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WINTER 2006Inside this issue:
SOUTHCOAST ENVIRONMENT CENTRE 10 YEARS OLD It might surprise you to read that the Environment Centre has been operating for ten years now. Not only that, but it is now the longest running of all the Environment Centres open throughout the whole of New Zealand! Riverton now enjoys nation-wide recognition in this field and we were reminded of this by Amanda Turner from the Ministry for the Environment who made the journey from Wellington to pass on the congratulations of the Ministry and news of the Centre’s success with the latest funding round from the Government. We were delighted to be able to provide perfect weekend weather for our visitor from the North and for the many other guests who came from throughout Southland. Frana Cardno enjoyed the warmth and friendliness of the Centre and stayed for hours taking with other supporters and guests about the exciting projects underway in the town. Frana spoke to the crowd during the festivities and emphasised the importance of the Centre to Riverton and talked of her desire to see others like ours in every Southland town. Bala Tikkisetty from Environment Southland reiterated Frana’s comments and added that the success of ventures like ours relies on a combination of local government help and active, motivated community members. We were all proud of the way the Centre looked, the number of supporters who came to the10th ‘birthday’ party, the kind words of the Mayor and other guest speakers and the positive feeling of everyone at the celebration. The South Coast Environment Centre has continued to grow in strength since its inception ten years ago and looks to be attracting more and more support from around the country. Please feel free to visit the Centre and see for yourself. Our staff will make you feel very welcome. Book mark this website Our active web site is updated weekly.
Save it in your ‘favourites’ and be informed and up-to-date. www.sces.org.nz SOCIETY NEWS Our AGM was held on the 13th of June Office Bearers for 2006/7 Chairperson: Jacqui Anderson Deputy Chair: Robyn Guyton Secretary: Wendy McIntosh Treasurer: Sharon Robinson Committee: Tim Anderson Debbie McGarry Lindsay McGarry Nick Kiddey Robert Guyton Doetie Kiezer Yvonne Sharp Lynne Grove Causal committee members: Peter & Marijke Aalders Geoff Dembo Chairperson's Report 2006 The rest of the year pales into insignificance behind last weekend. Our 10 year celebration on Saturday was the result of careful planning, and time spent sorting and display of achievements and events, from our establishment in the old library to settlement here in the main street. It was good to be able to put a face to Amanda Turner, our contact in the Ministry for the Environment. The Centre looked great on the day, busy and interesting and buzzed with conversations around the room from many supporters. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this successful public presentation. The medieval banquet went off famously too, thanks to whole families getting into costume, great food and a few bottles of mead. The late stayers were treated to some surprising acts of expertise especially from the jugglers. Our trusty office team has been strengthened by the capable skills of Wendy who has been able to take over many tasks that previously took up Robyn's time. Between Wendy and Yvonne a large of opening hours are covered which is a huge relief. With Wendy comes the asset of Carl who regularly shops for us after work. Sharon has decreased her hours at the Centre as a result of teacher aiding at school but has still found the time to do most of the minutes in the last year as well as keeping the Centre's finances tidy. This is not easy to find the right person for this and we are grateful for Sharon's cheerful efficiency in this area. Yvonne has expanded her skills in many areas this year- research, computing, seed cataloguing, KCC teacher aiding, financial manager for the organic food co-op, and general smoother-over of volunteer crises. Thanks to Debbie who eased the weekend volunteer problem by taking over Saturdays and combining it with Centre cleaning. And speaking of McGarrys what would we do with out the colourful addition of Lindsay to our meetings and lives. No- one who was there will ever forget the enactment of the McGarry answer to the bird flu pandemic with compassionate thought for neighbours and friends. Lindsay continues to be a strong advocate for the Centre especially in the area of chemical free alternatives and is one of the reasons demand for organic produce at the weekly farmers market has doubled in the short time it has been operating. On Lindsay's suggestion, the adoption of a Code of Ethics for the Centre should strengthen us in the event of controversial issues in the future. Nick joined our environmental community during the year when he became Emma's flatmate. His innovative ideas and humour will see him working effectively with many different groups. Thanks also to Geoff