Life + Style - 14 February 2020

˜° August, ˜˛°˝

life+style The Weekend Sun °

Sustainable Backyards is back Page 2

THE WEEKEND

Art of Outdoors

Holi colour splash

Upcycled fashion

Cruising Coromandel

End of an era

life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°14 ˜˛°˝ °˙August, February February, , 2020 ˜˛˜˛

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Creating a better future Sustainability on a personal level

Sustainable Backyards is back for 2020, bringing with it a month-long calendar of environmental events in March.

This year celebrates 15 years of sustainability, focused on individual efforts and there are more than 230 events coming up across the Bay of Plenty, from beach clean-ups and bushwalks to speakers’ forums, educational movie screenings and presentations.

Envirohub has provided about 30 of these events and the rest are contributed by the community.

“Care groups, businesses and individuals from all demographics and areas of the Bay of Plenty have utilised Sustainable Backyards to educate, inspire and connect with their communities to create a more sustainable future,” says Envirohub’s Liesel Carnie.

Sustainable Backyards benefits a wide variety of Bay of Plenty communities, people of all ages and from all social sectors and provides tools to help individuals become empowered to move towards a more sustainable future.

“Communities throughout the region depend on each other for strength and sustainability,” says Liesel.

“Envirohub is committed to providing the mechanisms to achieve these aspirations.”

There are a number of events happening throughout the month of March, including the following key events.

For all events and more information, visit: www.envirohub. org.nz/sustainablebackyards Sustainable Backyards Opening Ceremony Tauranga People throughout the Bay of Plenty community are invited to the free-of-charge opening of the Sustainable Backyards headquarters in Tauranga at Our Place, Willow St, on March 1 from 5pm.

Photo: John Borren

The opening promises to be an inspiring event of music, entertainment and speakers, including Chloe Swarbrick of the Green Party, Councillor Sophie Handford - the School Strike 4 Climate national coordinator and Natalie Robb from the Now Crowd.

The Sustainable Backyards HQ will be open six days a week so you can find out what’s happening for the month of March.

Sustainable Day Out This is a family-friendly festival celebrating all things environmental in the Western Bay of Plenty. The Sustainable Day Out is at Te Puke Memorial Hall on March 14 from 9am1pm and will provide a place to connect, teach and inspire the community.

This is a family fun day with games, performances, stalls, workshops, food trucks and more, and entry is free.

Pilot Bay Beach Cleanup There will be a beach and underwater cleanup held at Pilot Bay, in conjunction with Dive Zone.

The family fun day out will also include a sand sculpture competition as well as a treasure dig.

Diver registrations are essential but it’s fine to just turn up for general attendance for beach cleanup and beach activities.

Divers can register on the Dive Zone Tauranga website: www.divezonetauranga.co.nz The Pilot Bay Beach Cleanup will be held on March 21 from 10am-1pm at Pilot Bay.

Consuming for Good If you’re sick of plastic overload in your home, head to Base Station, Durham St, on March 19 from 6.30-8.30pm.

Join EnviroHub, Venture Centre and Sustainable Business Network for this event and meet entrepreneurs committed to addressing plastic in our consumer life. Hear from a panel of impact entrepreneurs taking on the problem of plastic and packaging to deliver beautiful solutions to the ethical consumer.

Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased by searching ‘Consuming for Good’ at: www.eventbrite.co.nz

Fools and Dreamers The film ‘Fools and Dreamers’ takes a look at Hinewai Reserve botanist Hugh Wilson and his contribution to regenerating farmland into native forest.

Now considered a hero locally and across the country, Hugh oversees 1500 hectares that are resplendent in native forest, where birds and other wildlife are abundant and 47 known waterfalls are in permanent flow. Afterwards, directors, Antoinette Wilson and Jordon Osmond, will speak to the themes of the film and give a bit of background knowledge about the initiative before a question and answers session.

Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased by searching ‘Fools and Dreamers’ at: www.eventbrite.co.nz

Climate Change and the Economy Speakers Forum Hear from a panel of experts about the economy and climate change by heading to Holy Trinity Church, Devonport Rd, on March 26.

The panel will be facilitated by Rod Oram and aims to discuss the future of climate change and the economy.

Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased by searching ‘Climate Change and the Economy Speakers Forum’ at: www.eventbrite.co.nz

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Sunday 1st of March, 5pm Our Place, Willow St, Tauranga www.envirohub.org.nz A free inspiring evening of music, entertainment and speakers including Chloe Swarbrick of the Green Party, Councillor Sophie Handford - the School Strike 4 Climate national coordinator and Natalie Robb from the Now Crowd.

The Sustainable Backyards HQ will be open 6 days a week so you can find out what’s happening for the month of March.

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For more information about the Sustainable Backyards month, as well as more events coming up, visit: www.envirohub.org.nz/sustainablebackyard

6:30pm, Thursday 19th March

Base Station, Durham St, Tauranga Tickets $10

www.envirohub.org.nz

Hear from a panel of impact entrepreneurs taking on the problem of plastic and packaging to deliver beautiful solutions to the ethical consumer.

Ask questions about their entrepreneurial journey, their passion and how they overcome challenges.

Speakers include Shay Lawrence from CaliWoods, Kristy and stine from Good Change Store, Nada Piatek from Again Again and Nikki Withington from Square One

Climate Change and the Economy

Speakers Forum

7pm, Thursday 26th March Holy Trinity Church, Tauranga Tickets $10 Www.envirohub.org.nz

Speakers Include: Maanu Paul, Rachel Brown, Mike Chapman & David Cull Facilitated by Rod Oram 2020

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Scrap metal into outdoor art Recycling while changing lives Making art and floral arrangements using driftwood from the beach was something my grandmother Esther Harvey loved doing.

She’d find a curved, unusual piece of driftwood, take it home, and it would appear the next Sunday at the front of church draped with flowers and leaves.

Designing charming and clever pieces is something that Sam Steel from Art of Outdoors in Pyes Pa also does. She designs things from scrap metal and old engine parts to create works of art for the garden.

There are free-standing NZ ferns over two metres high, and smaller wall-mounted ferns, rearing horses, flowers, elegant metal toetoe grass, lilies and spiders.

Pohutukawa fence decorations, fantails, tuis, kiwis, pukeko, and large herons.

“It’s a hobby that’s grown,” says Sam. “We came across this chap in South Africa who was doing amazing work and I wanted some for my garden but it wasn’t worth bringing over two or three pieces. So we filled up a container, and created a Facebook page and website to sell the excess. It went so well that we’ve continued.”

As well as knowing they were recycling scrap metal, Sam discovered that the designs and orders she was sending through provided much-needed income for the talented South African artists.

“My agent sent me a message saying one had been able to afford to take his child to the doctor, and another had been able to pay for university for a whole year based on the income he’s received from just one

of my orders. I get goose bumps when I hear these stories.”

All the metal sculptures are handmade from second hand car and machinery parts. An 800mm tall scrap metal scorpion also features horse shoes, bolts and drill bits. My favourite are the limited edition tree of life sculptures which are made within bicycle rims.

Recycled oil drums are turned into freestanding bird baths of assorted colours, and frogs on holiday, reclining on deck chairs under sun umbrellas. The scrap oil drums are also turned into colourful bird feeders, or can double up as candle holders. There’s a whimsical delight about Sam’s designs. She can be found selling them at home shows, markets and fairs, as well as online and at open days from home.

Old unusable sewing machines become two metre long tractors pulling detachable trailers, and the bush pigs in sets of three trotting along a waterway are amusing, with each one having its own bold little character.

Te Puna Quarry Park has one of Sam’s fish eagle sculptures installed, perfectly placed to look out towards the sea, and her Aphrodite made from metal chains, scrap metal and engine parts stood almost 1.8m tall, weighing about 400kg.

