Hibiscus Matters_Issue 367_11 March 2024

Quarry expansion plans impact significant bush

Kings Quarry in Waitoki is proposing to expand, a project that would remove more than 29 hectares of vegetation from an Auckland Council Significant Ecological Area (SEA) and Natural Heritage Outstanding Natural Landscape, as well as impacting the surrounding rural community.

Pebblebrook Properties (which has the same directors as Kings Quarry) owns the site, which totals around 152 hectares and is located on the unsealed Pebble Brook Road.

The proposed Stage 2 expansion requires resource consent under the Auckland Unitary Plan and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020.

The project was referred for the government’s Covid-19 fast-track consenting process by the Minister for the Environment and is one of the final projects to be dealt with under that system, although last week government progressed a new fast-track consent system.

Rodney Local Board deputy chair Louise Johnston says residents are angry because fast-track consenting will not enable public consultation. They are planning a public meeting to discuss their concerns, which include the unsealed road, noise, dust, visual effects, and the destruction of bush where some believe kiwi are present.

The application’s Ecological Impact report does not mention kiwi, but shows that native plants and wildlife, including longtailed bats (whose conservation status is

threatened – nationally critical), would be affected, together with streams that flow through the site. It is also noted that the expanded quarry would reduce connectivity to 32 hectares of the SEA to the northeast, leaving that area open to degradation.

Overall, the effects are assessed as ‘high’ to ‘very high’ in the report.

To mitigate the environmental effects, an ‘offsetting package’ is proposed that includes pest control on 28ha of bush alongside the quarry, around 3ha of replanting alongside the SEA, and replanting as quarrying is completed. There would also be planting and other enhancement in Hawkins Road, 16km north of the site, and in the Whau Valley, Whangārei.

The Ecological Impact Assessment notes that although vegetation loss would not be permanent, as the Stage 2 quarry footprint would be progressively replanted, it could take at least 120 years for a similar functioning natural habitat to establish. Production at the quarry would increase from the current 300,000 tonnes of aggregate annually to 500,000 tonnes annually (for 45 years) under the proposal and this would have flow-on effects for the community, namely job creation and provision of materials used in construction, particularly with growth in the surrounding area. The application also notes that the ability to service developing areas nearby

March 11, 2024 – Issue 367

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will save bulk transport of materials, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Johnston says despite this, the cost to the environment if the expansion goes ahead would be very high.

“The sheer amount of bush to be felled blew me away,” she says. “It’s a massive project and when the local board was asked whether we thought it was suitable for fast-tracking, we said ‘no’, because of the size of what is proposed. I am not a planner, but I would have hoped that if the consent went through the council resource consent process, the significance of it would have resulted in full public notification.”

The fast-track consenting process includes seeking comment from local authorities such as council, relevant organisations, which may include Forest and Bird, and neighbours.

A council spokesperson says they have specialists looking closely at the application and will prepare a response which will include feedback from the local board and Rodney Cr Greg Sayers.

The decision falls to an independent panel of experts, which will be appointed by Judge Laurie Newhook.

Kings Quarry was contacted for comment but no response was received by the paper’s deadline.

All the information is freely available as the process moves forward at www.epa.govt.nz/fasttrack-consenting/fast-track-projects/

Aero Club has second go at airport status

North Shore Aero Club in Dairy Flat will begin public consultation later this year with a view to applying again for

Authority status.

This status provides powers that include making bylaws and compulsory acquisition of land.

Applying requires public consultation, and the final decision rests with government.

The club first applied in 2020, and public meetings, including one with then Transport Minister Michael Wood, were part of the process. Around 500 public

submissions were made, with many Dairy Flat locals opposed because of the potential for expansion of the airport.

The airport says it wants the new status mainly to protect its position as Dairy Flat develops. Airport Authority status does not change the number or size of aircraft permitted to use the airport. However, it may support development of the airport, which could attract more aircraft.

In 2022, Wood decided not to take the application further, saying he was “not convinced that granting that status to the airport would be a helpful addition to the

transport network”.

It has been widely expected that a change in government could lead to a second application.

At the end of last month, the club’s chief executive and general manager, John Punshon, told the paper they would be launching a public consultation session later this year to discuss Airport Authority status with stakeholders with a view to re-applying.

“The consultation will be well advertised for interested parties and everyone will get the ability to have their say,” Punshon said.

The quarry will be around four times as large if its expansion plans go ahead, cutting deep into surrounding bush. Proposed vegetation removal in red.

Hefty rate rises on region’s horizon

Ratepayers in Auckland face significant increases from July 1 if proposals in a budget consultation document, which is currently out for public feedback, are adopted.

Auckland’s Long-Term Plan (2024-2034) covers everything from transport, drinking water and stormwater to parks and community, city and local development, environmental management and economic development.

It also suggests establishing an Auckland Future Fund to create a more diverse set of investments that can be used to manage future challenges such as global pandemics, extreme weather and environmental challenges.

For ratepayers, it will mean a general rate increase of between 5.5 percent (do-lesspay-less) or 14 percent (pay-more-getmore), or a central option of 7.5 percent, which would add $271 to the average annual rates bill.

But the big increase will be in water charges which are recommended to rise by nearly 26 percent – adding a further $348 to the average household bill annually.

Watercare is also proposing to increase infrastructure growth charges (development contributions) by 25.8 percent.

Watercare’s Board of Directors chair, Margaret Devlin, says the board had to balance the vital need to invest in new water and wastewater infrastructure – ensuring safe and reliable water and wastewater services for Auckland – with council’s directives to maintain a debt-torevenue ratio of 340 percent and to ensure that growth funds growth.

“We know many Aucklanders are struggling with the cost of living, and we

understand the news of this projected price rise will not be welcome,” Devlin says. “We want to reassure them that central and local government are working together to achieve a financially sustainable water model, and we understand their initial conversations have been positive.”

Watercare chief executive, Dave Chambers, says funds raised will help deliver hundreds of projects for Auckland, including the Waiwera water and wastewater servicing project.

“We have already reviewed our infrastructure programme and identified projects that we can safely defer in the short term,” Chambers says. “However, to ensure we keep providing reliable services now and into the future, it’s still vital to invest $1.257 billion in the coming year,

which equates to a daily spend of around $3.44 million.”

Chambers says Watercare is on target to achieve around $14 million in operational efficiencies this year, which will be replicated next year.

The draft Long-Term Plan’s central proposal includes a $13.4 billion investment by Auckland Transport to make public transport faster, more reliable and easier to use. It also includes strengthening Auckland’s resilience to flooding with the new Making Space for Water Programme of more than $1 billion of investment, which includes government co-funding. The draft budget is out for feedback until March 28 and final decisions will be made in June.

Draft waste plan out for feedback

A move to fortnightly household rubbish collections and targeting high levels of construction and demolition waste are among key proposals in Auckland Council’s new draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP), now open for feedback.

Although council still aspires to Zero Waste by 2040, total waste is still forecast to rise and new targets have been set for 2030 – to reduce total waste by 30 percent, kerbside waste by 29 percent and council’s own waste by 50 percent.

Challenges faced by council include limited data on exactly what waste is going where, with most landfills privately owned

and operated, and a lack of tools to deal with commercial waste, which makes up 80 percent of the total sent to landfill.

“While kerbside services are an effective way for households to recycle, a lot of material is still going to landfill,” a spokesperson said. “For example, only around 13 percent of plastics (including

Have your say

industrial, commercial and household products) are recovered for recycling in Auckland.”

Council says there is a need to focus on rethinking how products are designed and options to reuse, repair or re-purpose them, as well as on organic, plastic, packaging and textile waste.

All the plans and associated documents, including council’s 2023 waste assessment, are available online at https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/wastemanagement-and-minimisation-plan-2024-2030 They can also be viewed, and feedback lodged, at local libraries and an online information webinar will be held on March 19 between 5.30pm and 7pm. Public feedback closes on March 28.

Local LTP concerns

Cr John Watson says more detail is needed on a number of proposals in the LTP, but he notes issues that may be of particular local concern:

Transport: A $50 weekly cap for public transport covering bus, trains and inner harbour ferries is proposed. At the same time there is a proposal to “… introduce premium fares for some ferry services that are expensive to operate”.

Cr Watson’s view is that the cap should apply to all public transport services, including outer harbour ferry services like Gulf Harbour. • There is a proposal to “… charge for park and rides with a focus on those that are generally full and well served by connecting bus services”.

• The development of a ‘time-of-use charge’ pricing scheme is proposed to help manage traffic congestion.

Hibiscus Coast Youth Centre: Council has signalled its intention to remove its $100,000 contribution to the funding of this centre.

North Harbour Stadium: This stadium serves the Hibiscus Coast as well as the North Shore. Council is considering demolishing it and selling the land. This would leave the region without a stadium. Alternative options are available, Cr Watson says, to keep the stadium and change the operational management so more events can be attracted for people on the Coast and elsewhere, as used to happen with the North Harbour Stadium Trust.

Have your say

Online: visit akhaveyoursay.nz/ ourplan for information, webinars and consultation documents • Phone: 09 301 0101 • Auckland Council’s social media pages • Local libraries

Private sewage system puts residents under pressure

Millwater residents whose homes are fitted with pressure sewer systems are voicing frustration about the costs of repairing them when they fail – costs borne by homeowners rather than Auckland Council-owned Watercare.

A resident, who asked not to be named, said homeowners were given no choice of sewage systems when they bought their homes – but face big bills, and little choice of service providers, when repairs are needed. Concerns are periodically aired on a private social media group for Millwater residents, and estate agents working in the area confirm hearing similar complaints.

A pressure sewer system involves an on-site tank and grinder pump that reduces waste into a slurry, which is then pumped into the network. The systems are recommended for areas that have difficult ground conditions, where gravity systems would require deep and expensive excavations, risking hitting groundwater or rock.

They are used quite widely around the country, although Auckland Council is one of the few local authorities to use the “private ownership model” for pressure sewer systems – meaning homeowners are responsible for maintenance of the equipment on their properties.

