Grey Lynn 2030 August Community News

August 2010
In this issue
Grey Lynn 2030 Monthly Community Meeting
Grey Lynn Farmers Market
Waste Away news
Putting the Local into Local Government
Wilton Street Community Garden
Green Screen
Local news
Happening Locally

We are all about a positive vision and practical action

In the last month we’ve hosted a meeting to kick-off a Grey Lynn Business Association with a vision aligned to Grey Lynn 2030 ; hosted, with EcoMatters Trust, the kick-off to the Global Climate Working Bee on 10 October this year; secured support from the Western Bays Community Board for a water refill station in the West Lynn shopping area; started the planting at Wilton Street Community Garden with funding from the Board and made a proposal for a Community Orchard on Francis Street Reserve.

Plus every Sunday you can find the Grey Lynn 2030 Waste Away group at the Grey Lynn Farmers Market giving advice on waste minimisation and selling Boukashi buckets.

This month you can take part in the Tree planting at Wellpark Reserve (more details here), come along to Garbage Warrior playing for Green Screen and help us welcome founding member Gary Marshall  & Finn MacKesy back for the August meeting. Details below

Grey Lynn 2030 Monthly Community Meeting

Wednesday 11th August
7.30pm – 9.30pm
Grey Lynn Community Centre

Integrated Solutions for Grey Lynn

Two of the founding members of Grey Lynn 2030, Gary Marshall and Finn Mackesy, together with Rilke de Vos are guest speakers at this month’s GL2030 public meeting.

Together Gary, Finn and Rilke form the core team of Auckland Permaculture Workshop. Auckland Permaculture Workshop (APW) is a community education initiative dedicated to developing and progressing permaculture solutions for the Auckland bioregion. Gary is a landscape architect working at Jasmax, Finn is a free lance educator, facilitator and community development worker and Rilke is an energy engineer for NIWA.

At the meeting APW will ask those present to share the concerns, ideas and interests they have about their community.  APW will use these issues as a basis to facilitate a collaborative workshop that explores a range of practical and visionary responses which seek to create integrated solutions for Grey Lynn.

Grey Lynn Farmers Market

Sunday 9 – 12.30pm
In less than a year the GLFM has become a lively community asset. It is a great place to meet up on a Sunday morning, bump into neighbours and share news. Every week there are more reasons to visit – in addition to the abundance of good value seasonal produce (you will find the quality and price is better than the supermarket) .

Tumeke Bike Space volunteers are at the market on the 1st and 3rd Sunday providing bike check ups and advice.  It is great to see so many bikes parked outside even in the middle of winter.

Funky Nana has also recently joined the market selling yummy organic pies and home baking proving-  another reason to make the market your Sunday morning destination.

The connection to Grey Lynn 2030 is maintained every market day with the Waste Away group providing advice on composting and selling boukashi buckets. Take your old batteries to the stall for recycling too.

Waste Away News

Battery Collection

Locals are positive about keeping household batteries out of landfill!
So far 2.6 kg of batteries have been collected at the Waste Away table at the Grey Lynn Farmers Market.
It’s a great start and the WA group, to help make it convenient for you to drop them off on your day-to-day travels, are in the process of setting up other collection buckets in the local area.
Watch this space to see where & when!

The Hazmobile free collection is at Three Kings Saturday 14th August, to drop of your hazardous household waste. www.hazmobile.govt.nz

Food Waste Diversion
Thanks to all the people who have taken to Worm Farming and Bokashi composting.
The response by people in the community over the last year has been really encouraging; that so many people want to keep organics out of landfill, and hence reduce detrimental environmental effects. Also to have the added bonus of producing by-products for their gardens which create healthier soils and plants.