who designed our website for maximum ease of use. It has already been updated efficiently by Robyn and others. Thanks to our Education team Robert (based once again in Riverton) Robyn, Lynne and Doetie, KCC has been running again, and many groups have had sessions both in and out of the Centre- a group of American students, 8 primary classes in Frog Week, University of the Third Age in Guyton’s garden, and the Gore Garden group to name a few. The 'Recreate in Riverton' programme over the three days of Queen's Birthday Weekend 2005 also involved several of our teachers, in the cob oven, seed ball and children's art workshops. The Toilet Team of Tim and Jacqui, aided by several WWOOFer’s, finally finished this urgent project last month. Thanks to all the groups for financial input, Hammer Hardware for the use of their loo in the meantime and Community Trust for funding. The internal wood box is already proving popular during southerly weather. Thanks to everyone else who has had an input over the year- all our dedicated volunteers, regular shoppers and enthusiastic WWOOFers who keep us in touch with the world. My hope for this next year is that we pick up on some good ideas we have not had time for yet e.g. the Eco Show and Bird Feeding workshop and make a point of using the Year Planner in the office so that we plan for big activities like putting together the Coastline and funding applications and spread the load around more evenly. We need to guard against our valuable members being worn out. Let's look after one another even better this year! Thanks and best wishes to you all. Jacqui Anderson SUBS FOR 2006/7 ARE DUE June onwards each year. (Sub form emailed on request) Please keep your membership up to date- it is only $15 a family. Please also fill in the survey form at the back so we can plan programmes to suit your needs and let you know if something that you may be interested in is happening. In return, as a member you receive our Coastline Newsletter and can borrow books from our library. When we apply for project funding providers often look at our level of membership to assess whether they will support us. INTRODUCING WENDY……. My name is Wendy McIntosh and I joined the SCES Office Team in February. For the last 28 years I have been living in Hamilton and working as a Radiographer at Waikato Hospital. My husband, Carl and I decided that we wanted a change of lifestyle and so have made the move south to Riverton where we have purchased the crib that belonged to my aunt and uncle. It is returning to the scene of many happy childhood memories for me and is a place that I have always found very special. Both Carl and I really love being here and are settling in to the district. It seems that I have connections here from way back as I found out recently that my great Grandfather used to own a Butcher shop in Riverton! I haven’t had any work experience in the Environmental area but this has always been of interest to both Carl and me. I hope that I can work in the background and let other more creative types concentrate on being creative! I am enjoying doing the ordering for the Food Co-op and hope to introduce more New Zealand made and grown items. If there is anything that I can do for people, let me know and I will do my best! For those of you I have yet to meet, please introduce yourselves and I look forward to working with you in the future. TOILET UPGRADE Last month the upgrade of the toilet facilities was completed. This will enable a larger section of the population to come and see what we have on offer. This also provides an opportunity for potential new volunteers. Our next project will be to add a ramp to the front door entranceway to make entry for those in wheelchairs more assessable. A big thank you to the Community Trust of Southland for providing 40% of the costs. Riverton Estuary Care Group donated $1000 and Riverton Organic Group has pledged $500 over a year. A huge ‘Thank You’ to Tim Anderson who donated most of the labour voluntarily. He started off with the smallest, dampest, darkest and dingiest toilet on the main street. A few weeks later-the best in the South! A fully compliant, wood-lined, sunny, 5 star facility. A 'must go' when you are next in the Centre. SCHOOL VISITS We continue to be a popular destination for visiting school groups as with so many qualified teachers on our education team our educational opportunities are of high standard and well appreciated. Lawrence Area School are longest-travelled visitors in Term one with 40 children and half as many adults again. We had to set up some of the activities in Flecks hall next door. The parents enjoyed the eight activities as much as the children! Last week our closest visit, three blocks, 30 children from Riverton Kindergarten came as part of their fish study. Many of the parents had never been to the Centre and were very impressed. The puppets were a great draw-card. Thank you to Yvonne who has been busy as ‘teacher’s aid’ making and gathering resources behind the scenes We also ran a ‘NEXT 10 YEARS’ competition asking children what they would like to see by 2016 in our local environment. 