Many others that have them, such as the Far North, Whangārei and Kaipara district councils and the Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin city councils, retain ownership of the on-property equipment. Those councils are therefore responsible for the pump units, control panels and pipes from the pump unit to the property boundary.

The sewer system is essentially just another home appliance that users are responsible for. But while a homeowner can get by temporarily without, say, an oven until able

Sewer system tanks in Millwater

to afford a repair, the sewer system is vital and if broken needs to be repaired quickly.

A stoppage can cause problems such as odours, blockages, toilet levels rising, and showers gurgling.

Millwater, a major subdivision with a population exceeding 8500, is a project of WFH Properties.

WFH spokesperson Warren Frogley said the installation of pressure sewer systems was a council requirement, as “there was no other choice due to the contours of the land and the local sewer system Millwater feeds into”.

He said council was now requiring many new developments to use them, “to ease the burden on Auckland’s less-than-perfect sewer system”.

Frogley said builders in Millwater issued a pack to new home buyers explaining the sewage system, and it was also posted on the website. The developers have no control over information that is passed

Seawall works to begin in May

This month is expected to see the detailed design of the Ōrewa Beach seawall completed and made public.

The wall, to be built from Kohu Street to Marine View, finally got resource consent in 2020 after a protracted process in the Environment Court.

The project is budgeted to cost $18.9m. Hibiscus Matters understands that the design process could see some changes made to the plans released so far, including potentially a fence along the walkway on top of the wall.

Council’s Resilient Land and Coasts general

manager, Paul Klinac, says this month will also see preconstruction property survey inspections for beachfront properties completed. This is to provide council with a baseline to ensure construction works (vibration) does not impact or damage adjacent properties.

The tender for construction should be issued late this month to three short-listed contractors, who were identified via an Expressions of Interest tender process last December.

At the same time, an update will be provided to the community, including

on to new owners when houses are resold, however.

(Estate agents contacted by the paper agreed that it was important that prospective buyers of Millwater properties were fully informed about the sewer system, and said they did so.)

Watercare head of service delivery Sharon Danks said sewer networks like the one Watercare approved for Millwater were common in Rodney, where they were also used in Kumeu, Riverhead, Huapai, Point Wells and Helensville.

“The private ownership model for lowpressure sewer systems is a legacy policy introduced by the former Rodney District Council when the first low-pressure sewer system was installed at Point Wells,” she said.

When the supercity was established in 2010, the systems in Rodney and the private ownership policy were transferred to Watercare and became standard across

the Auckland region.

In the view of some residents, service provider Ecoflow takes advantage of its dominant position to charge unreasonable callout and repair fees, with some calling it “a monopoly”.

Ecoflow general manager Derek Lachut disputed this, saying it was one of six Watercare-approved suppliers that Millwater builders or homeowners can use.

“The homeowners are not obliged to use any one supplier. Likewise, the homeowner is free to have any maintenance provider repair their grinder pump or, as some like to do, repair it themselves,” he said.

Lachut said Ecoflow offered the best products and service, and had “the largest installation base in New Zealand by a large margin” – and as a result was the market leader.

“This has, in turn, given a perception in the market of having a monopoly,” he said, adding that the company was, in effect, being penalised for being successful.

Lachut said the company’s callout rates were competitive, and included travel, diagnosis, and the first hour of labour. If the issue could not be resolved on site, a loan pump was provided, allowing immediate operation of the system.

Lachut said home buyers in a new subdivision like Millwater were never given a choice of wastewater network, since wastewater network design occurred long before homes are built.

He noted that in nearby Milldale, homeowners had to pay $1100 or more a year – over and above Watercare rates – for an encumbrance, some of which helped subsidise the gravity sewer network in place there. They too had no say in what system was installed, but must pay the fee.

There may be changes to earlier designs, like this, of Ōrewa seawall. high-level details of the final seawall design. Tendering is expected to close late next month, and construction work to begin in

May. Construction is planned to be staged over this winter and next, with completion in October next year.

Gary Brown,

Input wanted on LTP

It is great to see that the Ōrewa Reserve structure Airborne is now spraying the mist that it was designed for. There have been modifications to control the timing and flow of the mist to ensure that it only disburses when the wind is spraying towards the beach. Now is the time to voice your opinion about Auckland Council’s Long-Term Plan.

The Long-Term Plan (LTP) proposal aims to strengthen Auckland’s physical and financial resilience, while tackling big budget challenges. Its central proposal includes a $13.4 billion investment by Auckland Transport to make public transport faster, more reliable and easier to use.

It also includes strengthening Auckland’s resilience to flooding with the new Making Space for Water Programme of more than $1 billion of investment (including government co-funding).

There has been quite a lot of disgruntled feedback regarding the reduction of waste bins in our area – this is a cost saving that Mayor Brown has introduced. It is a topic that can be entered into in the LTP consultation as well as many others such as: improved and a more consistent Gulf Harbour Ferry service, better bus transportation frequency and service for our area, a bus terminal at the Whangaparāoa end of the Penlink road, maintenance of our parks and playgrounds and the need for increased size of park and rides.

The Future Fund and proposals around the North Harbour Stadium and the Port of Auckland are important discussions to have. Personally, I’m against the North

Harbour Stadium being demolished with the funding of the land sale being distributed out of our area to other stadiums in the Auckland region.

There has been talk about supplying a bespoke 5000 seat stadium on the North Shore, but I don’t have great confidence in this occurring. In my opinion, the North Harbour Stadium requires new management that knows how to run a stadium to make it profitable and also financially accessible for clubs and organisations to hire.

We want to hear from our community on this Long-Term Plan – your feedback will influence the council’s priorities and how we deliver value for rates.

This is why it’s important that we get to hear what your thoughts and suggestions are about the Council’s proposals, not only for the Hibiscus Coast but also for the Auckland region as a whole. It can be viewed at akhaveyoursay.nz/ourplan

On a personal note, I recently attended Efeso Collin’s funeral and it certainly was a wonderful send off. When I campaigned with Efeso for the Auckland mayoralty, I found him to be a genuine, kind hearted, dedicated, great family man, with never a derogative word against any other campaigner. He will truly be missed by many people in the Auckland community. Remember to come and say hi at my “Oliver’s Café office” most mornings. We live in a beautiful area and I believe we have an amazing community that enhances a true community spirit.

Farewell to an old campaigner

The Hibiscus Matters team was saddened to hear of the death of Arkles Bay’s Les Watkins, pictured, last month. Our thoughts are with his family.

Les was nearly 94 and to the end a dedicated journalist and author. He made frequent appearances in our paper, not only for his books but also as a campaigner for various causes including the Arkles Bay bus (2014). He would call with potential story leads, and his nose for news was finely tuned.

In 2019, he “retired” from journalism, after documenting his career in Surviving The Press Gang, 70 Crazy Years in Journalism Les often said how lucky he was to have been a journalist in the glory days of the press – those days now firmly in the past. There’s no doubt these are challenging times for media, highlighted by the recent demise of TV3’s Newshub and TVNZ layoffs. The way news is sourced by readers, and competition for its bread and butter advertising, is eating away at companies that strive to provide a service to their communities.

Physical distribution of newspapers is also becoming more expensive and difficult. I deliver Hibiscus Matters in my neighbourhood and notice that new builds rarely have letterboxes. Mail is a rarity, and the resulting removal of letterboxes has reduced access to homes for newspapers.

Alongside this, a lot of young people who traditionally delivered the papers are, for whatever reason, no longer interested in taking on the job. That’s why some of the deliveries to outer areas such as Gulf Harbour have ceased – the delivery cost and the difficulty of getting walkers. We know the paper is missed, but difficult times call for difficult decisions. To compensate, we have increased the number of papers we leave at high traffic areas such as dairies, libraries and malls. Readers also have the option of taking out a Premium Membership, which gives them access to the online paper three days before the printed paper is out. Go to www. localmatters.co.nz for more information.

Terry Moore, Editor

Accountant accountability questioned

On reading the details about the outrageous behaviours of Wayne Bailey and Greg Olliver, regarding the Gulf Harbour Country Club (HM February 26), I was astounded by the statement of the Chartered Accountants Australia & NZ (CAANZ) spokesperson “the suspension of a member does not have any bearing on their ability to serve as a director of a registered company”. Well CAANZ, it should! Wayne Bailey was also earlier censured in 2013 for “record keeping deficiencies in his documentation for a client”. Greg Olliver has been banned from being a company director since 2021. I sincerely hope that the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment and Inland Revenue take a detailed look through this pair’s long list of companies: Long River Investments, Phoenix Trust Ltd, Whangaparāoa Holdings Ltd, GHCC 2016 Ltd, Gulf Harbour Equipment Ltd, Dormant Five Ltd, Leefield Vineyards Ltd, Landco Rural Trust Ltd, Ollie & Co. I also expect Auckland Council to act responsibly and not financially reward

these two seemingly untrustworthy individuals by allowing alteration of the current GHCC encumbrance. Who buys a property with an almost 1000 years covenant on it and then wants to remove it, in order to develop the green space? Well done KWGS, keep up the good work! Do your ‘regulatory job’, Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment! How many more times must we read in the media, or see on TV, reproached company directors in this country simply being allowed to start up another new business? It is a fact that the best indicator for future behaviour, is past behaviour.

Marcia Krska, Gulf Harbour (abridged)

Editor’s note: To date, there has been no application by the owner of Gulf Harbour Country Club to remove the encumbrance, which protects the site as open space for 999 years. As at last week, the application to subdivide the property is no longer on hold, and Auckland Council is due to make a decision as to whether it will be publicly notified.

Local board on hand

DIY mowing

I found it interesting that on one page of Hibiscus Matters (February 12) you have two stories, one about the council not cutting the grass on a reserve to the satisfaction of residents and another reporting about locals taking things into their own hands by mowing and weeding on privately owned land that they have concerns for. Sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone and take action; so well done to the Keep Whangaparāoa’s Green Spaces group and, on reflection, why was the encumbrance enacted if Council didn’t see the real value for the community? Speaking of getting involved – toward the end of last year I joined the Restore Hibiscus & Bays group who are planting native trees in the Amorino Park, once a month, for two hours. At present the group is small, so that means weeding in existing bush areas isn’t getting the attention needed. It’s a bit of a hill to climb but it doesn’t dissuade me – I’m 77 and have always been a bit of a volunteer and am finding, with this endeavour, a sense of satisfaction knowing what the future Amorino Park could become – look at the motorway plantings for example.

