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What's NewGreen Gardener A diary of a green garden in the South. Southlands best environmental blog :http://robertguyton.blogspot.com 2010 is the YEAR OF BIODIVERSITY - what a great theme for our groups; heritage fruit and veges, permaculture gardens and caring for local natural ecosystems all come under this. Please let us know if you have ideas for how we can promote these this year. JulyJuly Coastline is out now Don't miss Te Radar's show comng to Riverton 9th August July 16th This years Fruit tree list now on line Open Orchard Project Check our Dairy of Events for pruning workshops over the winter Check out these two new discussion forums News and opinions from Shadbolt Country out of our own back yards (ooooby) JuneThe June Coastline is out now June Coastline MayNZ Gardener editor visited the Centre and the Farmers Market on the 29th- it was great to share what we are doing down here- and who knows we might get a mention in the magaizine in the future? May Coastline now out17 May 2010 Radar Show After a day an a half of filming and a 6 month wait we were finally on the last Radar show last night (Sunday 23rd). The 5 minutes of exposure was well done and portrayed our Centre, seed saving, our food forest and orchard project in good light - but all too brief. If you missed it we will get a copy of the tape and add it to our Centres archives. This is the link to TV On Demand- we are in chapter 2, after an ad and the possum fur article! http://tvnz.co.nz/radars-patch/2010-e8-video-3563200  We are now Trade Aid Agents and have just received a shipment of trade aid merchandise which we are promoting for the month of May. From Coffee to Neem Soap, Toys, Cards, Paper and heaps more. Feel free to browse Trade Aid's catalogue which is available from the Environment Centre. AprilSome 2010 Harvest Festival Photos are loaded here now! What a way to repaint the building- get an international artist to help! We were planning to repaint our mushroomy-beige building and were at the 'debating of which colour to go for' stage when a couple of wwoofer's Alex and Vanessa arrived in town. It just so happened Alex was a very talented muralist- so we thought why not! Alex studied our website, drew an amazing design and we were in action. With Vanessa and other volunteers doing the easy stuff like cleaning brushes and preparing the walls it took about a week to transform the building. It looks wonderful- we will post up a photo soon- or come on out and see it for yourself.Newspaper Article MarchThere was an extensive article in the Southland times mainly about our orchard project but also promoting the harvest festival 'Oldies but Goodies' Festival Report:We had a great weekend and people even travelled from as far away as Dunedin to attend some of the 40 workshops that ran over the weekend. The bigger hall was a much better venue for the displays and inspite of the difficult growing season we still had a good range of different of fruit and vege varieties on show. We had more people than last year visit the hall inspite of clashing with many other Southland Events this year. The Saturday night feast was enjoyed by all and having the candle light only from 8.30-9.30 was very fitting. We were entertained by David Clapp (poetry), Norman Blakely (Gaelic songs) and Adam Guyton (Celtic Music). Four people competed during the evening for the Champion of the Harvest Trophy, the winner for 2010 is Maggie Elford from Invercargill! We need your photos! If you have photos from the festival please email them to us so we can make up a Fesitival 2010 photo display. Ideas,comments suggestions for next year? We really want feed back for this annual event so we can continue to evlove it into something wonderful and lasting. A big thank you to all those who helped behind the scenes - setting up displays, helping with registrations and staffing the Centre in what was our busiest weekend over! Thank you to all the business who dontated prizes: Mrs Clarkes cafe, SPG (Stationary Presents and Gifts), Riverton Pharmacy, Diacks Nursery, Hammer Hardware, Riverton Paua Shop, Te Hikoi, Ocean Shell, Riverton Organic Food Co-op, and Peter Aalders for the amazing trophy http://www.woodcraft.co.nz Thank you also to Sam Roberts who took photos of all the fruit and vege creations when they arrived. 