dogs at high tide – on groynes for example – and good viewing places so they can spot dangers from a distance.”

The biggest threat on land is still from predators. Local trapping groups are welcoming new recruits. The pōhutukawa’s recent flowering has seen these trees become laden with fruit and will likely cause an explosion of vermin.

To join your local trapping group, use the interactive map at predatorfreenz.org/get-involved/find-a-group

– Jade Reidy

For the love of gravel – more routes to come?

For the adventurous, the athletic and anyone who likes solitude in nature there is something special about a gravel road through natural bush or forest.

Eighteen of Watercare’s 26km of service roads in the Waitākere Ranges are open to the public. The spans are short in comparison to routes like the Hunua Traverse in Auckland’s east but when recreation options for locals have taken a hit both to protect the forest, and following cyclone damage, these roads are hugely significant.

Watercare is currently talking with Auckland Council about making the Lower Nihoputu Dam Road open to the public as well. This will provide a practical link to the Pipeline Road (pictured), which is linked to Arataki Visitors Centre by the Slip Trail. Once connected to the Beveridge Track and Exhibition Drive, it will create a half-marathon length, off road route – welcome news for runners and full day hikers.

“Auckland Council is the landowner across the Waitākere Ranges. Watercare leases parts of the Ranges for Auckland water supply,” says Watercare headworks manager James Talbot.

“We have been approached by Auckland Council Regional Parks about the possibility of creating an open walking track between Pipeline Road and Parau Track, utilising the Lower Nihotupu Dam service road.

“We are open to supporting Auckland Council with this, as long as any new public track created avoids our operational area,” he says.

Watercare has however indicated that access to some of these routes will be limited by the construction of the new Huia Water Treatment Plant.

“We plan to discuss with Auckland Council the possibility of providing alternative public access to service roads and walking trails while this construction work is undertaken,” says Watercare resource consent manager Tanvir Bhamji.

While other groups in the community advocate for more access to natural areas for recreational purposes, it is encouraging that Watercare and Auckland Council are working to ensure that access is maintained and that any closures are for as short a time as possible.

– Zoe Hawkins

Free counselling for flood-affected families and individuals

Many West Aucklanders are still grappling with some tough emotions following last year’s storms.

Many are still suffering having lost homes and livelihoods while others are suffering in other ways.

Many feel guilty about still having their home when others lost so much. They grieve

losing friends who were forced to leave the neighbourhood and, worst of all, they feel bad when they see the nervousness that borders on fear in the eyes of their children each time it rains.

The Wellbeing Centre, Visionwest’s counselling service is offering West Aucklanders who are eligilble up to 10 free sessions with a counsellor to talk through the challenges and receive tools to help work through them.

If you, or someone you know, is still affected by the flooding and would like to talk to someone about it, phone 09 818 0760 or email counselling@visionwest.org.nz.

561 Blockhouse Bay Road

Blockhouse Bay Village (opposite the Library)

Tues – Fri: 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-3pm Closed Sun and Mon Ph 09 626 5633

EcoMatters store, a local sustainability hub

There are not that many stores out West selling thoughtful, sustainable products and locally-made gifts, but the EcoMatters Store in New Lynn offers this and much more. The store has both new and upcycled goods for sale, as well as being a refill hub and recycling drop-off point.

Jackie Muller manages the shop and is proud of its low carbon footprint. She picks up goods from suppliers en route to work and while out and about, and the team try to do drop offs in the same way, to avoid using couriers.

One example of this is working with jewellery designer Ronja Schipper, who is provided with end-of-life bike inner tubes from the EcoMatters Bike Hubs. Jackie drops these off to Ronja who lives on her commute route, and picks up Ronja’s upcycled jewellery to sell in the shop.

EcoMatters also likes to support locals who are making interesting items: their youngest supplier is a 10-year-old who makes hair scrunchies.

The shop’s range of products supports an eco-friendly lifestyle and includes zero waste products, natural home and body products, baby products and gifts, reusable drink bottles and lunch containers, bathroom, kitchen and laundry items, locally made and upcycled jewellery, bulk Zing for your Bokashi needs, weed bags for composting soft weeds, books and guides to native plants and pests, and snacks and refreshments.

Predator traps are also available at the store for sale or hire including wooden tunnel rat traps for $30 and Timms possum traps for hire ($5/week plus $40 bond refundable on return of clean trap).

EcoMatters store offers an Ecostore refill service to save

money and reduce waste. This includes both ‘swap-abottle’ and refilling your own containers. Swap-a-bottle is a container exchange service where you drop off clean, empty Ecostore containers and buy pre-filled Ecostore products. If you prefer to use your own clean containers, these can be refilled on the spot and are charged per 100mls, with a maximum refill of 2 litres per container.

The store is also a collection point for the Ecostore plastic return programme. All empty and rinsed Ecostore containers are accepted for Aotearoa-based recycling, including the 5L and 20L containers. (Containers in good condition are reused for swap-a-bottle.)

The Ecomatters Store is also a drop off centre for hard-torecycle items.

Clean second-hand curtains can be dropped off to be passed on to families in need via Habitat for Humanity. Shaving equipment can be dropped off to the store as part of Terracycle’s Gillette razor recycling programme. The store also accepts the stainless razor blades used in safety razors. New safety razors and refill blades can be purchased at the store.

The store accepts clean and mould-free pool toys which are then collected by I Used To Be, an organisation that repurposes them into bright and fun water resistant bags and accessories. Colgate-branded toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, toothpaste caps, floss containers and their plastic outer packaging materials are also accepted. Collect them at home and take them in when you have a small box full. They are sent to Terracycle’s Colgate oral care recycling programme.

Unwanted mobile phones can be dropped for collection

Te Karanga officially open

Where to now for your recycling?