Colin Selfe: Red Beach

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Local board members Julia Parfitt, Jake Law, Gregg Walden and Alexis Poppelbaum were on hand at the Coastival event on March 2 in Ōrewa to get public feedback on the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board plan, which is part of Auckland Council’s Long-Term Plan (budget) 2024-2034. A key issue raised was the removal of some public rubbish bins by Council (HM June 23, 2023), as well as funding for the HBC Youth Centre. The draft Long-Term Plan is out for public consultation until March 28 (see story p3)

AT rules on Manly rock garden

A rock garden in a mound shape, created illegally on Manly Esplanade last year (HM October 30 and November 27, 2023) will remain, at least in part. Local residents and Auckland Councillor Wayne Walker complained that the garden, put in place by the owners of 93 The Esplanade, restricted public use of the reserve. The garden was on the legal road corridor, and Auckland Transport (AT) recently made a decision regarding the encroachment. AT requested that the garden be reshaped to replace a 1.5m-wide path along the road outside the property’s front fence. This is to allow pedestrian access. A path diagonally through the mound will remain, as AT sees that as having public benefit. A planting plan must be agreed with AT before any planting takes place. The property owner has agreed to do as requested.

At the recent Boulevard Arts Fiesta in Ōrewa, Estuary Arts Centre provided a board so that the public could contribute to the O Mahurangi Penlink mural. Among those who enthusiastically joined in were four-year-old Taikah, overseen by Nicoletta Benella, left, and Holly Aymes of Estuary Arts. (see story p7)

These little knitted Easter chicks are for sale at the Silverdale Hospice shop to raise funds for patient services. Handknitted by hospice volunteers, each has a chocolate egg tucked inside. This limited edition gift idea is expected to be in hot demand! Hospice also needs more knitters – to find out more, go to:

bit.ly/43i6JLb

Construction site mural a community effort

The

To minimise the visual impact of construction hoardings, Waka Kotahi asked schools and community groups to design and paint the boards that will be placed along the front of the site opposite Whangaparāoa New World.

Hoardings made of saveBOARD, 1.2m to 2.4m, were supplied to interested groups including Whangaparāoa College and Primary, The Grove Retirement Village in Ōrewa, Hibiscus Coast Forest and Bird, Restore Hibiscus & Bays, Whangaparāoa Guides, HBC Youth Centre and Estuary Arts.

Since then, artists of all ages have been busy creating work to the theme of Flora and Fauna.

SaveBOARD is similar to plywood, but made of upcycled packaging waste. When the site is vacated, the boards will either be recycled by saveBOARD, or returned to the artists.

Waka Kotahi hopes the boards will go up on site towards the end of this month. At the end of last year a group of Whangaparāoa College Year 10 learners

worked on two large mural boards for the Penlink construction area. Using the work of Auckland artist Sam Mathers as inspiration, Amy Harrison, Sophie Bryhn, Tamzin Morgan and Neeve Armstrong worked mainly in their own time to complete the murals.

The aim was to create a playful design with easily recognisable images and text that would appeal to people passing by. Some Year 8 learners have started work on two more mural boards.

Whangaparāoa students, from left, Neeve Armstrong, Tamzin Morgan, Sophie Bryhn and Amy Harrison.

Images on Hibiscus Coast Forest and Bird’s panel were drawn by former chair, artist Pauline Smith. Children joined in painting at Shakespear Regional Park last month.

Vipond farmhouse remembered

When the For Sale sign went up in front of 101 Vipond Road, it represented the end of an era for some long-time residents who remember the property’s history.

The house sits on a 1876sqm piece of land and once belonged to the pioneering Vipond family who farmed this area in the 1900s. One resident, Katherine Goldsmith, whose family has lived in Whangaparāoa since 1937, says it was rather sad to see the house on the market.

She remembers ‘Mr Vipond’ who she describes as “laconic and slow-speaking”.

“His wife was an extraordinary seamstress, who made me dresses for when I went to London,” she remembers.

“It’s an unremarkable white wooden house, but as we pass by, it brings back memories of the family that gave this road its name.”

The current owner, whose family bought the property in 1979 after his mother “took a shine to it”, says there have been many

owners since the days of the Viponds. He says Harold Vipond’s name is on the original title, as purchaser of the property in 1914.

In 1949 Mark Vipond took over ownership. The house was built in the 1940s.

Sue Donahue of Harcourts Whangaparāoa is marketing the property. She says it is an ideal large, flat development site and investment opportunity.

“You could easily get three homes on the section, and build up for sea views,” she says.

RSA members hope to stay at Vipond base

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held by the Hibiscus Coast Community RSA on February 25 discussed the future of the club as it continues to struggle for financial sustainability.

Like many RSAs, the Hibiscus Coast club is losing money and having difficulty attracting younger, ex-service members. Its facilities require considerable and costly maintenance, and fixed costs like rates and insurance are going up.

Before the 113 members who attended were

a range of options for the future of the club – to stay put at its Vipond Road clubrooms and change the operating model, move to a new location, or amalgamate with one or more other clubs (either at Vipond Road or elsewhere).

Club president David Newman says the overwhelming preference (more than 90 percent of those present) was to stay at Vipond Road and change the club’s operating model.

“The other two options also received

significant consideration – sufficient for the executive committee to continue investigation into those options, while we focus most of our efforts on how we are going to change what we do,” Newman says.

He says the executive committee will form a subcommittee to drive data collection and consideration of these options.

“We expect to have a directed set of options available for the members to vote on, at a follow-up EGM within the next three months,” he says.

Two vacant freehold properties with a combined area of some 6650 square metres have been on the market in the new Ara Hills development near Ōrewa, an opportunity for developers to create spaces for the first retail and commercial services to the growing neighbourhood.

More than 360 residents are already living in the subdivision, which will eventually have around 700 homes. Currently, the nearest shops are at the Caltex service station on Grand Drive, about 1.5 kms from the entrance to Ara Hills.

One lot (1889 sqm) will be zoned business-neighbourhood centre, allowing for retail and commercial use. The other (4761 sqm) will be partly zoned businessneighbourhood centre, and partly zoned residential – terrace housing and apartment buildings. This zoning enables the building of townhouses and multi-storey apartment or mixed-use complexes, to a maximum height of 16 metres. Permitted activities also include cafés and small-scale retail. The sites have been marketed by Alex Perigo and Ben Clare of Bayleys Silverdale, to be sold together or separately by way of a tender, which closed on March 7.

Business

Consider the consequences

Peter Senge is an American systems scientist who has lectured at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for some decades. He is especially famous among management thinkers for a book he wrote in 1990, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. The book was revised in 2006 and remains a classic – it is even more relevant now, than when it was first published.

I am usually hesitant to wax lyrical about such books that are often only read by management “geeks” like me, but this one is different. It was written in 1990, yet its main message explains the mess we are in locally and nationally, in business and in government infrastructure (both local and national). Systems thinking is the acceptance that in any organisation, however big or complex, our actions will always have a consequence, often larger than we thought and usually over a greater timescale. A system thinker will consider all consequences, especially the long-term ones, and will see patterns and trends with some clarity. Systems thinking is the antithesis of knee jerk reactions. In business, especially during difficult times like these when demand for some of our products has decreased and the cost of living is affecting our wallets, we can be forced into taking short-term decisions that we know will have negative long-term consequences.

Sometimes we take those decisions today for survival tomorrow, in the knowledge that we will at least survive to hopefully deal with longer-term consequences later.

A person is a systems thinker if they are

aware of those long-term consequences, but too often, we don’t have that awareness. We boldly go forward and treat symptoms with a multitude of solutions in the hope that one of them will work. Too often short-term solutions only make a situation worse.

For some context, consider the ‘keep rates low’ basis upon which many local body representatives have sought our vote over many years. The size of any rates increase is a key concern for many voters – the lower the better. While our drainage systems are falling apart, our transport systems are struggling to cope, our areas of new housing development put enormous pressure on already struggling infrastructure, we vote (well, 35.5 percent of us do!) for the lowest rate increases.

If we took the system thinking approach, we would have taken a longer-term view decades ago. Although that would have resulted in bigger rate increases in the short term, the consequences in the long term would have been massive.

I remember looking at the Auckland Motorway Plan of the 1960s, for completion by the end of that decade, which has only just been completed with the joining of the Northern to the Northwestern link. Other examples abound. In business, we have seen our largest public company (Fletchers) take a big profit hit. When you look closely at the reasons for that, the lack of systems thinking is everywhere.

For small to medium sized local business the principles are exactly the same: the fifth discipline should be the first thought.

Crossword conundrum #27

waitematabackcarebeds.co.nz

85 In a state of flustered confusion (3,3,8)

86 Currency (5)

DOWN

2 Alternative (6)

3 Oscillate (5)

5 Leave out (4)

6 Increase tension (7)

7 Newspaper boss (6)

8 To the interior (4)

9 Big house on Spanish ranch (8)

10 Pool of rainwater (6)

11 Resentful disparagement of something unattainable (4,6)

12 Dines (4)

13 Undeveloped frog (7)

17 Evidence (5)

18 Senior citizens (10)

22 Inexpensive (5)

23 Cosmetic surgery (8)

25 Habitual users (7)

26 Sovereign (7)

28 Gambling house (6)

29 Painting in wet plaster (6)

30 Musical composition (6)

33 Unrestrained (5)

35 Lance (5)

36 Gratis (4)

38 Ladder step (4)

43 English port (5)

(8)

64 With no money at all (5)

67 Fetid (6)

68 Medical professional (6)

69 Part (9)

74 Not permanent (9)

75 Year subdivision (5)

76 Demolish, smash (7)

81 Unfaithful partner (3-5)

82 Wartime beam (11)

83 Characteristic (5)

84 Bare (5)

44 Bomb fragments (8)

45 Roof beam (6)

46 Hands and knees position (2,3,5)

47 Arrange by type (4)

48 Mounted goader in bullfighting (7)

49 Modifies for use (6)

50 Brown pigment (5)

52 Cricket spell (4)

53 Become looser (7)

54 Draw out (6)

59 Become late with work (4,6)

61 Retains (5)

65 Caviar fish (8)

71 Oration (6)

72 Formal headwear (3,3)

73 Reason for action (6)

77 Trunk (5)

78 Security device (4)

79 Sea creature (4)

80 Indian clarified butter (4)

© The Puzzle Company

Left, UK rockers Skindred’s only NZ show is in Whangaparāoa. Above, Youthful band Rumpus Machine drew a big crowd in Ōrewa recently.