“It’s good for people to know that the recycled pieces they buy here are making a difference to someone’s life in South Africa,” says Sam. Art of Outdoors are having an Open Day from 10am – 3pm on Saturday, February 15 and 11am – 3pm on Sunday, February 16 at 208 Joyce Road, Pyes Pa. Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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Festival of colour to spread joy It’s a festival of love, of light, of colour and of happiness.

This ancient cultural festival hails from India but is travelling across the world, spreading colour and happiness wherever it goes.

The Holi Colour Splash festival is now coming to Tauranga, at the end of February, and hosted by One Love Charity, which also hosts the Tauranga Diwali Festival.

Holi honours a beautiful play between the divine Indian couple Radha and Krishna.

This tradition is surviving and thriving today, and people find great joy in the colour chase and the light-hearted mood of brother-sisterhood during the festival.

So get out your white t-shirts, find your inner child and head to Memorial Park for some Indian culture and a big dose of joy.

The Holi Colour Splash Festival will bring with it an afternoon of Eastern and South Asian fusion music, live Bharatanatyam dance, informative and intriguing snippets about the import of Holi, delicious vegetarian East-meets-West food, henna and free Indian face painting, and plenty of throwing-colour for sale.

The ancient festival of Holi is now celebrated widely throughout the world and, in recent years, has become a popular

‘clean fun’ event in New Zealand cities.

There are varying traditional stories that tell the origin of Holi – the underlying message of all these is that divine goodness will always overpower evil and that the Supreme Divine will always look out for his/her children. Holi reminds and encourages us to strengthen the virtue of truthful and honest living and being and to disown the unethical, unkind, or evil – starting with ourselves.

Event organisers Dhruva and Bela Reid love facilitating this age-old festival of colour-throwing in the heart of Tauranga and find pleasure in bringing it to the Bay of Plenty for its fourth consecutive year.

This year, they are expecting the event to attract a bigger turn out than previous years.

“We’re happy to see the spirit of these ancient fest’s gaining acceptance and popularity, because the essence of the message is one of goodwill and openheartedness towards others, which we believe applies to all, regardless of faith or culture,” says Dhruva. ‘’With the trans-cultural injection of the Holi spirit, we wish to make the festival comers reflect on how peace, honour and fulfilment can come from within each of us, and manifest in our lives,” says Bela.

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°˙ February 14 February, , 2020 ˜˛˜˛ ˜° August, ˜˛°˝

Immersed in ancient history

There are thousands of beautiful paintings depicting Radha and Kr˛ishn˛a playing Holi with their friends. According to Indian belief, the Supreme Divine, while ultimately one entity, has many forms, pastimes and interactions with angelic beings of a divine realm.

The message is that country, culture, creed and colour should not be an issue in human society; that the symptom of an evolved humanity is that such differences are overlooked and people embrace and welcome each other, live, love and laugh together.

It’s a beautiful message and one that our world as a whole could embrace.

“My family has attended several Holi festivals in India and we feel connected to its culture and spirit,” says Bela.

“While chasing each other down the sandy village lane-ways we remembered the festival’s sacredness and the honour of the Divine Creator who – however we may perceive him – bids us to welcome and honour all others. We felt empowered and uplifted by body, mind and soul.”

There will be a large display wall inviting each individual to draw their personal notion of what a happy, integrated world would look like.

A pre-event activity, in collaboration with

Education Tauranga and some local schools, will involve students thinking about the Holi message and creating their own personal depictions of it. The students’ messages will get displayed on the wall.

Holi Festival will run from 12–4 pm on February 29 at Memorial Park.

The event is free for all to attend thanks to the generosity of sponsors including Tauranga City Council, Welcoming Communities Tauranga, Ethnic Communities Development Fund.

For more information, search ‘Holi Colour Splash Tauranga’ on Facebook or phone Bela on: 021 025 48052.