The recent standardisation of recycling nationwide was designed to create better uptake by keeping recycling simple writes FIONA DRUMMOND.

Items that are now allowed in roadside recycling bins include glass bottles and jars (empty and clean), tin, steel and aluminium cans (empty and clean), grade 1, 2 and 5 plastic bottles and food containers, newspapers, magazines, and advertising mail, and other paper and cardboard including empty pizza boxes, egg cartons and window envelopes.

So what about everything else?

At https://environment.govt.nz/what-you-can-do/ campaigns/recycle/recycle-item/ there is information about how you can recycle almost everything that can’t be collected in the kerbside recycling programme.

For information on recycling soft plastics visit https://www.recycling.kiwi.nz/. Information is provided on what can be recycled and where the local collections points are.

Auckland Council also provides advice on how to dispose of unwanted items: https://www. aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/rubbish-recycling/Pages/ get-rid-unwanted-items.aspx.

BYE-BYE BIN TAGS

We’re streamlining rubbish bin collections across Auckland.

From 1 December 2024, bin tags will no longer be required in Waitākere.

aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ratesfunded

Members of the Cornwallis (Karanga ā Hape) community gathered recently to officially open their new noticeboard.

The noticeboard is an initiative of Cornwallis Community Resilience (CCR) to help with communication, especially in an emergency when other means of communication may be unavailable. It can also serve as a meeting point in emergencies.

Last year’s severe flood and cyclone events were a harsh reminder of the importance of local resilience and recent reports highlighted the poor state of official emergency management processes.

Te Kawerau ā Maki, gifted the name Te Karanga (the call) which can refer to a call to gather and support one another, as well as a call to action against the challenges of a rapidlychanging climate says CCR coordinator Cordelia Lockett. An Auckland Council grant was used to build the noticeboard.

To post a notice on the board or for more information about CCR, email cornwallisresilience@gmail.com.

Long-time Cornwallis local Pam Goddard unwraps the new noticeboard.

Lizard finds it’s nothing to be scared of

Yeah gidday. Lizard here.

It seems like ages since we’ve had a chat. How ya been? Boy, have I got a tale to tell. Well, by tale, it’s probably tall. I’ll explain.

After a lifetime of employment avoidance, it’s a relief to get off the benefit and onto the pension. Truth is, I’ve been looking forward to skiving off since being promised the pension when I was a kid.

The people I looked up to were my Grandpa and his mates. Every morning, a couple of slices of toast, a cuppa, then he’d find his sunny spot to have a quick flick through the paper.

I can still hear him say, “I might just pop over and see what Bob’s up to. Won’t be long.” Then the screen door would slam and Gran and me would listen to his tuneless whistle heading down the path beside the house.

Gran would say, “Whew. Finally, I can get on with my day without your Granddad getting under my feet.”

Yep, I’m now my grandfather. Quite the achievement.

Since earning the pension, a few things have changed. For example, shopping. I had the slowest, dimmest, rudest cashier today! I’m done using self-checkout.

Anyhow, I’d been out buying ‘low fibre’ food, following instructions that had come in the mail.

They’d found something in my bowel screening sample and I was booked in for an endoscope thingy. So, soft food for the week, then I had to skull two litres of water mixed in with this orange stuff that came in three sachets. A bit like making Raro. But the resulting ‘clear out’ was surprisingly pleasant.

And then, uh oh, it was Friday. I had to skull another litre of the salty orange stuff and have another sit in the wee room before Shaz drove me to the hospital.

The nice nurse at reception took me to a room to get changed and explained what was going on. She said, when I was ready, to leave my clothes in the basket and head back to the waiting room.

Try as I might, I couldn’t work out how to put on the bloody gown-thing. I assumed it went on backwards. Turned out they had given me a child-size gown by mistake. I had to sneak back to the waiting room, hoping to catch the eye of the nurse because the gown was only covering one arm and my chest.

To my delight (not), 20 or so people were now in the waiting room. They all looked up and then suddenly found

something really interesting on their phones.

Luckily the nice nurse came in and apologised for the mix up. She sorted me out with a larger gown and asked me to follow her to another room where I lay down. She put a thing on my finger. Immediately a loud buzzer went off. People came running from all directions. Turned out it was just a machine malfunction. While they got this sorted, I went back to the waiting room, still the only bloke with no pants.

The nice nurse came in and got me again.

I lay on my side on the exam table with my knees up and a drip in my arm that made me feel warm and cozy. I kind of felt someone fiddling about back there and the next thing I know, I'm watching it all on the bedside TV – it reminded me of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

But this wasn’t being filmed on a Hollywood set, it was via a metre-long snake with a camera attachment. And not just any attachment. This was the full MacGyver Swiss Army knife camera snake. It could not only film my insides, which were amazing to see by the way – all soft and pink and that – but it could also water blast when needed. When the doctor came across a wee thing like a skin-tag the camera could lasso the ‘rice bubble’ with a tiny wire hoop and a tiny scalpel would cut it off. Insane. It could even pump in gas to create plenty of room in my internal workplace.

I was told not to be embarrassed when said ‘gas’ was released. It sounded like the camera also had a clarinet attachment.

We were talking all through this and they said it all looked OK up there, with nothing to worry about. They’d send the tiny polyps away just in case and did I want them back?

Really? …

“Ahhh, I’ll be sweet but thanks for the offer,” I said. Thirty minutes later, I’m all dressed and having a cuppa with a chicken sammy. Yum. It didn’t hurt a bit and everyone was really cool and kind.

Thank you from the bottom to my heart.

If you get that test sent to you in the mail it just means you’re getting on a bit. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Hey, give us a yell and I’ll go with ya.

Bags I drive. You go shotgun.

Later, Lizard