Get up close and personal with Skindred

Fresh from headlining Wembley Arena, touring the US with Kiss, and the Knotfest in Australia, UK rockers Skindred are heading to NZ for the first time as part of a global tour. The band’s only gig will be at Parāoa Brewing in Whangaparāoa on March 28.

Their latest album, Smile, went to number two on the UK album charts and number one on the US alternative album charts and they won Best Alternative Act at this year’s MOBO Awards.

Skindred’s music is described as “a unique fusion of heavy metal, reggae and electronica” – they are also known for exciting live performances.

The gig’s promoter, Paul Marshall of Squid Inc. Tours, lives in Stanmore Bay which is where the local connection came in. He says tickets for the one-off show have been selling to Skindred fans from all over the country.

After playing to crowds of 30,000 in Australia, an audience of around 500 at Parāoa will be “legendary”, he says. “Fans

won’t be able to see Skindred this up close and personal ever again.”

He says the band’s frontman, Benji Webbe, has promised to bring his most famous invention “the Newport helicopter”.

“If you don’t know what that is, you will certainly find out on the night!”

There are two support bands – Kaosis and Rumpus Machine.

Kaosis fuses dubstep with metal and drum ‘n’ bass. They have toured NZ, Australia, and Japan multiple times and played major festivals including Rhythm n Vines.

Torbay’s Rumpus Machine is a band of teenagers who played an impressive set before an enthusiastic crowd at the recent Boulevard Arts Fiesta in Ōrewa.

Rumpus Machine are siblings – Daniel, 16 (lead vocals/guitar), Matthew, 14 (guitar/ backing vocals) and twin 13-year-old sisters Hannah (bass, backing vocals) and Ashley (drums/backing vocals).

They started playing music together eight

years ago, and formed Rumpus Machine in 2020, performing classic rock and original songs. Last year, as well as numerous gigs, their accolades included placing third in the NZ Battle of the Bands and winning Rockquest North Shore’s best song category. Under 18-year-olds are allowed to come to the show if accompanied by parent or caregiver.

Tickets from Eventfinda.

Win tickets

Hibiscus Matters and Squid Inc. Tours has a double pass for the Skindred gig at Parāoa on March 28 to give away. To go in the draw, ‘like’ Hibiscus Matters on Facebook and message us your name and phone number with Skindred in the message. Alternatively, write your name, address and phone number on the back of an envelope and post or drop into Skindred giveaway, Hibiscus Matters, 21 Florence Ave, Ōrewa. Entries close on Monday, March 25.

Gala day fun

The Whangaparāoa Gala, always a family favourite, is on this weekend.

Organisers Alannah Elliott and Debbie Pincott say the children always enjoy turning their school into a fairground for the day.

All the most popular stalls, including cakes, plants and toys, will be there as well as face painting and lucky dips. There are three new games – plinko, pick up sticks and golf putting – and a bouncy castle in the Under Fives area.

The range of food includes a barbecue, nachos, sushi and popcorn, as well as local food trucks serving up ice cream, coffee, hot chips, candy floss, snow cones and Vietnamese food.

Festivities begin with a performance from the school’s kapa haka group at 10.45am and there is plenty more live entertainment on the stage throughout the day.

The event is raising funds to provide learning assistants to every class, expand the sandpit and playground and develop the nature garden.

The gala is on Saturday, March 16.

Manly volunteer fire brigade is always a hot favourite at the gala.

Think award winning lifestyle

At Summerset, we’re proud of what we offer, with our outstanding facilities, welcoming communities, and excellent staff.

Now there are even more great reasons to choose Summerset. We’ve been voted winner of the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award, and Aged Advisor People’s Choice and Nationwide Group awards.

So, if you are contemplating village life, pop along to one of our Open Days at Summerset Milldale and take a look for yourself. We’ll have our stunning show home open for viewing, a 3D model of the site on display, plans and pricing for available homes, as well as sweet treats and refreshments provided on the day.

Love the life you choose

Open Days

Every Sunday in March, 10am - 2pm

Summerset Milldale

50 Waiwai Drive, Milldale 09 304 1632 | milldale.sales@summerset.co.nz

Think award winning lifestyle

Think award winning lifestyle

At Summerset, we’re proud of what we offer, with our outstanding facilities, welcoming communities, and excellent staff.

At Summerset, we’re proud of what we offer, with our outstanding facilities, welcoming communities, and excellent staff.

Now there are even more great reasons to choose Summerset. We’ve been voted winner of the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award, and Aged Advisor People’s Choice and Nationwide Group awards.

Now there are even more great reasons to choose Summerset. We’ve been voted winner of the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award, and Aged Advisor People’s Choice and Nationwide Group awards.

So, if you are contemplating village life, pop along to one of our Open Days at Summerset Milldale and take a look for yourself. We’ll have our stunning show home open for viewing, a 3D model of the site on display, plans and pricing for available homes, as well as sweet treats and refreshments provided on the day.

Love the life you choose

So, if you are contemplating village life, pop along to one of our Open Days at Summerset Milldale and take a look for yourself. We’ll have our stunning show home open for viewing, a 3D model of the site on display, plans and pricing for available homes, as well as sweet treats and refreshments provided on the day.

Love the life you choose

Open Days

Every Sunday in March, 10am - 2pm

Open Days

Summerset Milldale

Every Sunday in March, 10am - 2pm

Summerset Milldale

50 Waiwai Drive, Milldale 09 304 1632 | milldale.sales@summerset.co.nz

50 Waiwai Drive, Milldale 09 304 1632 | milldale.sales@summerset.co.nz

SUM5732_FP1

Coastival showcases young talent

There was a youthful and positive atmosphere around Ōrewa’s Western Reserve on March 2, with young musicians performing live, activities like skateboarding, paddleboarding, basketball, Hungerball and Have a Go art, free ice creams, recycled clothing and stalls run by local young enterpreneurs.

Even the Zero Waste recycling and waste bins were looked after by young people –members of a 12th grade football team who are fundraising to attend a tournament in Australia.

It was Ōrewa’s first Coastival, organised by the HBC Youth Hauora Network and funded by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, with a focus entertaining, showcasing and supporting youth.

Network facilitator, Sara Mason, says it was a great starting point and provided inspiration for what she hopes will be an annual event on the first weekend in March.

She says feedback was that in particular it was a great opportunity for youth performance – with around a dozen bands, soloists and duos taking part.

“For some it was their first time performing in public,” Sara says. “That’s one element I want to build on. My proposal to the Network will be to move the event to later in the day, and get sponsorship to fund a big stage, with a proper sound system for young performers.”

She would also like to see the youth market stalls grow and says another goal is to provide opportunities for young people to get involved with running the event and providing ideas for what they’d like to see included.

of Bupa’s Northhaven Care Home,

The club’s C1 South floating beach wheelchair, equipped with harnesses, and large plastic wheels, together with training from surf club volunteers, enables care home staff to safely transport residents into the water. Northhaven began using the chair after Bupa activities coordinator, Jayne Weir, connected with the club. She believes residents with cognitive impairment or physical disabilities should be able to enjoy the beach no matter the challenges in their way. She says the impact has been extraordinary. “The beach visits have brought joy and energy to the whole care home,” she says.

ALLBRAND.CO.NZ/HMBOX/MAY/1

Clockwise from top left, The Easy Brothers, pictured, and Living Room were among the local teenage musicians performing at the event. Stalls run by young people were a feature of the Coastival, including Sasha Brett selling her crayfish slides, Rage 3DesigNZ’s fun gaming accessories, and clothing. Free icecreams were handed out by Salt Community Trust.

Red Beach Surf Lifesaving Club’s floating chair (HM January 15) is making life more joyful for residents

who can now take a dip in the sea.

Pictured is Bupa activity assistant Michelle Powell with resident Valerie Rapley.

Big-hearted big walk for child cancer funds

Touched by the illness of a colleague’s young daughter, emergency medical technician Steve McCarthy is preparing to walk the length of the North Island over 30 days in April, to raise funds in her name for the Child Cancer Foundation.

Steve was inspired to take on the challenge after reading last spring about emergency service members shaving their heads in support of 11-year-old Amelia, daughter of Andrew Everiss of the Hibiscus Coast, who is Hato Hone St John’s Auckland district operations manager (HM October 16, 2023).

Amelia was diagnosed in August with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a cancer that affects white blood cells.

“I thought, what can I do to make a difference, to help give Amelia a distraction and perhaps feel a little better than she might otherwise during her journey of treatment?”

After talking to Andrew, Steve decided to do the walk, on Amelia’s behalf, to raise funds for the Child Cancer Foundation.

By last week, donations on the “Walking4Amelia” Givealittle page, which is set up for funds to go directly to the charity, had passed the $5300 mark. Steve has set an initial goal of $10,000, “but if we get anything greater than that, that’s fantastic”.

Steve, who works out of Rosedale, plans to set out from Cape Reinga on April 1, bound for Wellington, a journey of around 1085 km.

He will use his social media pages to urge people to donate, and send encouragement to Amelia – “and at the same time encourage people to think about their own health and doing some walking; it’s good for your physical and mental wellbeing.”

He’s had a very positive response from colleagues – including some he has never met, such as ambulance staff in the Bay of Islands who offered accommodation. Some want to walk short stretches with him, and a close friend who works in

person could drive and Steve could overnight in, when accommodation isn’t available.