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Photo: Bruce Barnard

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Keep worthy Rethinking fashion consumption My sewing machine has died and I need to cart it off to get fixed, mainly because it satisfies the need to make things out of the quirky, colourful fabrics I seem to hoard.

Debra Laraman

Being creative can be exhausting so I tend to pack resources away in boxes until I meet someone who inspires me again, like Debra Laraman.

Debra excels at upcycling fashion and sustainable living. She’s not only a conscious consumer, but she has a Masters in Art and Design with a focus on up-cycling; winning multiple design awards and transforming the lowest-value discarded materials into highvalue goods.

The charity shops around Tauranga can be treasure troves for finding quality pieces that are well-made. Vintage garments can be up-cycled into new pieces of clothing. A $10 linen table cloth can be turned into a summer dress.

Debra can take threadbare tee shirts and create lace. Or turn three tee shirts into a draped dress.

She transforms men’s shirts into stylish bolero shirts for women, creates bags, flounce singlets, denim totes, wabi sabi inspired jackets - and along the way teaches others to do the same.

“Many people don’t know how to turn a hem up or where to start. I’ve developed a whole lot of processes and systems that enable people to be

able to do things easily and not come out with a DIY look,” says Debra.

Her website keepworthy.co.nz is all about extending the life of existing resources. Upcycled is the new black. Making is the new consumption.

It’s about keeping or making products that are ‘keepworthy’.

“Research indicates that if people engage in making something, they’re more likely to keep it.

“My idea was that the upcycled product can be a premium product that sits alongside really expensive garments because actually they’re a ‘oneoff ’ and should sit in a boutique.”

I decided I want to attend her body template pattern-making workshop.

“I developed this system where you wrap a piece of string or tape around different parts of your body, transfer it to a flat pattern and end up with a template that is your body shape. Then all you have to do is draw on it the design you want and when you cut that out of fabric it will fit you.”

At her workshops in March, as part of the Sustainable Backyards month in collaboration with Envirohub, Debra will be teaching how to turn pairs of jeans into an upcycled longline denim jackets, and tee shirts into dresses, while giving styling tips, and inviting some local retailers to be involved.

“I like to get people thinking about what they’re buying, how often will they wear it, and what state will it be in when they no longer want it.”

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°˙ February February, , 2020 ˜˛˜˛ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°14 August, ˜˛°˝

Following my nose to Coromandel Recently I took a Saturday sunset drive up to Manaia in the Coromandel. I actually had no exact idea where I was going, but had been invited to a birthday celebration, left work at 5pm and set off.

It had been one of those extremely hot January days, so with aircon and GPS on, and a safe distance between myself and the large bus ahead, I enjoyed a quiet motor up through Waihi, Thames and Kopu.

I hadn’t been up the coast along the Firth of Thames since I was about 20. I looked in vain for the small bach my parents took us to stay in as children and remembered back to those glowing holidays with cousins. My parents had also spent their honeymoon here.

As I rounded into each stunning bay, it struck me that the road was like a wider version of the Mount base track with pohutakawa trees and rocky beach below. Whakatete Bay, Ngarimu Bay, Te Puru, Waiomu – I kept having to pull over and take photos, as sunset is a perfect time to capture that horizontal light. Past carved pou, a brightly painted loo, a jandal pole and beach sculptures, soon it was time to climb up from Wilsons Bay to the lookout and head down towards Manaia.

Fortunately just before the night dropped around me, a van came out of a driveway and I pulled over to ask if they knew where my friend lived.

“Yes follow us, it’s right next door.”

Up the drive, the birthday party was in full

mellow relaxed mode, with nearly 60 people enjoying a hangi and live music; with tents and campervans around the property. And amongst them, I found someone who knew my father from about 40 years ago. There’s nothing better than a long yarn while sitting by a brazier outside on a warm evening.

The next morning, on a whim, I decided to drive about 15 minutes further on to the town of Coromandel. After parking, I went to take a photo of some of the turn-of-the-century buildings, only to find someone coming around the corner with a “Hi Rosalie how are you?”

