Wednesday 8 September, 7.30pm

Grey Lynn Community Centre

There has been a lot of uncertainty about the “super city” restructuring but as the date fast approaches for the first Auckland Council elections the time has arrived to get informed. Who do you want to represent you? What are the election issues? What is the voting process?

Come a long to meet the candidates standing for the Waitemata & Gulf Ward and the Waitemata Local Board.

All are welcome to come along. Please bring questions for the candidates.

2010 election information is available on the new Auckland Council website www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Auckland Permaculture Workshop

The intention of the workshop was to expose Grey Lynn 2030 members to systems thinking, problem solving and community resilience through the lens of regenerative design. APW began by asking the community members at the meeting to name the major issues, concerns and opportunities of the Grey Lynn community today.  The task was for participants to apply design thinking to these issues to begin to explore appropriate solutions.

Each group was asked to choose two main issues from the original brainstorm to focus their design process. One group identified transportation and public space as the two issues they wanted to investigate while another group identified housing (quality) and Health as their two main issues for the community today.  Each group brainstormed what they thought the underlying issues were and their causes (survey) before beginning to explore the opportunities and constraints associated with those issues (analysis). Once each group had a clearer understanding of what the opportunities and challenges were and how these issues related to each other they began to explore possible creative integrated solutions for both issues. Each group drew and recorded their design process on A3 sheets of paper and presented their designs to the wider group at the end of the activity. This was followed by a group discussion on various ideas, challenges and proposed solutions that arose from the design process.

For more information on Auckland Permaculture Workshop visit their website:
http://www.aucklandpermacultureworkshop.co.nz/index.html

For more information on the design activity and proposed solutions to these issues contact greylynn2030@gmail.com

Garbage Warrior

A crew of builders explore off-the-grid sustainable building design in the New Mexico Desert.

After the county shut down an ‘Earthship biotecture’ community while under construction,  the founder, Michael Reynolds, went on a quest to get the state to pass a law for a  Sustainable Buildings Test Site.
Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. 2. thermal massconstruction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make  Earthship an off-grid home with no utility bills.
Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.

When: Saturday 28th August

Starts: 7PM sharp

Where: Grey Lynn Community Centre

510 Richmond Road

Entry: $2

Come join us for a drink on a cosy winter evening.

Garbage Warrior (the trailer on You Tube)

Saturday 21 August 2010
9.00am – 1.00pm
St. Aidan’s Church
5 Ascot Ave, Remuera, Auckland
More details here

Mount Eden Village People Workshops  – Square Foot Gardening

Sunday  29th August Start time: 10.30am  Duration: 1-1.30 hours

Tutor: Ken Clark, SFG master from Waiheke
Location:  Mt Eden Village
Contribution: $20.00

More details here

Urban Eden Workshops with the Dirt Doctor

Dirt Doctor founder to host Urban Eden workshops in Auckland for the first time! With special guest landscape architect from One Earth Matte.

Two full-day programmes covering the complete Dirt Doctor system of gardening. A comprehensive weekend introducing a unique biological approach to micro-farm and home garden soil ecology.

Saturday, Sept 4, 9:30am-4:00pm – Urban Eden
Sunday, Sept 5, 9:30am-4:00pm – Advanced Soil Biology
Te Waipuna Puawai Community Centre
email jacob@dirtdoctor.co.nz.
www.dirtdoctor.co.nz

No space for home-grown food? Think again.
Microgreens can be grown on your windowsill.
Here’s a book that could revolutionise your household meals, keep away those winter chills and get your green thumb working…
Fionna will do a ‘show, tell and taste’ about Microgreens – the tiny seedlings of herbs and vegetables. Larger than sprouts and smaller than ‘baby’ salad greens, they nutritionally contain higher levels of active plant compounds than mature plants or seeds and  can easily be grown in containers on a terrace or windowsill but if you’ve got a ‘quarter acre pavlova paradise’ they’re for you too.

With Microgreens, you don’t wait weeks or months for them to come to maturity; most varieties are ready in a week or two and you can grow them right through winter. Microgreens are the new big thing in growing your own food globally.
Signed books $29.99 available on the day with a complimentary pack of
‘Fionna’s Blend Microgreen Seeds’ (seeds while stocks last)   www.fionnahill.com

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.

Auckland City Council have kindly provided more trees and now need
some willing workers to plant them this Sunday. Please come along rain
or shine – last time it went ahead in torrential rain! Please bring
the kids and get them involved. There is lots of rubbish needing to be
picked up.

ACC is kindly providing the trees and a bbq for the workers.

Bring a spade, gloves, sturdy footwear and clothing.

Wellpark Tree Planting
Sunday 8th August
10.00 am

More information here

Wellpark Reserve can be accessed from Maxwell Ave, Larchwood Ave, Wellpark Ave.

Join other locals for a morning of tree planting on the banks of Edgars Creek inside Wellpark Reserve.

Saturday, 31st July at 7pm, Grey Lynn Community Centre

$2 entry

New Zealand 2007 / 80min. English, Te Reo Maori with English subtitles.