After Steve’s Dad died two-and-a-half years ago of brain cancer, he started walking, initially to raise money for the White Matter Brain Cancer Trust, to give something back.

“It gave me something to focus on.”

Along the way his health benefitted – he has lost more than 50 kilograms over the past two years. He walks every day and encourages others to take up the exercise.

Melbourne plans to come over and join him in the latter stages. When passing through the Hibiscus Coast, Steve hopes to meet up with Amelia and her family. He also wants to find a campervan to borrow or rent cheaply, which a support

“I’m not wealthy, so this is really the only way I can help someone in their time of need. I just want to see a big smile on Amelia’s face, and to support a foundation that assists young people going through cancer. That’s my motivation. That’s all I want to get out of this.”

To donate: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/ walking4amelia

To follow Steve’s walk: www.instagram.com/ walkingwithsteve8/ or www.facebook.com/ steve.mccarthy.564

Amelia is undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Steve McCarthy in his specially designed Walking4Amelia T-shirt.

Experience

65

EACH

CodeCracker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 3 represents R, so fill in R every time the figure 3 appears. You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it in the appropriate squares in the main grid, and solve the starter word. Fill in other squares in the main and control grids with the found letters and look for the next word. Follow the word trail through the puzzle to its completion.

Uniforms an environmental investment

The HBC Community School Uniform Bank, set up in Ōrewa to provide affordable second-hand uniforms, also repairs items, giving shorts, skirts, sweatshirts, socks and t-shirts a longer life.

It was originally run out of a church storeroom, set up by Hibiscus Coast Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren, mainly for grandparents who were struggling to find affordable uniforms. Demand was such, that last year they moved the Uniform Bank to the Hibiscus Coast Community House in Western Reserve, Ōrewa (behind Estuary Arts Centre) – a space that they have already outgrown. Shelves are stacked high with carefully labelled uniforms from all the local primary schools and colleges, as well as some from the North Shore.

It is open to the public, staffed by volunteer Joan Western.

Some customers bring in uniforms to swap, and there is also a price guide of around $3-$20.

Hibiscus Coast Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren vice president, Donna Taylor, says a big benefit of the service is keeping uniforms in circulation longer.

All the uniforms, which are donated, are laundered and a volunteer sewer takes care of small repairs. Things like hems stapled in place, buttons missing and small rips would often see items thrown away, but repaired and pressed they look as good as new.

“New uniforms are expensive, but they are mostly good quality, so they last if cared for,” Donna says. “Also kids outgrow them

they aren’t worn for long. Only if they are damaged beyond repair, do we put them in the clothing bins for rags.”

She says while the key purpose of the Uniform Bank is to support struggling families, fabric waste is a huge environmental concern, and it is satisfying that the project keeps a lot of material out of landfill.

Over summer, before the start of Term

One, the store was “crazy busy”, Donna says, but demand remains steady, with repeat customers and people hearing about it by word of mouth.

One customer said that it saved her looking “all over the Coast” for a second-hand shirt

in a specific size.

“I love the convenience – it’s an amazing service,” she said.

Donna says they hope to secure funding for signs and to employ someone so they can open more than the current hours of Wednesday and Saturday, 9am-12noon. They are also looking for a bigger space. Donations of school uniforms in good condition, including sportswear and school shoes, can be delivered to the Community House or Ray White in Ōrewa; Love Soup (Brightside Road, Stanmore Bay), or Steps Forward (opposite Whangaparāoa McDonalds).

Donna Taylor, left, with uniform bank volunteer Joan Western.

quickly, so

Trap thieves strike again

More than 25 pest traps have been stolen from Okura Bush. The theft was discovered last month on the walkway, between the sandspit and Karepiro Beach.

The traps are fundraised for, owned and maintained by the environmental charity Friends of Okura Bush (FOOB), and their volunteers are devastated.

Predator Control coordinator and FOOB volunteer, Jo Crawford, says it is especially concerning as it is peak trapping season and this was an important line, near the spit where dotterels and other birds nest.

The stolen traps, valued at around $2400, included a number of DOC200 and DOC250 traps, as well as KaMate and Flipping Timmy possum traps. Most were bolted to trees or bases and have been ripped off.

The DOC series traps had ‘FoOB’ stencilled in black on the top, along with a Caution Pest Trap sign. The KaMate trap boxes were wooden, with black corflute tops. These are heavy, bulky traps and it would

have taken a group of people (or one person over several days) to remove them. It is suspected the thieves came in at low tide or by boat – the walkway is closed to the public because of slips and kauri dieback.

In December 2022, six DOC traps were taken from the same area.

Okura Bush is Department of Conservation land and DOC describes the theft as “gut wrenching”.

Police want to speak with anyone who has information about the theft. Phone 105 or 105.police.govt.nz citing case file number:

240222/8706

Feast of edible gardens on trail

Only a few more gardens are needed for the inaugural Hibiscus Coast Edible Garden Trail, to be held on May 4 and 5. It is being organised by Sustainable Ōrewa. Spokesperson Lena Kovac says it is a collaborative community event to inspire community sufficiency. “The Edible Garden Trail enables our community to access a variety of local gardens, showcasing what can be achieved in an urban backyard,” she says. Features of the gardens that other gardeners can learn from include what can be achieved on a small section, adaptations to changing climate, transforming barren land into an organic garden, growing on a slope and clay soil, use of technology in food production. Six gardens are confirmed, from Silverdale and Ōrewa and Whangaparāoa Peninsula, but a couple more are needed. “We are not seeking picture perfect gardens,” Lena says. “We are more interested in the challenges and hurdles gardeners have overcome. A work in progress is much more helpful to someone starting out, than a state-of-the art backyard.” If you have a garden that, for example, incorporates restoration, is abundant yet low maintenance, climate change resilient, or shows a transformative process and you are happy to show people through for the weekend, Sustainable Ōrewa wants to hear from you. Email kovac.lena@gmail.com Info: www.sustainablegardentrail.org.nz/

New group aims to reduce landfill one stitch at a time

A new community group, called Nest, is focused not only on textile-related skills, like sewing and crafts, but also on sustainability. The two things are deeply intertwined for the group’s organiser and facilitator, Helen Bakker.

Helen has been sewing and making with fabric since childhood and the group will enable her, and others, to pass on those skills. That, in turn, will mean more people can repair rather than throw away, and foster the idea of fabric as a resource that can be reused and recycled in many creative ways. The first meeting, on Monday, February 12, drew eight people – enough to get the group onto a footing. It has since grown to around 15.

She is concerned about the amount of fabric that ends up in landfill – Nest has formed

under the umbrella of the environmental group Sustainable Orewa.

“So many people don’t know how to hand or machine sew, but are keen to learn,” she says. “Knowing how to repair clothing saves it going into landfill and there are many ways to upcycle material that would otherwise be dumped, such as old blankets and curtains or unwanted clothing.”

As well as a chance to upskill, the group provides a social outlet and connection.

“Working with fabrics is a very calming activity,” Helen says.

The group meets weekly on Mondays at 216 Hibiscus Coast Highway, 12 noon3pm. Anyone interested in joining can make contact via the NEST Facebook page, www.facebook.com/groups/1828095287661 646/?ref=share_ or come to a meeting.

From left, Lara Smith and Marilyn Thorton turn old jeans into bags.

Coast Critters

James Dale, Zoology professor, Massey University j.dale@massey.ac.nz

Sharp eyed kōtare

Kōtare (sacred kingfishers) are brutal and highly effective predators. We have a pair nesting on our section, and I am continually amazed at the diversity and abundance of prey they bring the chicks. Walking sticks, mud crabs, wētā, silvereyes, and rainbow and ornate skinks are all on the menu. Right now, they mainly catch cicadas, but I did see dad with a freshly killed mouse the other day. Kingfishers have amazing evolutionary adaptations to help them hunt, in particular their incredible eyesight. They have massive eyeballs, oval shaped and about as large as can be allowed by their head size. If a kingfisher were the size of a human (scary), their eyes would be the size of grapefruit. Large eyes in predatory birds increase their visual acuity. They effectively have bigger image sensors which form higher resolution representations of the world around them.

When we look at something and need a detailed view, we orient our eyes so that the light from the target hits the focal point of our retina. You are doing this right now, using your focal point (or fovea) to read these words. However, kingfishers have not one, but two, fovea in each eye. Both fovea have extremely high concentrations of light receiving cells. The first fovea are forward facing and provide binocular vision to accurately judge the distance to a target. The second fovea face to the sides and occur in little depressions in the retina that allow even more light receiving cells to be packed in. Effectively they get such high-resolution images at their fovea, that it functions like a telescope.

Kōtare are ‘sit-and-wait’ predators. They perch from a vantage point and wait for potential prey to reveal themselves. They detect prey through their motion, and they have incredibly well-developed motiondetection abilities.

Although their large eyes and multiple focal points can potentially provide huge amounts of information to the brain, the birds filter out a lot of this information with specialised motion detecting cells just behind the retina. These cells basically start

processing the image, highlighting things that are moving, before the sensory data gets delivered to the brain.

The above adaptations depend on one last trick to work effectively: advanced image stabilisation tech. We have this too – if you move this column around, you can keep reading it as you unconsciously stabilise your gaze by moving your eyes to track the words. Because kōtare have such large, oval shaped eyes though, they have limited eyeball mobility. However, they are masters at keeping their head completely stationary while they are hovering, or perched on a swaying branch.

Next time you see a kōtare on a moving perch, watch as their body moves around and their head remain motionless. It is extraordinary!

Reviving Wetlands: Benefits of enhancement based subdivision

In New Zealand, the loss of wetlands has been staggering, with over 90% drained and cleared throughout history. Thankfully, the tide is changing, and today, restoring these vital ecosystems has the potential to deliver both environmental and land development benefits.

Meet our Ecologists

Myles Goodwin, Joshua Wium and Tristan McArley are the powerhouses behind our ecological solutions for enhancement-based land development.

What are the benefits of restoring wetlands?