It’s amazing to drive a few hours away, step out of the car and within a minute be greeted by someone you know. This is New Zealand. We headed off to the local gallery together, following which I checked out their local museum.

I was so smitten with the town of Coromandel that I’ve decided I really must return at Queen’s Birthday Weekend, from May 29-31 for the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the visit of the Royal Navy Ship ‘Coromandel,’ after which the town and peninsula are named, and for the Coro 200 Illume Festival.

They’re planning to hold a themed ball and a night street parade. This festival of light is immensely popular, with the town turning out for the parade, illuminated floats, music and food.

All I need is some electroluminescent wire, or ‘EL wire’ for short, and a small battery pack, sew the lights to some clothes and get involved.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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Growing for Good Doing good things in the garden Good Neighbour’s community gardens at Bethlehem and Welcome Bay are the result of awesome foresight and a lot of planning by some incredibly insightful individuals.

In partnership with two generous landowners, the gardens were built with the aim of transforming communities, one garden at a time.

In the five-plus years they have been around, they have made a difference.

At each site there are individually-rented gardens beds for families to grow vegetables for their family and friends, community garden beds for members of the local community to harvest something to contribute to a meal and the soon-to-be launched ‘Gardening for Good’ beds; sponsored beds to enhance the gardens capacity to grow healthy, nutritious food for distribution to organisations in our communities, and in doing so provide beds for learning to garden.

Volunteers will be able to work in these garden beds, learn more about gardening and know that their efforts are going back to community organisations that need what is grown.

The volunteers at each garden are totally hooked by the garden manager’s mantra: ‘growing souls through soil’.

The gardens are a place where paying attention to plants makes people pay attention to themselves, their gardening buddies and their communities and, in doing so, create an enjoyable space to play during the volunteer mornings in the gardens.

Volunteers can work in the Bethlehem Community Gardens on Wednesdays from 9am–12pm or in the Welcome Bay Community Gardens on Fridays from

9am-12pm.

In addition to volunteer mornings in the gardens, Good Neighbour will be running workshops focussed on the art of growing a small contribution to your food consumption in your own backyard.

These workshops will be run on the second Wednesday evening each month starting in March.

Topics vary; some are hands on, some are informationbased and some are random fun topics connected to gardening. Let’s make growing food doable.

And there’s been great response to the community gardens; people have commented across the two gardens with fantastic feedback.

“What an awesome community garden! Keep on planting. You guys rock!”, said one Bethlehem visitor.

“Thank you guys. Job well done. Much appreciated. Keep it up,” from a Welcome Bay Resident, “Excellent learning experiences, great social aspect with other volunteers. A sharing sense of contribution to a good cause,” from one visitor and “The range of vegetables is extensive, and it is enjoyable sharing ideas and knowledge with each other… I can see how fantastic the Good Neighbour initiative is for those involved and the communities where the gardens are sited,” from another.

One person commented that the community garden gives them a place to chill out, be present and enjoy the company of friends in the making. “Together we have a great time and know we are making a difference, no matter how small that is. I look forward to my time in these gardens. It’s one of the highlights of my week!”

The Bethlehem gardens can be found at 173 Moffatt Road and the Welcome Bay gardens at 260 Welcome Bay Road.

GROWING FOR GOOD EMAIL: OFFICE@GOODNEIGHBOUR.CO.NZ

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life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°14 ˜˛°˝ °˙August, February February, , 2020 ˜˛˜˛

Goodbye to the Kumars The iconic ‘blue dairy’ changes hands Daniel Hines was only three when he ran away from home with his two-year-old sister in tow. He was heading to the local dairy – the Welcome Bay Foodmarket.

Mr and Mrs K

“I jumped the gates at home. We were determined to go to my nana’s house, but we had to go via the dairy first to get lollies.

“We went down our driveway, crossed the busy Welcome Bay road and were on the run to the dairy.”