6 lucky winners got book vouchers and their entries were displayed so that everyone could see their dreams and wishes, in the window during June. RIVERTON KCC regularly has 10-15 children meeting after school on a Thursday. The theme for Autumn 06 was sea life included national ‘Sea Week activities’. We encouraged the children to enter an Albatross colouring in competition and congratulations to Daniel who won one of only three National Prizes. He received a wonderful book, poster and more. Term Two we studied Fossils, Skeletons and Rocks. This included a visit to the living fossil, the Tuatara, at the Southland Museum, visits to gem stone beach and the Cliften caves. We really need more helpers because of the age range and interests of the children. We had to change recently to a ‘families only’ KCC and meet at weekends because our adult to children ratio was too low for after school outings, there were also too many to be inside the whole time. If you would like to help out with this club and/or for your children to be involved leave your contact details at the Centre or Phone Lynne directly 03 2349 357. ECO-ACTION for STUDENTS Also needed - some adults to help alongside the students and/or with transport etc. ) 10- 18 year olds can now get out and do something for the environment. Meeting weekly to do projects that make a difference. This terms activities:
Get active and be the Generation that fixed the environment ! TRAVEL MILES Our August window display will be about travel miles for food and goods that are in our NZ shops. Read the labels and you may be surprised where our NZ branded products source their raw materials from. Be an informed consumer and support sustainable ‘low travel miles’ products. For food the very best thing are farmers markets - local growers selling directly to locals. Riverton has had an ‘organic only’ farmers market running for 5 months now. If a town of 1500 can do it- so can you! There is now a NZ Farmers Markets umbrella group to help you, so contact them and start one up in your area. For other goods, now is the time to support local businesses and manufacturers. Get behind new local initiatives. They might cost a little more but you may need them in the future. As petrol prices go up and up you may not be able to afford many imported products and you may have to do without, if is not made in NZ! CAR POOL NETWORK- Check out and use our new board in the window and share transport with others. Phone the Centre or drop in and we can put your notice up. We are all pioneers for future sustainable lifestyles. We are now getting overseas visitors coming specifically to Riverton and our Environment Centre as they have recognised that, in this corner of the world, we are the ‘switched on’ place. They find out about us mainly by word of mouth. They come especially to share their ideas and experiences with us hoping to help us do our work even more effectively. Sarah and Rick from California with a lot of experience in organic co-ops and other environmental projects searched out the eco-friendly communities around NZ and were very impressed with our Environment Centre, the information we have available and our related activities; ‘the best in NZ by far.’ They spoke at length about how important the Centre is and that NZ has a chance to turn itself around- the problems of un-sustainability in America are too big and too deep. They left a page of useful web sites and contact details of similar groups for us to network with. Carl from Canada is part of a team building an eco-community in and abandoned military base in Canada. The community’s web site is fantastic, but in French. Carl hopes to link up with us and network on sharing sustainability ideas. He was like-wise on a mission looking for groups like ours. When Steve, an American Wwoofer arrived and offered to share with us his DVD’s to watch as a group we jumped at the chance. For three Thursdays in a row we watched ‘PEAK OIL’, ‘FOOD for a FUTURE’, and one about Post Carbon Communities. These were full of details about the ‘Bigger Picture’ that we get snippets about in our local newspaper. We were all quite shocked at some of the information they contained and I think we are all looking differently at current world events and news. We hope to buy a copy of them all to lend free from the Centre. To conclude…the Environment Centre and all the groups within it are on the right track to give people in our area information to build a sustainable future. Now is the right time for all of us to reconsider our values and begin taking more action over these issues. We can be pioneers of the sustainable lifestyles of the future. We can network with many other groups around the globe who are working also working on this to share information and ideas. This will help our communities land a little a little more lightly if our present worldwide ‘unsustainable lifestyles bubble’ bursts. It could well be