Myles: “One of the primary advantages of enhancing and safeguarding wetlands is their ability to mitigate flooding. By acting as natural sponges, wetlands absorb water and release it slowly, reducing the risk of floods.”

021555682

Tristan: “They also play a crucial role in purifying water by trapping harmful runoff and contaminants within their soils, promoting cleaner waterways. Moreover, wetlands serve as sanctuaries for numerous native bird species, many of which are highly threatened.”

Joshua: “For those looking to subdivide their property - environmental enhanced subdivision involves protecting a minimum of 0.5 hectares of wetland area and meeting the

Council’s Significant Ecological Area (SEA) criteria for wetland preservation. Even degraded wetlands that might look like pasture can be revitalised.”

What steps would a landowner need to take?

Myles: “The process typically involves planting and protecting native species and maintaining them for 2-4 years until they establish and thrive. Once restored, the wetland’s ecological value becomes the basis for subdivision. Crucially, all wetlands on the property must be covenanted, including buffer zones, during the subdivision process.”

Joshua: “Property owners can pursue in-situ subdivisions or sell transferable titles. For the quickest results, we recommend planting around 5,000 native plants over 0.5 hectares. However, even small-scale plantings can deliver the desired results over time if there are budget constraints.”

Tristan: “Identifying wetlands may be challenging, but as a guide, if the soil remains wet or saturated for over eight months annually, it is likely to be a wetland.”

Now is the time to organise your wetland planting.

With the wetland planting season approaching, now is the perfect time to explore wetland enhancement opportunities for your property.

Reach out to learn more about how you can contribute to environmental restoration while unlocking the potential of your land. Free call our team on: 0800 2 CATOBOLAM.

From left to right. Joshua, Tristan & Myles.

Photo, James Dale

In

community garden at Whangaparāoa Community Hall, we decided to show the children how to plan for a small backyard food forest on an area cleared of rubbish and mulched heavily with wood chips. The key species would be avocado, feijoa and citrus, underplanted with blueberries and a range of herbs, groundcovers, and plants that some would consider to be weeds like sorrel, chickweed, Job’s tears and yacon. A weed is just a plant that someone thinks shouldn’t be in a particular place. Although they can be invasive, weeds play a key role in nature, transforming the dirt into rich fertile soil while sheltering it from the sun and protecting the microscopic organisms. Deep-rooted weeds mine nutrients from the dirt and stabilise the soil, helping to hold it in place during heavy rainfall.

Weeds also play an important role in the ecosystem, providing food and shelter for pollinating insects.

Rhizomes are branching underground stems, the buds of which grow aerial shoots. We selected turmeric and bananas, so that the horizontal roots would ensure soil stability.

We chose calendula, borage and an edging of rosemary and thyme. Coriander was added to produce seeds, while feverfew provided leaves for insect repellent and masses of flowers for pollen.

For fun we added Job’s tears, an ancient cereal grain which can grow to 1.8 metres.

This ornamental grass with its wide arching stems produces strings of seeds that resemble beads which make excellent natural jewellery as they have a hole in the centre for passing thread through easily.

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is a species of perennial daisy with a crisp, juicy tuberous root, that we felt would provide an interesting eating experience for the children, as would the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) with its flowerheads for bees.

A group of scented pelargoniums provided both flowers and leaves for future fragrant tussie mussies.

Orangeberry (Rubus penatlobus) produces a dense mat of miniature tough dark green leaves providing a visual feast. Unfortunately it is infertile and requires cross pollination with either raspberries or blackberries. Hopefully the alpine strawberries will provide the edible feast! Weeds can tell you a lot about your garden. They would show how fertile the dirt was in our new food forest. Very acidic soil will produce sorrel with its bitter citrusy flavour – our little plant grew so well we could have made pots of sorrel sauce or soup! But the chickweed, which shows high levels of nitrogen, died.

The weeds, herbs and perennials in this garden will provide a diversity of species to help our little food forest flourish over the years.

Shipmates for 70 years

Eric and Winsome Hanna’s 70th (platinum) wedding anniversary on March 6 was a milestone in a life together that has seen them weather more adventures than most – including four days adrift at sea after their yacht went down in a storm.

Eric was 19 when he met Winsome, two years older, at a Christmas dance in Mt Maunganui in 1950.

Winsome says her mum didn’t want her to go down to the Mount from Auckland, as it was “quite a wild place in those days”. But she went with three girlfriends and promised to stay in a quiet part of the campsite.

After meeting at the dance, their relationship blossomed, and they were married in 1954 at St Barnabas Anglican Church in Mt Eden.

Eric worked as an armature winder and later serviced home appliances, mostly selfemployed.

The Stanmore Bay couple became Seventh Day Adventists and their faith has played a major role in their lives. Eric served as a senior elder in the Ōrewa congregation for 30 years, and Winsome played the organ and piano for 55 years.

Eric, who will turn 92 in May, attributes “the Adventist lifestyle” to their longevity. That lifestyle, which he said is encouraged but not mandatory, includes a mostly vegetarian diet and “no boozing”.

Winsome adds that they start every day with a smoothie, made with home-grown greens, olive oil and nuts.

“I reckon that’s what’s helped us so much. If only everyone would do it.”

As for the longevity of their marriage, “our beliefs are a huge part of what has kept us together”.

“If I hadn’t had my wife I don’t think I’d be alive now, and also not be independent,” says Eric.

“Having a good husband and being in our own home, at our age – that makes a big difference. I can potter around the garden.

If I was in a rest home I’d be stuck with all the ladies, just sitting there,” Winsome laughs. “Companionship is very important – not being on your own. You want somebody with you as you get older. If one gets down, the other one pulls them up.”

That teamwork was sorely needed at Easter 1982, when their 39 foot yacht Wiremu was caught in Tropical Cyclone Bernie between Gisborne to Tauranga, and went down.

Eric, Winsome, their son Doug and friend Les Reynolds spent four days and five nights in an enclosed life raft.

“The first night was the worst,” Eric recalls. “The raft capsized several times, and the boys had to get out and right it”. Winsome, who stayed inside, remembers “just flopping and flipping over and over. There was just enough room to breathe, and I hung on.”

A lot of prayer went up from that life raft – and from their church congregation back home.

By the time they were spotted by an Air Force Orion they had drifted around 125 nautical miles (230 km), to somewhere east of Great Barrier Island.

Hours after the Orion saw their hand-held flare, a diverted research vessel arrived and their ordeal was over.

They made headlines in the papers for a few days, which Winsome says was a little embarrassing afterwards as people would approach her in the street.

Eric plays golf, Winsome, who was active

Winsome and Eric at home in Stanmore Bay. ‘“Companionship is very important,” she says. An April 1982 newspaper headline following the rescue.

in the horticulture club for years, says gardening keeps her busy, and they are both still involved in church activities.

Looking across at his life partner, with a twinkle in his eye, Eric says, “You Winsome, you lose some! I was a winner.”

Popular parkrun picking up pace in Millwater

The local hub of a global phenomenon that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, the Saturday morning Millwater parkrun, which began 10 years ago, attracts hundreds of enthusiastic runners, walkers and volunteers to the free, timed 5km event.

The March 2 parkrun was the 444th, with 332 runners and walkers, including 18 first-timers, taking part. Fifty-five recorded new personal best times (PBs). The turnout was not far off the all-time record, 371, achieved several weeks earlier.

As of March 2, 6026 participants had finished a combined total of 56,848 parkruns in Millwater since September 2014, racking up 7959 new PBs.

Over that time, the runners and walkers covered a combined distance of 284,240km. That’s more than seven times around the Earth, or almost 75 percent of

the way to the Moon.

Volunteers are crucial to the success of parkruns, at Millwater and the other 40plus events across New Zealand, as well as more than 2200 in 23 countries. In Millwater, more than 600 volunteers have helped out since 2014.

The out-and-back course begins in Metro Park, follows the footpath past Kingsway School and onto the Te Ara Tahuna Estuary Path.

First, there’s a briefing, where parkrunners who have achieved milestones, first-timers, visitors from abroad, and the all-important volunteers are applauded.

Then they’re off. At the front, steely-eyed speedsters vie for glory. Further back, runners, joggers and walkers do it their way.

Afterwards, placings and times are

recorded via personalised barcodes and nifty software, and an emailed notification includes a clickable link to data on every parkrun completed.

Just don’t call it a race.

“We’re not allowed to use the word ‘race’,” laughs director Rhys Spyve. “It would never be publicised as a race. It’s for every single person who can walk or run.”

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes. We have a ‘tailwalker’ who brings up the rear – no one feels like they’re holding anybody up.”

Rhys and fellow director Claire Taylor have steered the Millwater parkrun for almost a decade, and recall modest turnouts in the earlier days, including one “horrible rainy day in August” when seven people showed up. The event has grown steadily, and recent weeks have seen a particularly big jump in numbers. Claire attributes this to New

Year’s resolutions, picked-up overseas visitor numbers now the borders are open, and of course the good summer.

Asked how they retain that level of enthusiasm, Claire says, parkrun speaks for itself.

“People come along and realise how inclusive it is. It does its own work, really.”

“People see the ‘run’ part in the name but as soon as they get here they realise you can do it however you want – run, walk, watch, or volunteer. Inclusivity is what makes it work – that’s what pulls the people in.”

The local event offers an additional draw, according to Rhys.

“It can be raining hard-out on a Saturday morning. But we arrive here, and at 8 o’clock it stops. Don’t ask me how. We call it ‘Millwater magic’.”

www.parkrun.co.nz/millwater/

Whang

Millwater parkrun’s numbers have been growing steadily.

First steps for pump track

A

between two Red Beach dads was the start of a proposal for a pump track that was presented to the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board recently. Nick Humphreys of Underground Skate, and Niel Smit say the facility could be constructed in Red Beach Park in William Bayes Place.

Part of the park is quite boggy and and the pair say that a pump track would be an ideal way to turn that area into something positive for the local community.

Smit told the local board that a pump track would cater for all forms of wheels, all ages and all skill levels and take some pressure

Police counter closed

off the popular Orewa Skatepark.

Humphreys said they were not looking for more than seed funding, after which he was confident some sort of public/private mix could make it happen.