Daniel is telling me this while gazing at the shop’s lolly section. We’re there to chat with the Kumars who, after 23 years running the popular ‘blue dairy’, are selling it on to new owners.

“My mum was hanging the washing out and had no idea. She got a panicked phone call from the neighbour saying there’s toddlers doing a runner across the road. She had to run out and stop us.”

He remembers the dairy’s lolly wall being iconic.

“You don’t see them like this anymore.

“I used to always get the number 16 – the cola bottles. My sisters used to get the sour ones at the top.”

Mrs K gets the tongs and pulls out a large green Mayceys’ killer croc. Daniel’s eyes light up.

It’s the end of an era for the much-loved Mr and Mrs Kumar. On their last day in January, many locals stopped to say goodbye, with a constant tooting from passing cars.

“I’ve been a local for 20 something years,” says Tui Sanders, who brought in a box of Belgian chocolates and flowers. “The Kumars are really special, they really are.

“They’ve always been here, always been available to us. When you’ve had a problem you just come in and put it on their shoulders and they’ll help you to sort it out. They’ve always got a smile.”

The dairy has been open seven days a week from 7am – 7.30pm on week days and 7.30am – 7.30pm on weekends.

A Lotto outlet was added a decade ago. Mr Kumar thinks it’s time ‘the big one’ was won.

“We’ve sold three second division but we haven’t sold any first yet,” says Mr K. “Heaps of other small ones. One lady who came in to play was really emotional because she had won - first win ever. It’s nice to see your local people winning and you’re part of it.”

For Mrs K, the couples’ arranged marriage was like winning Lotto.

“Not first division, but the jackpot!”

The smiling couple agree marriage is give

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°˙ February , ˜˛˜˛

and take.

“Once you meet a new person, it doesn’t matter who it is, both sides have to compromise from time to time.”

As well as the dairy, the couple have been involved in the community in other areas; Mr K as a trustee and treasurer of the Snatan Dharm Trust which built the first Hindu temple in the Bay of Plenty, and Mrs K providing a translation service.

They’ve always lived on the dairy site.

“When we first came, we lived in an old army shed behind the shop,” says Mr K. They built a house raising their two children while running the business, with their son and daughter also helping out in the shop. They’ve seen a few well-known faces come through the door.

“Michael Cullen. Tony Ryall from time to time. Some rugby players. And Simon Dallow came in and got pies. He was standing by the pie warmer and said ‘gee I’m blown away that you’ve got so many pie flavours’.

Stuart Crosby used to come for chips and a paddle pop iceblock. And pies occasionally.”

Daniel, who did a paper run says he always got himself a pie.

“Always mince and cheese. They were always the best, not over-cooked. Always perfect. And then the lollies.

I’d get a couple of lollies but not every day, only a treat once a week.”

life+style The Weekend Sun °°

He looks quite angelic as he says this.

Having worked 16 hours a day seven days a week, and barely taking holidays, the Kumars are now planning to help care for an elderly parent, and have a rest. But they’ll be sorely missed.

“It’s very convenient having a dairy next door,” says Lemongrass Catering owner Belinda Lombard.

She’s often found herself popping over for castor sugar as well as staples like bread and milk.

“We always have a bit of a joke that we would swap food sometimes, so they’d have a western and I’d have an Indian takeaway. She spoiled me with her Indian cuisine because it’s so authentic and fantastic. We’ll miss that. We wish them all the very best and have a bit of a ‘relax’ after 23 years. Go and put your feet up.”

“I’m going to miss so many of my local customers,” says Mrs Kumar. “I’ve made a special bond with them.

They’re just part of a big family, so thank you. We wouldn’t be here without them.”

Mr K agrees.

“A big thanks to all the community. They have given us good support in the past 23 years.”

They plan to spend the first couple of weeks of their retirement helping show the ropes to the new owners.

“I hope that everyone will carry on with the new people here. They are a really good couple,” says Mr K. Rosalie Liddle Crawford

Photos: Daniel Hines

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