that sometime soon the ‘First World’ may be looking towards the skills and resources of the ‘Third world’ to survive! But more likely the future will be the sustainable parts of the last few decades, with mix of traditional ways of yester-year, and modern innovations of now and the future. Each region will find their own solutions and create their own diverse blend of what is sustainable for their community. SUSTAINABLE HOUSEHOLDS This is a very worthwhile and acclaimed course that has been run throughout NZ. We are planning to run one in Riverton soon. Find out what choices you can you make in your household to save you money and energy, reduce your waste and streamline your systems. It will be run in 8 two hours sessions. Please contact the Centre if you are keen and we will plan the times to suit those interested. A SOUTHLAND ECO SHOW We read about the big one that has run in the North Island over the last couple of years and now we planning a smaller Southland version, inviting companies and organisations from all over NZ to gather in one place and advertise their product or service, everything from composting toilets to solar power, eco friendly paints to potato and corn starch disposable (via compost) plates and cutlery. We hope to have this at an Invercargill venue to maximise the educational effect for Southland and provide people in our province the some more informed eco friendly choices. We need a couple more enthusiastic people for ECO-Show organising team. Please phone the Centre if you are interested in helping Jacqui and Robyn with this worthwhile and much needed event. You may yourself wish to have a stall at this show or know someone else who would be keen. Please get them to contact the Centre directly so we can keep them informed of developments. RIVERTON ORGANIC FOOD CO-OP WINTER NEWS A steady increase in demand continues to keep us busy. At times products are sold out nationwide and we have to wait until the new batch is available. We have had to wait for sometime to get sugar and wonder if the extreme weather in Australia has affected this supply. Debbie has doubled her flock of organic free range eggs twice to keep up with our local needs. Gramma’s Growers are selling everything they grow, as fast as they can grow it, all locally. Let’s hope new Government initiatives, encouraging more organic growers fill some of these gaps. With energy costs rising wouldn’t it be great to have a sustainable supply of organic producer’s right here in Southland that is matching this growing demand in Southland. Yvonne has been doing a fantastic job keeping track of all the bills and accounts. Big thanks to her for her dedication. A big thank you also to Wendy who has quickly picked up the skills needed to take over the ordering. Robyn is now having a well earned break from this challenging role. Wendy works most week day mornings so give her a ring if you would like to pre order larger amounts. Thanks also to Doetie who is now making colourful, bold labels for the baskets of fruit and veges which can easily be seen from the counter which has been really appreciated. New products like Chantals cornflakes, gluten-free pasta and Leiveto bread from Dunedin have been appreciated. Remember, bring in any addresses of products you would like us to stock and we will do our best to track a supplier down. We always welcome volunteers -many hands make light work! You can also earn a discount on your food purchases if you help with the Co-op work, talk to Yvonne, Wendy or Robyn if you are interested. RIVERTON WEEKLY ORGANIC FARMERS MARKET, A GREAT SUCCESS! ‘Mmmmmm…..organic coffee piping hot with home baking & ‘fresh from the farm’ cream’. Lindsay McGarry from Grammas Growers with organic vegetables so green and healthy you can almost feel your arteries unclogging! Picked fresh that morning only $2.50 item. Peter and Glenys from Organic Acres sell fresh dairy products and a mouth watering selection of meats. We often have Riverton apples - most popular are real cooking apples that cook up soft and fluffy! We also have Debbie’s fresh free-range, organic eggs only $4.50 dozen. If you have excess in your garden come down and sell them too (must be chemical free). Why are Farmers Markets starting up all over NZ? Why are they so special? Unlike shop bought produce that can travel half way around the world and be weeks old, this is fresh, local & you can meet the farmer/grower in person. You just can’t buy better than that! Our Market has been going for 6 months and is getting busier and busier. The talking and sharing of ideas is positive offshoot. Robyn and I think Saturday Markets are a blast! Meet us there starting at 11am and finishing at 1pm, in front of the South Coast Environment Centre. So come along and stay a while, enjoy one of Hollie’s coffees, or Debbie’s Hot Organic Soup and browse through the Environment centre, open at the same time…….Cheers,Yvonne Sharp 2nd September at the First Spring Market Grandmas Growers will be back with their full range of vegetables plus