Local board member Alexis Poppelbaum said the local board had been interested in pump tracks for some time and had earmarked future funding to build one locally – this project could be brought forward, potentially, she said.

Humphreys and Smit said the presentation was well received and they are excited to see what can be achieved for the local riders.

Anyone with non-urgent business to discuss with police will have to make their way to Ōrewa Police Station as the front counter of Whangaparāoa Police Station is not currently open to the general public. Waitematā North Area Commander, Inspector Matthew Laurenson, says a dedicated team of staff work out of the Whangaparāoa station, and while the station is not manned 24/7, police can move resources to where there is demand. He says with Whangaparāoa Station’s front counter not open to the public (although that is subject to change) the closest station for anyone who needs non-urgent assistance is Ōrewa Police Station where the front counter is open Monday to Friday, 8am–4pm. Of course for emergency assistance, dial 111 and people can also report matters to police by calling 105 or online at www.police.govt.nz/use-105

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast

Twilight Market

Red Beach Park has been suggested as a location for a pump track.

Swimmer on course for Paralympics

Red Beach teenager Asher SmithFranklin found his happy place when he first jumped into a pool as a youngster. Diagnosed with autism and intellectual impairment at the age of six, he says life is better when he’s swimming.

The 17-year-old swims in the S14 Para category and has his sights set on representing NZ as a Paralympian in Los Angeles, 2028. His latest step towards this was securing a Bronze medal in the 200m individual medley at the Para Swimming World Series last month. The event saw athletes from more than 20 Oceania countries compete. Along the way, his natural swimming

Asher SmithFranklin won a Bronze medal at the recent Para Swimming World Series in Melbourne.

talent has been nurtured, not only by his family but also by North Shore Swimming Club. He achieved many sporting awards at Ōrewa College, including the Sporting Excellence Award in 2022, and has broken and holds 48 Swimming NZ records in both the age group and open classifications. Asher has been selected for the Swimming NZ National Age Pathway, which aims to support up and coming athletes, and trains with North Shore club’s high performance team about eight times a week. He has several more big events coming up, including the Para Swimming World Series in Singapore in May.

Coast swimmer in line for second Olympics

A strong performance at the World Swimming Championships in Doha last month has raised hopes that Hibiscus Coast swimmer Eve Thomas could be selected for the Paris Olympics.

Eve placed in the top four at Doha, in 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle events and was seventh in the 400 freestyle. She met the Olympic qualifying time in the 400m and 800m freestyle, and has a further event next month where she will compete to secure her spot in the NZ team. Selections happen in May. If selected, it will be Eve’s second Olympics. At the Toyko Games in 2020 she was 17th in the 800 freestyle. It was an experience she describes as “daunting” and at the same time, everything she’d ever dreamed of. Eve trains in SPW Club’s elite programme in Brisbane with top coach Dean Boxall. She grew up in Gulf Harbour, and credits Coast Swim Club with igniting her love of swimming. She says Coast’s head coach, Michael Western, is a very important part

of her performances on the international stage as he is her coach during all overseas trips. “I’m very much looking forward to competing at the Paris Olympic Games

Luncheon with rugby legend

Silverdale Rugby Club has secured World Cup winning ex-All Black coach Sir Graham Henry as its special guest for an upcoming fundraising event.

Organised by the Silverdale Old Boys, the annual Fundraising Luncheon supports the continuing growth of the club.

Silverdale has more than 800 juniors – the largest number of any NZ rugby club.

“The club is bursting at the seams trying to cater for the growth,” Wilson says. “Any funds we can raise from the annual luncheon mean that the Old Boys and supporters can play their part”.

The luncheon is on Friday, May 31 and includes raffles and auctions.

Tickets are $100 each, or $1000 for corporate tables. Enquiries for tickets can be made to the Club Manager.

New date for cricket final

under his guidance,” she says. Eve’s mother Sarah (nee Hardcastle) was also an Olympic swimmer, winning multiple freestyle medals for Britain.

Hibiscus Cricket’s first ever Auckland one-day (limited overs) final was postponed by bad weather, and will now be held at Victor Eaves Reserve in Ōrewa on Sunday, March 17. First ball at 11am. Community support appreciated as they seek a historic win for Coast.

Eve Thomas is propelling herself towards a spot in the Olympic swimming squad.

Sir Graham Henry

Coastguard

Zane Bryhn, Coastguard Hibiscus crew chief www.coastguardhibiscus.org.nz

Rescue costly for non-members

This time last year we were extremely quiet because of the cyclones and weather. The conditions have been the total opposite this year, with the sun shining, winds extremely light and a lot of boaties out on the water.

We are still reliant on just the Sealegs vessel Hibiscus Rescue 2, as the main vessel is still in refit. While the Sealegs is an awesome boat, it has its limitations because of its size. Our whole crew is getting excited as Rescue 1 is due back this month, so we will need to swing into action again. It has been nearly six months, so it is extremely looked forward to.

On Sunday, February 18 we were out in Hibiscus Rescue 2 for nearly 10 hours. The day was gorgeous, and the winds were light. Because of this, everyone else decided it was also a day to get out, so the VHF was very busy with trip reports and the normal flat batteries, mechanical issues etc, when a call came over the radio for us to respond to a four-metre vessel with four people on board which had mechanical issues. The occupants were not members. They were situated on the north side of Waiheke Island and needed assistance back to Mellons Bay. We responded to find a vessel that was

Ōrewa cookoff

not in the best condition and an outboard that would not start at all. They were very pleased to see us, as the freeboard (the distance between the level of the water and the upper edge of the side of a small boat) was very small so any larger waves would have had water coming over the gunnel and into the boat. Due to the vessel’s condition we took them under a very slow tow back to where the trailer was. They were happy to be back on dry land but it is a costly exercise if you are not a Coastguard member. Membership options cost as little as $130 a year and that is a small price to pay for peace of mind, but also could save you a significant bill. Non-members who require our services get charged $330 an hour from the time our vessel hits the water until the time we get back to our berth. If you require a tow, this amount can add up extremely quickly. Memberships can also be a great gift to your family members, with the bonus of giving you peace of mind that if something happens, we are there to help.

As we move into autumn, there is still great weather forecast, so get out on the water. We are out there making sure you get home safely.

Happy boating everyone.

The Great Big Rescued Food Cookoff will be held on Sunday, April 7 at the Ōrewa Community Centre, 6.15pm-8.30pm. The idea is for participants to put together a team of five or six and have fun while turning leftovers into culinary masterpieces. It’s a free event, ingredients are supplied and there will be prizes. Info: www.facebook.com/ events/1107932713564297/?ref=newsfeed or email pip@compostcollective.org.nz

SAILING

Manly Sailing Club hosts the O’pen Skiff Nationals next month. It’s a three-day regatta, April 19 & 20, for sailors of all experience and skill levels, accompanied by a two-day Russell Coutts Sailing Foundation coaching clinic. Points racing, adventure sailing, beach games, fantastic prizes, spot prizes and more. A fun, engaging regatta. Info: https://raceroster.com/ events/2024/86110/2024-new-zealand-open-skiff-national-championship RUNNING

Free, fun, friendly 5km community activity. What a way to start your weekend! Every Saturday, 8am-9am, meeting at Metro Park sportsfields, Millwater. Walk, run, jog, volunteer or spectate! All welcome. Info: www.parkrun.co.nz/millwater/

FOOTBALL

Registrations for Rodney District Sports football season are open for: First Kicks (grades 4-6), Fun Football grades 7 & 8, Junior football grades 9- 12, Youth football grades 13-17, Men’s Open grade, Women’s grade, Men’s Over 35 grade. Registration open until March 17. Season opens April 27. Based at Metro Park, Millwater. Info: https://rdsports.co.nz/

GIRLS FOOTBALL MUSTER

Hibiscus Coast AFC Welcome to Girls Football muster day, Saturday March 16, 10am-12noon at the club in Brightside Road, Stanmore Bay. Come and give football a go – fun event for girls age 4-17 with prizes to be won! Sign up online at https://hbcafc.org.nz/girls-football to secure your free spot.

HELP SCHOOL SPORT

AA Insurance’s Big Little Sponsorship, in partnership with Eden Park, will provide two primary schools with $10,000 towards sports. Anyone can nominate local primary schools for the prize. Nominations are open until 11.59pm on Sunday, March 24 at www.aainsurance.co.nz/big-little

Hibiscus

Over the coming months, we will be expanding the value of Premium membership. At present, members have access to all stories on the site, including breaking news, and get to read the paper online three days before the printed papers hit the street. Relying on advertising alone to fully fund the paper’s production and delivery is not a viable option. Premium memberships are one answer, and we encourage you to join us in creating an economically sustainable future for by becoming a Premium member

Classifieds

APPLIANCE REPAIRS

A SMART REPAIR Service for F&P smartdrive washers, F&P/Simpson dryers. Prompt service ph 021 168 7349.

HOME & MAINTENANCE

ALARMS SECURITY AND FIRE, MONITORING, CCTV, servicing & installation, all brands 027 553 3032 www.tdssecurity.co.nz

SERVICES

CAN’T MAKE IT TO A HAIR SALON?

No problem I

Qualified

Please phone Julie 021 112 8015

FURNITURE REMOVALS

exp Owner Operator 30 years. Single Items to Flat/House lots. Silverdale Based. Ph Gavin 0274 973 867

HYPNOTHERAPY

Lose weight. stop smoking. anxiety and depression, confidence, self esteem. Ph 021 635 966 www.hypnotherapy2succeed.co.nz

HANDYMAN

Odd jobs, gardening, painting & water blasting. Phone Nev 021 399 226.

CARPET LAYING, CARPET RE-STRETCH, VINYL LAYING, CARPET REPAIRS

Over 30 years’ experience.

Contact Dexter 027 4956 436

HOUSE WASHING - SOFT WASH /

LOW PRESSURE / CHEMICAL WASH

Also Window Cleaning / Gutter Clearing Careful service, reasonable rates. Phone 021 057 9743

214B Hibiscus Coast H/Way PH:

WANTED TO BUY

TO BUY, RECORDS/LP’S 09 428 1587 txt 0210 258 3437

WORK WANTED

NEED A HAND with something, give me a call, anything considered. Call Will or txt on 021 0847 5188.