17 March 2010 Coastline out now Harvest Festival 27 & 28th March! Events, Workshop outlines and registration forms now on line Heritage Harvest Festival FebruaryFollow this link to hear a recording of a National Radio show on our Heritage Orchard Project Open Orchard Project Saturday 13th 7pm 'An introduction to Biodynamic farming and gardening' speaker Peter Baker (from the NZ Biodynamic Assn) at the Riverton Environment Centre (Koha $2+)- if there is enough interest he will run a Sunday workshop- details to be arranged after the talk. Feel free to join us earlier 5.30-6pm for a pot luck tea with him. We have noticed over the years in the Food co-op that fresh produce grown under this label(Demeter) tends to look better and keep better than other organic produce so recommend growers take a look! The Environment Centre now stocks WASHING SODA @ $2.60/kg what can I make with it? JanuaryBusy summer We have had a very busy time over the summer with the many visitors to the Centre- some days nearly 100 people called in! Centre revamp We have also spent some time looking at each display and each area of the Centre to see how it could be better utilized- after 8 years in one building we had a few tired items and some spaces needed reorganised. We have made a larger area for seating and located the library in that area- This bigger flexible space down one side for meetings, events, workshops, eco movie nights etc has openned the building up and has created a nicer atmosphere. It is work in progress come and check it out and further suggestions or help always welcome. We are also painting the front of our building for our new look. DecemberSCES Annual Report 2009 We have had a busy year- read all about it! Heritage Orchard Project Outline requesting support for stage two. Estuary Care Banners Check out the wonderful banners flying down the length of Riverton main street. These feature our local estuary and were designed by year 10 students at Aparima College. These were sponsored by Riverton Esturay Care. They will be flying for the summer then we can hang them up high in the Environment Centre! Having trouble with Slugs and snails click this link for our newly compiled info sheet. Lindsay McGarry has passed away as a result Motor Neurone Diseasein mid December. Lindsay has been our very much appreciated local organic market gardener since he and Debbie shifted to Riverton several years ago. He was a colourful character who always had a joke to tell along with the latest P.O.D. 'profit of doom' message. He always seemed to be first to know about the latest environmental disaster or threat to our health that was just on the horizon. Occasionally they would actually come true! We will miss him and our thoughts go out to Debbie and the extended family. Organic group 20 year celebration Sunday 13th December. About 25 people came to this indoor "Garden Party" we had lots of appolgies as it was that busy time of year. We shared the highlights of the last 20 years though photos and slide shows and it was especially nice to see Peter and Marijkes photos- they started 30 years ago! November 2009 November 24th This week we had a visit from Joanna Pearsall and Bryan Innes, Permaculture teachers, from Taupo (also organisers of the Nth Island ECO Shows) and their Austrian friend Kristof who imports scythes and runs workhops on their use. We only had a days notice of their arrival so too late to organise anything but Adam has bought a scythe if anyone is interested in seeing this 'state of the art' tool. It was great to have them stay and swap ideas, books, resources etc. They were very impressed with our environment centre and what we are doing down here in the Deep South. It was great to have such dynamic and interesting people to stay. They are leaders for permaculture in NZ. Rural Heritage day Contribution- we braved the wind and presented 8 display boards portraying our 'Heritage Orchard Project' November 13th 14th Permaculture Events - Hosted Nelson Lebo and Danneille from USA - Nelson presented two slide presentations; one on their self-sufficient property in New Hampshire and another on their proposed ECO College in South America. Nelson also held a workshop on tools and techniques for weeding, human scale, thinking all the time about how to use our energy in the most efficient way. It was great to share ideas and experiences with other like-minded folk. Coming soon- 20th Birthday Celebrations for the Organic group- slide shows, pot luck feast/garden party and more! Please register your interest for this early Dec event. Te Radar programme filmed in Riverton It was great to have Radar (the fellow who lived off his land in a caravan - TV1) and a dedicated film crew in Riverton for the last two days. They were filming for the next series, due to screen in Autumn next year. Their focus was seed-saving and food-forests but the Centre and our orchard project were also included. Radar slept in our loft above the garage amongst Adams seed collection! They were very impressed with the Centre and our projects. We had lots to talk about and share on and off the camera and we have organised to have Radar come back to Riverton next year to present one of his comedy/opinion shows. October 2009We send our best wishes to Henry Harrington (our Seed Saver founder) who has recently shifted north to Cheviot. His daughter lives up there and he was reluctant to leave Southland