Director Simon Marler / Producer Simon Marler, Mairi Gunn, Karen Browne

How do you resuscitate the land?
This is a question Simon Marler’s beautiful documentary, Restoring the Mauri of Lake Omapere poses.
Mauri, meaning life spirit, is contained within all objects; trees, rocks, rivers, lakes, us too? Marler takes us back through the history of Lake Omapere, a small Northland Lake effected by colonialism, deforestation, farming, modern agriculture and the resource management policies of government. Through that history Marler shows us the impact we as a people have had on the environment and also the spirit or Mauri of places effected by human behaviour such as Omapere. It also serves as a timely reminder to consider the way in which current conventional agricultural practices and environmental policies are impacting on habitats, natural waterways, living systems and communities as a whole. The issues explored in this film are really a microcosm for much wider systemic trends and problems that are being faced in regions nationwide and around the world. Marler does a good job of showing the multi layered consequences of not exercising greater attention and awareness in the way we treat the environment.

Certainly it’s a thoughtful documentary and artfully produced, one of the questions being posed is whether the voluntary management being undertaken and developed by Lake Ompere’s Trustees, its Kaitiakitanga; meaning guardians for sky, sea and land, will be enough to breathe life back into the lake’s still waters? It’s a poignant thought that also raises the issue of indigenous people and local communities having a greater say in how their natural habitats are managed and whether that can offer greater care and preservation of our natural resources.

Trailer: http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/restoring-the-mauri-of-lake-omapere-2007

We see the establishment of a Grey Lynn Business Association as a logical extension of our vision of a connected, vibrant, local community.  We are proposing that a ‘GLBA’  is part of Grey Lynn 2030 so it is important to us that the Business Association shares our sustainable vision and suits the unique character of Grey Lynn  which includes lots of people working from home who are not usually part of a traditional business association.

Some initial ideas for a Business Association that came out of the meeting (What would make you want to join?)

• Fun, funky, interesting, social
• Support for each others business.
• Networking, community focus
• Inclusion of retail shops and people who work from home (plus bigger businesses and property owners like Progressive)
• Sustainability, values based focus
• Local projects e.g waste minimisation, support for local schools
• Online register of businesses and services (with a range of categories to ensure all groups are able to be listed  such as the GL Community Centre)
• Local retail promotions e.g street markets like the successful West Lynn Street Party and Twilight Market we held in March (see the video here)
• Lobbying function to the new Auckland Council
• Beautification of Grey Lynn – for example the Grey Lynn Foodtown wall along Williamson Ave
• Set a vision for our area so we can work  with the new Local Board
• Shared resources for people working from home, school holiday programme

Further issues discussed:

Targeting Rates Cr Easte was able to provide insight into how the Mainstreet programme has developed and how becoming a Business Improvement District ( a BID)  involves targeted rates that won’t capture all the businesses in GL.

Advantages of using rates were discussed, such as being able to have a paid coordinator,  develop programmes (like crime prevention)  and pay for street improvements. A business association operating through the Council system can have associate members to ensure all businesses/groups can be represented.  A follow up comment was made that the GLBA idea should be developed so it fits the unique needs of GL rather than be made to fit Council requirements first.

What area should the GLBA cover ? There are various hubs in the Greater GL area but there was general agreement that the area of a GLBA could logically extend out to the Westmere shops on Garnett Rd and the Richmond Road shops (where Ripe is) as well as West Lynn and Grey Lynn businesses/shops on Surrey Cres.

Next steps

• Small working group formed  (interested people so far – Sunshine Yates, Ellie Tullet, Julie Falvey,Tania Miller, Brett, – Suzanne Kendrick and Pippa Coom supporting role and GL2030 reps)
• form an incorporated society  (Dave Tippitt has offered to transfer the remaining funds of $1200 held by the Surrey Cres BA to a new GLBA)
• working group to consider options to working towards being a BID/ Mainstreet (which will take a year)

Anyway interested in the Grey Lynn Business Association proposal can email Suzanne or Pippa at Greylynn2030@gmail.com. Updates will be made via our Monthly Community News.

Panelists for week 1 included, Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, Royal Comission Chair Peter Salmon, Ron Carter of Committee for Auckland, David McNabb of Unitec staff, Jordan a student at Unitec – Chair: Rod Oram and a very lively audience.

There was even at least one super city mayoral candidate – Colin Craig. Various other local board members including Sandy Taylor, GAG spokesperson, Counsellors Richard Northey and possibly others as well. Not sure but possibly Graeme Easte and Glenda Fryer. Grey Lynns very own Pippa Coom was there for sure.

Creating a, strong, successful Auckland region is the topic.  Follow the discussion on twitter @UnitecFTF and ask questions next Tuesday if you want to.

Brought to you by the Department of Management and Marketing and Department of Performing and Screen Arts, Faculty of Creative Industries and Business.

Prominent guest speakers, business and community leaders, members of the public, students and academics will participate in a series of two-hour discussions at Unitec’s Mount Albert Campus in Auckland. Unitec will host the sessions on three consecutive Tuesday evenings in July and August.

• Why? Tuesday, July 20th, 5.00pm – 7.00pm: What’s the case for creating a super city? Why do we need to change regional governance structures to do so?
• What? Tuesday, July 27th, 5.00pm – 7.00pm: What will the new governance structures look like? What mechanisms will promote public participation, political accountability, strategic development and optimal outcomes?
• How? Tuesday, August 3rd, 5.00pm – 7.00pm: How can we make the new system perform at its best for the people of Auckland and New Zealand?

Each session will involve a panel of three prominent guest speakers, two Unitec students and a Unitec faculty member, with Rod Oram as the facilitator. Rod is an adjunct professor in Unitec’s Department of Management and Marketing.

The venue is Unitec Performing and Screen Arts, Theatre , Building 6, Entry 1, Carrington Road. Map link is http://bit.ly/xA9cB