RECORDING STUDIO

Vocals to backing tracks, original projects, vocal training & vocal PA hire. Ph Skimp 021 115 5233.

ARKLES BAY PAINTERS/DECORATORS In the area for the area. Shane 021 0813 8481. A PAINTER, SEMI-RETIRED, local with 45 years of experience. Ph Rob 021 1058 793.

CARPET ADVICE, FREE QUOTE FOR STEAM CLEANS, Carpet Repairs-35yrs Experience Dwyane 027 499 7929.

PEST CONTROL, Flies, spiders, cockroaches, ants, rodents, wasps. Competitive prices. Ph 426 2253

Casino, 29 Fresco, 30 Minuet, 33 Loose, 35 Spear, 36 Free, 38 Rung, 43 Dover, 44 Shrapnel, 45 Rafter, 46 On all fours, 47 Sort, 48 Picador, 49 Adapts,

Umber, 52 Over, 53 Slacken, 54 Extent,

Fall behind, 61 Keeps, 65 Sturgeon, 66 Unwed, 67 Shorten, 70 Outline, 71 Speech, 72 Top hat, 73 Motive, 77 Torso, 78 Lock, 79 Crab, 80 Ghee.

What’s on

email: online@localmatters.co.nz

12 Want to find out more about your Irish ancestors? The Hibiscus Coast Genealogy Group special interest research group can help. Whangaparāoa Library, 10am-12pm. All welcome. Info: 021 902 715.

13 Joy Bells, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 6.30pm-8.30pm. Free entry.

16 Whangaparāoa Primary School Gala, 10.45am-2pm. Stalls, entertainment, games, delicious eats. (see story p11 and ad p7)

16 80’s Dance Party with Haze International Roadshow, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 7pm-10.30pm. Free entry.

17 St Patrick’s Day Party with DJ Going Bananas, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Rd, Stanmore Bay, 4pm-7pm. Free entry.

17 Historic Holy Trinity Anglican Church open day, 24 Wainui Road, Silverdale, 1pm-4pm. Discover the church’s beauty and history. Refreshments provided. All welcome.

17 Dee Pignéguy’s Organic Gardening Basics, Whangaparāoa Library Pohutukawa room, 10.30am. For keen gardeners who want to go chemical-free, gardening expert Dee Pignéguy teaches how to start your own organic garden. Free. RSVP to WhangaparaoaLibraryEvents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

17 Stillwater Raft Race, Stillwater Boating Club, 11am-3pm. Dress for St Paddy’s theme. Food stalls, competitions, prizes. Info: www.facebook.com/stillwater. raft.race

20 2 of Us, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 6.30pm-8.30pm. Free entry.

21 Poetry at the Pub, Sugarloaf Bar, 38 Waiwera Rd, Waiwera, 7.15pm-9.15pm. Celebrate World Poetry Day by reading your own or someone else’s poem, with poetry fun and prizes. Coffee, wine and food available. Koha appreciated. Contact Diane, 021 483 849 or email dianenewcombe@hotmail. com if you would like to present a poem.

23 Diabetes Self-Management Education, free information day for Pre-Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes, Hibiscus Coast Community House childcare building, 2 Centreway Road, Ōrewa (beside bowling club), 9.30am-4pm. Family and friends welcome. Morning tea and lunch provided. Register ahead for catering and health information. Contact: Margot McDonald, ph 09 448 0019, 021 818 568 or email dsme@comprehensivecare.co.nz

23 The People, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 7pm-10.30pm. Free entry.

27 Sharón Blow, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 6.30pm-8.30pm. Free entry.

27 Dee Pignéguy’s ‘Starting a New Garden’ talk, Whangaparāoa Library Pohutukawa Room, 1.30pm. Convert that lawn into an edible garden. Especially for gardening beginners. Free. RSVP to WhangaparaoaLibraryEvents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

28 UK rock band Skindred, Kaosis and Rumpus Machine, Parāoa Brewing Co, 719A Whangaparāoa Road, doors open 7pm, gig starts 8pm. Tickets from Eventfinda (see story p11)

30 Pre-Loved Fashion & Thrift Market, Ōrewa College Arts & Events Centre, 9.30am-1pm. Quality pre-loved clothes, shoes, boots, handbags and accessories. Great fun, lots of bargains.

30 Ōrewa Surf Sounds Concert & Fireworks, Ōrewa Reserve, 4pm-8pm. Free community concert with music, featuring the band Rewind, food trucks, amusements fireworks. Fundraiser for Ōrewa Surf Club. Bring a blanket, chairs and enjoy the evening. Parking at Western Reserve. Rain date, April 6.

30 Easter Party with DJ Going Bananas, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 5pm-8pm. Free entry.

30 & 31 Easter Family Days, Silverdale Pioneer Village, 15 Wainui Road, Silverdale, 10am-3pm both days. Children’s activities, Devonshire teas, pioneer displays, craft shop.

Psychobiotics

These days we are bombarded by media with the latest health fads. Some ideas have merit, whilst others are just plain silly... like the latest Tiktok advice for parenting - “throwing a cheese slice at your baby’s head will stop them crying.” Definitely one of the more crazy suggestions that I would not recommend!

At Unichem Manly Pharmacy we have a look at the research behind new products coming to the market so we can help inform you better. So what’s new at the pharmacy this month?

Psychobiotic sounds pretty out there, right? But what exactly does it mean? It has been recognised over recent years that our brains and our guts talk to each other. So much so, that the gut has now been labelled as the body’s “second brain” and studies suggest this gutbrain axis may influence mood, stress levels, pain sensitivity, immunity and more. An even stranger fact is that this very influential second brain is only half made up of our own cells! That is because inside the digestive system, our second brain communicates with bacteria which are completely different living things that make up our gut microbiome. Psychobiotics are beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that influence bacteria-brain relationships. Zenbiome Sleep is a natural health complex which utilises a newly discovered psychobiotic, bifidobacterium longum 1714. It is thought that this psychobiotic works by influencing your alpha brain waves. Initial studies indicate it may help support sleep and relaxation and reduce tension.

A probiotic that isn’t a bacteria? If you suffer with Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis or Irritable Bowel Syndrome then check out this probiotic which is showing some promising research results. Sacchromyces Boulardii (SB) is actually not a bacteria like many other probiotics but actually a form of yeast. Studies on SB (such as that contained in our practitioner product, Designs for Health Floramyces) indicate that the probiotic may have beneficial effects on symptoms of many of these gastrointestinal disorders. Not only that, but SB is effective for antibiotic-related diarrhoea because unlike most other bacterial based probiotics, SB is not destroyed by the antibiotics.

These latest drops in temperatures are a reminder that winter is on its way. Sadly too will be colds and flus. The latest immune boosting formulation in to our store is Mega Viron. It’s an innovative immune formula used to support a healthy immune system when you need it most. The complex contains andrographis which has good research to support its ability to boost the immune system. Mega Viron also contains sea buckthorn which provides omega 3, 6 and 9 and thus has an anti-inflammatory effect. There are also a host of other ingredients in the complex to help support the immune system.

Last, but certainly not least check out our new and improved Sleep Clinic. It has been given a huge upgrade, utilising the latest in sleep research, and now involves 4 sessions over 6 weeks to help you get a better night’s sleep. Our sleep experts make use of all the sleep tools from behavioural therapies to natural health, checking for any handbrakes that might be a problem along the way. We’re running an introductory offer for $30 for the six week programme. (Normally $120) Simply book on line on www.unichemmanly.co.nz or phone us on 09 424-7708 for an appointment.

Riding for the Disabled welcomes vast shelter

North Shore Riding for the Disabled (NSRDA) in Stillwater recently celebrated the completion of an immense roof, providing shelter for the horses, and children whose lives they enrich.

Costing around $600,000 and measuring about 50m x 32m, the structure was financed by two bequests and a major drive, led by Adrianne Cranshaw, to secure grants and raise funds.

Previously, rainy days meant disappointment for the children coming to ride.

The project includes an extensive stormwater retention system, while commercial sprinklers keep the arena surface damp, tamping down the dust. On hot summer days, the roof provides shade, yet with the breeze coming through the open sides, one of the trainers likens it to an “air-conditioned office”.

Doing the opening honours on Saturday, March 2, Grand Designs NZ host, architect Tom Webster marvelled at the “quite mindboggling” structure, and called it “a very special day for a very special organisation”.

Given the roof’s size, some 2000 litres of water is collected for every millimetre of rainfall. With Auckland’s rainfall, that equated to 2.2 million litres of water not falling on the horses and riders each year, Tom said.

“But the most remarkable thing is unquantifiable, and that is the value that this place gives to this amazing community.”

North Shore RDA president Tim Lofts said it was by far the biggest investment the organisation had made since buying the land. He praised roof builder SmartShelters for its willingness to do the work over school holidays, rather than term times when riding occurs.

“Without that flexibility we could have lost an entire term of riding.”

Before Tom cut a ribbon, visitors were treated to a display of young riders undergoing warm-up exercises and activities.

A pool of more than 70 riders visit NSRDA,

some coming in groups from schools, with riding taking place four days a week.

“The range of disability is very broad, from a range of physical disabilities, through autism,

global learning delay and others,” Tim said. In addition to the two bequests, funds for the roof came from NZCT ($200,000), Pub Charity ($100,000), Lottery

Community Facilities ($100,000), North and South Trust ($40,000), Foundation North ($25,000), an individual donor ($5000) and a Givealittle page ($1400).

From left, Melina on Cruise, led by Ray Wang, with Lois Ferguson sidewalking. With North Shore RDA president Tim Lofts assisting, Tom Webster cuts the ribbon to officially open the project. Leisel rides Eddie, led by Ray Hooper, with Jillian Potter and Luisa Shanahan sidewalking.

Dawson rides Lenny, led by Sue Cammell and with sidewalkers Yolande Olivier and Lynn Dewar.