jams and preserves. They have spent the winter increasing their plantings to satisfy the demand. (Lindsey reports that it was so windy the other night he not only suffered damage his brussel sprouts, the pattern blew off his best shirt!) APARIMA PEST BUSTERS AUTUMN NEWS: Planting Day at Mores Reserve Friday 21st April was an overcast day, but not even the threatening rain could dampen the enthusiasm of the people who had come to plant the 250 trees that were propagated by the Aparima Pest Busters. This project was part of an initiative organised by Warrick McCallum, to invite volunteers from the local community to participate in planting of these trees in an incredibly beautiful area in the Howell Hills above the Riverton township. Jimmy Dixon, Warrick's mate was down to business straight away with a spade in one hand and an armful of potted trees in the other. In Mores Reserve there are some cleared areas, and these need to be replanted with different types of tree species such as Wineberry, Fuschia and Coprosmas, that will provide a food source for the ever increasing numbers of native birds. While the fantails fluttered about, the sound of the excited chatter from the volunteers indicated that everyone was enjoying their work efforts. I spoke to 10 year old Jennifer Muhl who was plainly thrilled to be there. She had been busy before I arrived, planting away. She said it was great fun - perhaps a future environmentalist in the making. Jennifer told me that the trees provide berries for the birds, as well ‘the trees hold the soil together and prevent problems with landslides’. I actually planted a few trees myself under the direction of the experts. We provided recycled matting that was pinned down around the plants to keep them free from competing weeds until they grew tall enough to look after themselves. I found muscles I didn't know I had, but I thoroughly enjoyed participating with others in experiencing the satisfaction in the knowledge that this tree planting exercise was benefical to both man and bird alike. The success of the Pestbusters project "The Return of the Birds” can readily be seen in the large increase in the native bird population in the Reserve. Their members are actively involved in maintaining over four hundred bait stations in an endeavour to eliminate the rats, stoats and possums that threaten the future of the birds in the bush covered hills of the Reserve. Perhaps the final statement could go to 82 year old Jimmy Dixon who told me, "The secret to a long life is to keep busy". Cheers to the Aparima Pest Busters! Yvonne WINTER UPDATE: Pest Busters in the Spotlight Again! Once again our local pest busters have been rewarded for their work in the Mores Reserve, winning the Southland Regional Council’s ‘Weedbusters Award 06 for Weed Busting on Public Land’. A very attractively framed certificate hanging in the window of the South Coast Environment Centre shows a team of native creatures, not unlike the Riverton team itself, armed with slashers and chainsaws, dealing to the likes of barberry and holly in the manner needed to rid the native forest of such invaders. Warwick, Jim, Robert and Leith attended the ceremony for the presentation of the award at Environment Southland’s H.Q. and were pleased to see that several other groups were also active in the fight against invasive weeds around the region. If things go well, the team might also win the National Award, which follows on from the regional competition, but there may well be other extra-active groups of weed busters out there to give our guys a run for their money – time will tell! ATTRACT THE BIRDS THIS WINTER MAKE YOUR OWN BIRD-FEEDING TABLE LOTS OF DESIGNS TO CHOOSE FROM Workshop no.2 will be held second half of July Phone Centre 2348717 to confirm time and date. APARIMA COLLEGE WORKSHOP GOLD COIN DONATION TO COVER MATERIALS First Bird Table workshop 27th June was this year’s first bird-table making workshop. We descended on the workshop at Aparima College and were lucky to have John Robinson the teacher and expert on hand as woman and children far out numbered handymen. With much enthusiasm, we chose one of the designs and began to learn the hard way how to hammer and saw. One little girl under Jacqui’s guidance found parallel hammering was most effective. If you lie the wood on its side with the nail less than 1cm above the table you can slide the hammer on the table and it hits at just the right angle for it to go in straight. Against all odds, after 1.5 hours we had 12 bird tables completed and all the carpenters were sent home with a bag of wild bird seed and some recipes to feed the birds over this cold winter. (internet readers- patterns avaible at Centre) Place your bird table near a window so you can enjoy the birds that visit you. These are the favourite foods to attract and sustain the birds:
