November Newsletter / Whiringa-ā-Rangi 2020

Pānui Highlights

Join our Team! | Food Resilience - Let’s Talk About It | Take Our Trail Survey to Win! | Oyster Mushrooms on Trend | Reusable Nappies - The New Norm | | Marfell Community Garden Hui | Christmas Wrapping Pop up | What’s On Events Calendar

Manager’s Update

2020 – our perceptions have changed: well-being, politics, connection with nature…. With changed perspectives comes changed habits …. habits more sustainable vis-a-vis our environment/taiao, whānau, and community.

Sustainable Taranaki has launched a number of new projects resulting in our team growing from 4 to 10 over the last year, with significant growth to social media following and website engagement. With over 1500 new followers on Facebook, a growing presence on Instagram, a Youtube channel, and website visits jumping from 16,000 to 30,000 page visits over the year, our organisation feels poised to take some more impactful steps forward. We have bedded down our collaboration at The Junction - Zero Waste hub (take a tour or join a workshop if you haven’t already), collaborated with hāpu & kura in the Kaitake and Waitara rohe, created a community garden in Marfell, and secured additional project funding and resources to pursue activities we have dreamt of since the Sustainable Taranaki’s inception in 1992.

2021 will have many very exciting opportunities: a new home for the Taranaki environmental community; projects that link farmers, energy and the community; more involvement with volunteers and our ambassadors; co-designing a food secure communities plan for Taranaki; harvesting both kai and social cohesion from newly created community gardens; closer links to our central and southern Taranaki rohe; finding sweet spots where businesses can embrace sustainability, while creating profit & jobs; embracing the power of Te Ao Māori; making low-waste practical and fun for all; applying a climate positive lens to all that we do… yes, we are ambitious, but if not us, who? If not now, when? Join us by attending an upcoming event, supply us with your story, or visit our website to engage with us.

A special thanks to all those who have supported us during the last year – our loyal sponsors and funders, our community partners, including kura and businesses, those of you who have engaged with us online or in person, and a special personal thanks to my ST whānau for being so passionate, professional and supportive during this “once in a life time” year. Kia ora! Aroha nui! Ngā mihi nui,

Steve Francis, General Manager

“Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua” Care for the land, Care for the people, Go forward.

Te Ara Taiao O Whai-Tara Kai ruruku / Education Coordinator

We are collaborating with Te Ara Taiao O Whai-Tara to recruit a Kai Ruruku / Education Coordinator to coordinate people and projects, and especially support students and teachers, in conservation related learning and mahi in Waitara. We are now accepting expressions of interest until Sunday 6 December.

Matthew Williams, Founder of Ground Breaking Mushrooms, selling to Miss Aria at last Sunday’s Farmers Market Taranaki. Read the full article below.

 

Food Resilience - Let’s Talk About It

From urban farmers to community gardens, to growing food in your backyard or at school, the question of food resilience is as present as ever in our region. Sustainable Taranaki has recently been successful in applying for funding for the development of a Food Secure Communities Plan, which will gather stakeholders from around our Mounga in a conversation about our shared vision and how we can work together to achieve it.

Meet and engage with local community group leaders hosting information stalls, make connections, and join the conversation. Read the latest news about the Marfell Community Garden and excerpts from Carl Freeman’s Food to Flourish to brainstorm and get your thinking caps on for the Food Resilience Talks event.

Get inspired by the programs, events, gardens, and workshops already taking place in our region, and be sure to join us next Thursday night.

WHEN: Thursday, 3rd of December at 5 pm

WHERE: New Plymouth Club 55 Gill Street, New Plymouth
 

Taranaki Sustainable Backyards Trail

We had record numbers attend this year, and with the collaborative effort from the Taranaki Garden Festival and Arts Trail, we were able to engage new audiences and inspire people to take steps towards a more sustainable life.

This was our first year engaging with so many schools which gave students the opportunity to lead tours, talks, and demonstrations. The students impressed visitors with their horticulture knowledge and the homemade crafts that they had available for the public to purchase. Well done students!

Take our survey to provide our trail organisers with valuable feedback for next year, and receive an entry to win the gift pack pictured below. Let us know if you’d like to join the ranks among our hosts and feature your inspirational property in 2021.