and his home of many years in Ohai. The good news is that he is getting well looked-after and it is not so bad after all! The address if you would like to write or visit him is Cheviot House Rest Home, 20 Reeves St, CHEVIOT. We were pleased to be able to let Henry know that a TV One film crew will be in Riverton for a couple of days in November, the filming focusing on Seed Saving and Food Forests. We will let you know when the programme will be aired. We are sad to report that Lindsay McGarry AKA Granma's Growers has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease so his growing days are pretty much over. The disease is progressing very quickly and there is no cure. I am sure he and Debbie would appreciate letters and visits over the next few months to keep their spirits up. His address is Castle St Riverton. Organic Farm NZ workshop October 31st 1-4pm, 20 Thames St Riverton- all interested welcome Click here for our latest Coastline Newsletter 12 October 2009 Heritage Apple Grafting workshop. Saturday 3rd October 1.30pm at the Guytons place, 20 Thames St Riverton. Come along and choose from 30 varities (see scion wood list on Open Orchard page) $10 and one grafted tree = $10 $3 for every extra tree. Bring a craft knife or secuteurs and a PB3 size pot with soil in for each tree you would like. See you there! September 2009Seed Saving The final seed list is finally up- sorry about the delay but we worked as hard as we could with the small team we had- why don't you become an active member of seed savers by growing and bulking up our seed resources or help out in winter packing up the seeds and making the catalogue- fun and worthwhile! Contact the centre for details. Part time work available Are you multi talented, have good organisational skills, are passionate about the environment and looking for a great part time job- we have an opening for a co- co-ordinator at the South Coast Environment Centre to work with Robyn to keep the Centre, its projects and educational programmes running smoothly. Contact Robyn at the centre for further information. AUGUST 2009Orchard workshop Friday 21st 3pm -5.30 RIVERTON - planting, pruning, fruit tree care and orchard design contact centre 2348717 for details SEED SAVERS WORKING BEES- got spare time this week call in to the Centre and help packet up seeds for the Seed savers network- ring and check that Robyn or Yvonne are there first and we will be grateful for an hour or twos help. Coastline Newsletter now out on the 5th of each month- articles, advertisements in by last day of each month please. August 5th Coastline out nowFriday and Saturday 14th & 15th of August 10.30-4.30 heritage fruit trees for sale at Centre. Orders can be picked up then and there are 12 varieties of apples and 3 varieties of pears still available on a first in first served basis for those who forgot to order!. (as at 10am Thursday 20th) Fruit Tree List 16 August 2009 Be quick these wont last! Four Fruit Tree pruning workshops this week see Diary of Events for details. Monday 17th early afternoon SEED SAVING speaker from Nelson who has specialised in tomatoes and peppers. He has over 600 varieties of seeds to share and swap with our Seed Savers Network and is talking about his passion. All welcome. Held at the Centre- phone for final details. July 2009ORGANIC FARMER NZ - small farmer/gardener organic certification Free Workshop in Southland 11am Saturday 1st August at Makarewa contact Centre for more details. Andy Barrett coming down from Dunedin to introduce this those interested in Southland and walk around a small mixed farm near Invercargill outlining certification requirements. This gives the same high standard organic certification for selling to the NZ market as Bio Gro and Agriquality but it is much cheaper because it is managed and assessed locally- perfect for small holdings feeding into farmers markets etc. Open Orchard Update: Fruit trees- only 6 weeks until they arrive list is updated every 2 weeks with the varieties available- you can also order white heart Hazelnuts. Pruning workshops this month- contact us if your interested for times and dates. Now selling apple peelers as a fund raiser- these old fashion style metal gadgets peel, slice and core apples all in one action in 10 seconds flat - great gifts $29 each or two for $55 June 2009Lots of courses coming up- Natural Cleaners and Skin Care, Pruning and grafting Fruit Trees, Winter vegetable gardening, Setting up an orchard or buying fruit trees for the first time. Great opportunities to learn new skills and save money. Courses available this winter New Recipe Section Updated Fruit Tree list for 30 May- Fruit Tree List May 2009 From now on orders will be filled on a first in basis. Usual limit 5 trees per person with spares offered in August pick up. Estuary Care AGM This group has acheived many great things over the last 14 