If you are interested and want to find out more about Worm Farming, Bokashi Composting and what the group is doing, visit the Wasters at the Grey Lynn Farmers Market, email the group, or check out the GL2030 Waste Away webpage, under Focus Groups here. email: greylynn2030wasteaway@gmail.com

Putting the Local into Local Government – Waitemata Local Board

Less than 40% voted in the last local government elections. This time there is far more at stake as a new Auckland Council is established representing 1.4 million people, with $29 billion of assets and $3.2 billion in revenue.

Strong Local Boards  will be crucial to the effective governance of the new “super city”. The Waitemata Local Board covers all the inner city suburbs and the CBD. Check what Local Board and Council Ward you are in here.

Make sure you have a voice at the election.  Make sure you are enrolled to vote. Check by calling 0800 367 656 or visit www.elections.org.nz. Voting papers will be posted from 17 September 2010.  You need to be enrolled by 20 August to receive your voting papers in the post. After that day you can only vote by special vote up until the last day of voting on 8 October .

Our Steering Committee member Pippa Coom is standing with City Vision for the Waitemata Local Board.  She hopes to bring the vision of Grey Lynn 2030 to local government (contact: pippacoom@gmail.com)

Wilton Street Community Garden

The funding of $2000 from the Western Bays Community Board has now come through and Sally and I had a lovely time on Saturday afternoon at the gorgeous Oratia Native Plant Nursery shopping for plants!  We wanted native plants for the weta/bush area in the back and also for our new lizard garden.   After losing several hours at Oratia, we departed with our car absolutely chock-full of plants thanks to the nursery giving us a good discount.

Sunday morning a few new people turned up and we planted the bush area, which is now pretty much complete.  Before we got rained off we also managed to lay out the design for the lizard garden which was fun.

We are thrilled with the response to the community compost bins, they are working well with lots of people using them.  We have already turned out the first barrow loads of compost for this seasons planting.  Unfortunately,  over the weekend someone has dumped a large pile of garden waste on the site including palm spikes and large branches.  We don’t want these as they cannot be composted and are just a disposal problem for us.   So if it is yours please collect it!   Other than this, things are running smoothly so BIG thanks to everyone who is bring in their waste and making it work.

Just a gentle reminder, if you are using the composting bins  – no woody prunings, branches, meat, oil or fish.

ROADSIDE BERM PLANTING for birds and bees…
This is the time to plant roadside berms if you are wanting to do so, with the soil easy to dig and plenty of rain to settle the plants in before summer.  GL203O have money set aside to assist with this, $50 each towards plants for the first 10 doable proposals.  Be in quick to take advantage of this generous offer.

Contact  Mandy for planting advice if you require it or Pippa Coom for $50.00! (email greylynn2030@gmail.com)

Green Screen

Our July Green Screen was a wonderful New Zealand film, Restoring the Mauri of Lake Omapere
.
Thank you to Director Simon Marler for coming along to talk to us about his film

We are excited to announce that we’ll be screening Garbage Warrior (running time 86 mins) for the August Green Screen.

An energetic crew of people explore off-the-grid sustainable building in the New Mexico Desert, and after the county shuts down one community development, the founder goes on a quest to get the state to pass a law for a Sustainable Buildings Testing Facility

Come and join us for a drink on a cosy winter evening.  Looking forward to seeing you there!
Saturday 28 August 7pm Grey Lynn Community Centre. $2 entry.

Local News

Grey Lynn School Cycle Trail
The successful Hawkes Bay initiative, Bikes in Schools to get kids cycling is coming to Auckland starting at Grey Lynn School.

Principal Bill Barker has enthusiastically got behind the idea of a cycle track around the perimeter of the school that will make the most of the School’s  “forest” of beautiful native bush tucked in along Great North Rd and can incorporate a fitness and walking trail. The School is looking for donations of funds and resources to build the track. You can donate direct to the school or via Give a Little. Nikki Kaye MP has a target to raise $5000 by running the Auckland Marathon.
Grey Lynn School Tel:  (09) 376 3255 www.greylynn.school.nz

Local Happenings

Check out the calendar of events for all the local happenings.