 

Ground Breaking Mushrooms - Living up to its Name

Ground Breaking Mushrooms hit the New Plymouth food scene with a spring debut at the Taranaki Farmers Market just a couple of weeks ago. The social enterprise is in partnership with Bishops Action Foundation, and they are working together to build food security and divert coffee grounds from local cafes that would otherwise go to landfill, with one major point of difference: no plastic bags are used in the process. Residents of Taranaki can now enjoy a fresh, locally grown supply of grey and pink oyster mushrooms which are not only restaurant quality, but also great for gut health and tasty on the bbq.

Grower and founder, Matthew Williams uses a uniquely sustainable approach that sets his method apart from other New Zealand and global oyster mushroom growers by omitting the standard single-use plastic tubes to hold his substrate and his spawn. He instead swaps the bags for food-grade Fonterra buckets, upcycled and then filled with coffee grounds. The result: beautiful, nutritious and otherworldly pink and grey fungus.

Grey and pink Oyster mushrooms growing in the upcycled Fonterra food grade buckets (not plastic bags), housed in the shipping container next to St. Chad’s Church.

 

Reusable Nappies - The New Norm

Kinderen Early Childhood Education Centre received the NPDC Waste Levy Fund this November for the purchase of reusable nappies to exclusively be used at their centre. With policies and procedures already in place, they are poised to make the transition. In order to commend their bold efforts to enact change as well as bring awareness to this more sustainable approach to running a childcare centre, we have named Kinderen our Sustainable Business Champion this month.

Kinderen’s bold steps to implement reusable nappies and create the “new norm” is a trendsetting challenge!

With the help of the NPDC Waste Levy Fund, the centre will divert 200 to 250 nappies each week, or the equivalent of two completely filled yellow top bins. That’s a lot of nappies - around 10,500 a year just to paint a bigger picture of how much potential there is divert waste from our landfills.

Sarah from Kinderen Early Childhood Centre is holding the charcoal nappy inserts and Chirpy Cheeks outer. At her feet is the bokashi bucket they now use as part of their composting system, thanks to the inspiration from Let’s Compost Workshops.

 

Marfell Community Garden Hui

November / Whiringa-ā-Rangi

Kua raumati, kua kaha te rā.
It has now become summer, and the sun has acquired strength. Provided by Maramataka | the Māori lunar calendar

What better way to celebrate the warming of the soil than to plant some kai? The Marfell Community Garden is full steam ahead, and after just 3 working bees there are now 16 rows of various veggies donated by local families and our local Mitre 10 Mega, a bean frame, kumara and corn patch, as well as some native trees and flowers along the fence perimeter. Not to mention, the Lorax would be proud to see the rapid growth of the native tree forest planted along the Manguatuku stream adjacent to the garden. A big thank you to the many hands who made light work! The rotary hoe donated by Tool Hire Taranaki created the foundation for the rows, and the manure donated by Vicky Ashton (Robert Angus Real Estate) and an Ōakura supporter, and compost donated by Russell from Return 2 Earth all adds extra goodness to the soil.

The laughter of so many children and the positive vibes from neighbours doing the mahi stirs up a sense of purpose, connection and community aroha.

Urs, Community Garden Program Coordinator, planting a pumpkin seedling with Briana and Jenna at the first Marfell Community Garden Working Bee.

 

Christmas Zero Waste Wrapping Pop Up

The Junction Reuse shop on Colson Road. will be hosting a holiday event to help minimise the use of single use plastics in gift wrapping. Just in time for Christmas and the shopping madness, the team at The Junction are helping those who might need a little inspiration or would like a one-stop-shop to purchase, create and wrap something affordable and environmentally friendly while saving time.

Learn about Furoshiki wrapping (Japanese cloth wrapping) and gather ideas for using your kids artwork or music sheets as wrapping paper. Recycling tips for the silly season will be a plenty at this gathering.

Purchase a planter or upcycled ceramic vessel at The Junction Reuse shop, and we will supply you with a seedling to put in it as well as some ideas for wrapping and presenting it.

This is an ongoing event held between 10am and 1pm outside of The Junction Reuse shop on Colson Road, next to the recycling facility. We hope to see you there! Be sure to check out the Facebook event for updates and ideas.