years- secured, protected and developed a 16 hectare wetland reserve on the edge of town- started the 'drains are for rain' initiative in Southland, has held two estuary festivals-This year they are sponsoring a series of town banners promoting the Estuary. What's next? Come along, show your support and be part of their exciting future projects. Meeting Tuesday 2nd June 7.30pm. May 2009May Coastline out now We have had a busy month as you will read in our coastline thus the lack of information here! My apologies. Starting this week our Friday night soup nights begin again- bring soup, bread or a gold coin donation per person and enjoy a convivial evening around the fire with like minded folk. We will be having a short DVD or presentation each night 7-7.3pm See you there sometime soon. In June our Farmers Market is going to be on Saturdays from 10.30am -1pm as the milk truck is having three month off over the winter. We will still be open late night Friday night. From June we will be starting a new series of workshops pruning, grafting etc and welcome suggestions for other workshops- we have a good range of very able tutors so could pretty much run a course on any topic related to the environment or sustainability - let us know what interests you. office@sces.org.nz April 2009:April Coastline out now. Orchard Project- visits to larger orchards to identify apples is taking place now- please send in four of the best apples from your individual trees with the location and your contact details now. SUBS ARE NOW DUE for 2009/10 Please join up and support our great organisation! Courses coming up: Starting soon "Earth Craft skills" Each week we will have a theme- e.g. bee keeping & candle making- then paper making and recycling... next, making new soil and growing food. Although aimed at kids- we welcome parents too- there are now 2 generations in NZ who have missed out on those self sufficiency skills that our grandparents used to survive the wars and the depression- and really it fun- so come along and be part of it all. $5 child, one accompanying parent free. Starting term Two! Please contact the Centre if your family is interested. ARCHIVED: March 2009Our first Heritage Harvest Festival was a great success. The display hall looked marvelous and we estimated we had 450 people visited the festival over the weekend. The good range of quality workshops were appreciated by the participants. The family Celtic Barn Dance was great fun. We are already planning next years event and welcome suggestions and comments. A big thankyou to all those who helped out in so many ways espeicially volunteers Jacqui, Diana and Robert who each put in hours of work supporting Robyn, the Festival Co-ordinator. More Festival photos  A special thank you to the businesses of Riverton who supported the festival in various ways: Maori Art Studio, Riverton Pharmacy, SPG (Stationary, Presents and Gifts), The Globe, Mrs Clarks cafe, Riverton Hammer Hardware, Stem side Up,Dawn barry Studio, Earthware, Riverton Primary School, Aparima College and also Diacks from Invercargill. Heritage Harvest Festival Weekend March 28th & 29th A weekend of displays, workshops and family fun all themed on heritage fruit and veges, how to choose them, grow them, harvest them and preserve them. Workshops on seed saving, cider making, preserving fruit, propagating berries, what to plant in Autumn etc. Bring a long a sample of your heritage produce for the display. Wanted more volunteers for setting up, staffing stalls and cleaning up. Let's all work together to make this a successful annual event! BE PART OF THE ACTION
All ten environmental groups in Riverton always welcome new members or volunteers, they have lots of projects on the go around our local area or 'behind the scenes' in the Centre itself. February 2009Walk for the Planet Welcome to the Food Forest This quality mini movie (8.5 minutes long)has been made by Otago University film making students and is well worth a look. You can watch it at the Environment Centre-or buy a copy ($7.00)with $2 from every DVD going to the Environment Centre. It tells the story of the Guyton's moving to Riverton and developing their organic food forest while their more conservative neighbour comments from 'her side of the fence'- very entertaining! January 2009It was lovely to receive a visit from Meg who works for Eco Matters in Auckland, along with her husband. - It was great to hear what her Environment Centre is up to as well as sharing what we do down here. These links are so important as it is inspiring and encouraging to meet other who are working so passionately in the same field as us. Children's activities We now have weekly challenges and excursions - see our new ECO Kids page Riverton has an annual Christmas Parade every New Years Eve. This is our 2008 entry a lovely little Morris Oxford covered in fruit and vegetables! Did you know we sell:
Vege seedlings, native trees, berry bushes, herbs, pre European seed potatoes, certified organic plant mixes, bokashi kits, niwashi garden tools,Kings and Koanga seeds, bird nesting boxes and feeding tables, range of books and magazines, eco friendly cleaning products, moon calendars and a huge range of organic food...... We have a lovely little grain mill available for families to buy a share in- it is based in the centre. This article on Climate Change is well worth a read. I especially like the last paragraph. Check out the action in Otago at this website: Otepoti Urban Organics 20 October 2008 and March 19th 2009 we are hosted a large groups of teachers from around Southland. They are in Riverton to see the school and community Gardens and orchards, visiting the Environment Centre and learning easy ways to get their students growing their own food. Great web site discovered primalseeds.org all about seeds saving, sprouting and finding was to plant more food especially in urban areas. It also has great information on composting and gardening- add it to your favourites and explore it when you have time. Wide publicity: In the last few weeks Sept 08, we have had 30 articles in four different publications. The orchard project, community gardens, instant garden beds, seed saving and the workshops we run have all featured!! We have never been so popular! We had a national demand for our garden beds after the Close Up program and now have authorised Instant Garden kit makers in Auckland, Nelson and just finalising one in Christchurch. We were not keen to freight the 9kg kits,(not eco friendly) so it is great to have depots elsewhere to satisfy that demand. It is great to think that we are giving new and old gardeners an easy way to set up no-dig gardens in more areas in NZ. If you or your community groups want to make them in your area contact us for further details. Orchard Project There has been a great response to our article in the Southern Express about the heritage fruit tree project and we are now busy planning workshops and gathering the cuttings from the old trees. These cuttings grafted on to young root stock will keep these varieties living for the next century. We have just visited Captain Howells first Orchard at Eastbourne- and as the founder of the first European settlement in NZ they could be the oldest fruit trees in NZ. We are looking for a permanent base for a Southland Heritage Orchard that could be kept safe and could be open to the public four or five times a year for at least 100 years - any suggestions? We would also like to lease a bare but sheltered 1/4 acre (safe from animals) to store this collection of young trees until we can find a permanent base (1-2 years)we would prefer somewhere near Riverton. Open Orchard Project: Our application for funding to the sustainable farming fund was successful!- This means that as we travel to each corner of Southland saving and identifying fruit trees our petrol money is covered and like wise no travel costs for pruning and grafting workshops. We also have money to buy 200 rootstocks for grafting one of each of Southland's heritage fruit trees on for a public scion bank. LeT us know is you would like us to come and run workshops in your area or if you know of some old fruit trees that are worth saving. Permaculture Course April 2008 a huge success Our 'first time in Southland' 'International Permaculture Design Course' was fantastic- 6 Southlander's were joined by six multinational enthusiasts and together we expanded our horizons and learnt about the details of living with the smallest possible footprint- We had great debates and the ideas came from all sides- now we hope to use this new found knowledge in Southland to make a difference... 19th January 2008: The NZAEE (Environmental Educators) conference ran a full and interesting programme so networking was squeezed into the gaps! Only three Environment Centres were represented, Invercargill, Hawkes Bay and Riverton. The bulk of attendees were from NZ District and Regional Councils! There were many people from overseas including two keynote speakers plus workshop presenters. There were several good websites referred to which I will add a link to- but if anyone has specific queries don't hesitate to email us and ask and we are happy to share more. useful websites (and books). |
This walk started on Stewart Island and some of the walkers enjoyed a day in Riverton on Friday 27th before they started the Bluff to Invercargill leg of their walk to Wellington (sat 29th). They are gathering the written thoughts of those they meet on the way to present to Parliament. Try and catch them and walk a while as they pass your way.
They enjoyed a visit to our Environment Centre, our Community Orchard, our combined school vegetable gardens and Guytons' Food Forest- and as usual our weather was gorgeous for them!
