NEW ZEALAND GARDENER – DEEP SOUTH
'Congratulations to Robert Guyton on winning Southland 'Gardener of the Year' for New Zealand Gardener magazine for his wide variety of educational projects involving seeds, gardens and orchards.
He gained:
• national recognition - and good profile for our projects down south
• some great prizes- his favourites - a stainless steel spade and fork.
• new connections:
Mark Christianson is another regional winner who has researched and promoted the very healthful Monty’s Surprise apple- he contacted Robert offering scion wood for our next grafting weekend and we hope to send in return some cuttings of our rarest Southland Heritage apples for him to trial and test.
• A Part time Job
Robert is writing a regular feature for New Zealand’s fresh look Supreme Winner of Magazine of the Year – New Zealand Gardener. With a monthly ‘to do ‘section and a bevy of snippets drawn from his Riverton garden, Robert hopes that as the South of the South representative amongst the regular writers, he will attract a whole new readership for the magazine. If the reverse happens, and the South Island sales fall to zero, he expects to get the boot!
Pod Casting
In early February four of our group attended a day long Pod-casting workshop. We hope to soon start making pod-casts that can be accessed from our website. These can be audio or video clips. These can also be downloaded on to MP3’s and IPOD’s so lots of potential here for us at little cost to spread information.
World Environment Day 4 June – 2008 Theme:
‘Kick the habit’ (the carbon habit)
What would be some worthwhile activities or event we could do in Southland?
(this year there is funding available to help advertise and run something that will involve lots of Southlanders)
Email your bright ideas to us at the South Coast Environment Centre before the 25th of March and we could make your great idea a reality!
Audio Visual Upgrade
Our 11 year old TV/video set was not accepting modern videos and we had no way of plugging a DVD in- So now we needed a modern audio visual set up.
Bari Caine kindly dontated her new video player when she shifted back to USA last year and last week we bought a new TV and a DVD player excellent quality on super special! We expect trouble free showings of educational programmes from now on!
Marketing Workshop
Robyn recently attended this excellent workshop with specialist a Marketing Educator, who was on Te papa Marketing team when it first opened! Great ideas and resources were shared…. making brochures, advertising events, magazine and radio statistics and costs for advertisements etc. Designed a draft ‘Marketing Plan’ for our Centre and we have since formed a sub committee to finalise this. This will enable us publish an effective brochure and business card following their guidelines. It will also enable us to advertise events more effectively knowing how to reach our target audiences.
RIVERTON ESTUARY CARE SOCIETY INC
National news item filmed on the reserve.
TV3 News spent a morning filming on the reserve for a summertime slot, looking at whitebait and the habitat the group has created for them at Te Wai Korari. The piece screen a month later and was seen by many people here in Riverton and of course around the country. It played well by all accounts (the ‘talent’ didn’t get to see it!)
Barberry funding.
The funding secured by the Estuary Care group is being put to the use it was intended – removing the barberry that is spreading into the reserve from the roadside. To date we have ‘;mapped’ the infestation and devised some non-herbicide methods of removal, in line with our newly drawn chemical-free policy. This presents a challenge that we are rising to meet.
Community Workers
We have had three different people ‘working off some community hours’ clipping off broom and gorse re-growth. Next we will use a ‘whipper snapper’ to keep the paths clear. It is a lovely place on a good day and you are welcome to come and join our working bees. Leave your contact details at the Centre.
Clean Rivers
Our campaign to highlight water quality issues in Southland has gone well. We have been a vocal part in raising the issues of water misuse and have provided some thoughtful solutions for consideration. (Thanks Yvonne) In response to our letters to the editor and our very successful petition (thanks Doetie). Environment Southland has taken to referring to Riverton and our concerns in many of their press releases and reports. The battle for cleaner rivers is far from over and we have no plans to stop our questions and suggestions.
page seven
back to front cover