(please don’t feed them honey as it spreads bee diseases) Note: we have wild bird seed for sale in the Centre $2 kg We will have another workshop in late July- so if you are interested please phone the centre or email us and we will let you know the date and time that suits most people. Drains are for Rain Nearly eight years ago we did a big promotion to educate people in Riverton about storm water drains. The mail drop informed people that what you put into those drains goes straight out to sea without treatment. Oil, car wash water, paint and worse is often washed down them. This goes straight out into the closest water source, the estuary, river or sea. We painted yellow fish beside the drains and mail dropped the town with the message “Drains are for Rain”. The painted fish have faded away, so this winter we will repeat the exercise. Local students and scouts are going to help out. Once Riverton is completed we will be looking at running the programme in other Southland townships in partnership with their locals. We would like to start with Otautau as whatever that town puts in its storm water drains ends up downstream in to our esturary! Fish need clean water to be healthy and so do we! Purified Water Available We have on loan a high quality water purifier for the Centre. It is a Nature Springs “Reverse Osmosis” system that removes everything but H2O molecules and health experts recommend it as the best form of purified water. Bring in your containers and fill them up, takes about 5 minutes per litre to process and costs 20c a litre to pay for running costs. We usually have 2-3 litres ready in glass containers for collecting. It is generally advised that we need to drink two litres of water as pure a possible to be healthy, so it is worth making the effort to get water that is pure and tastes good enough to drink. RIVERTON ESTUARY CARE SOCIETY Meets at the South Coast Environment Centre 7.30pm, the 3rd Tuesday of the month. One of the Societies projects is a 16 acre wetland reserve that it bought and developed over 5 years ago. It has been a little neglected over the last couple of years as members of our society have pursued other issues and interests. Gaye Munroe from QEII trust is keen to meet with us and reactivate the care and promotion of this natural treasure and we invite interested people to come and join us at our July meeting to discuss this. Gay suggests that we revisit some of the ideas developed during the second round of planning for the reserve and get going on projects like establishing a car park, good interpretive signage and further pest plant management. Two Old Cabbage Trees Disappear It only took a morning’s inattention and two of Riverton’s landmark trees disappeared from the scene! Without so much as a notice in the local rag or a phone call to anyone who might be affected by the removal of the mature and stately cabbage trees, they were gone! While we can see that there is a need to make changes to the road that the trees sat beside, it seems irresponsible for the contractors to have taken such an action without canvassing the locals first. With the imminent opening of the new museum here in Riverton, a museum that will showcase the proud history of the town, it seems very puzzling that we could lose two old landmarks like these without so much as a discussion from the council. Over the decades changes to the landscape have been a regular event; sand dunes have been flattened and built upon, estuary edges have been reclaimed and sealed with bitumen to create roads, and streams have been sent underground in concrete pipes. These things have been the norm for a developing town but now, with far fewer natural features left to value and admire, perhaps it is time for the community to challenge the casual loss of what is left and preserve any remnants of the natural world that still exists around the town. Cabbage trees in particular have had significance to tangata whenua in the area and it will be interesting to see if there is a response from the members of the runaka, once they return from the opening of the Ngai Tahu exhibition at Te Papa later this week. Estuary Side Forest in Safe Hands The small but significant stand of native forest standing beside the estuary at its western edge has fallen into safe hands following the purchase of the block by a buyer from Queenstown, who proposes to leave the forest untouched and keep it safe from the chainsaw and the cattle beast. We feel greatly relieved that things have turned out this way, as there was concern that the stand would have been lost to development of the pastural kind, like the forest that at one time surrounded this block. The Estuary Care Group had previously approached the owner of the farm of which this block was part to encourage him to bear in mind our desire to protect the area and we are especially pleased with this outcome. Green Water in the South Reports in today’s Southland Times outline actions taken by Environment Southland to penalise dairy farmers who continue to pollute the rivers of Southland with effluent from their operations. These fines and public notifications are encouraging to see, but point to the ongoing issue of farmer non-compliance and even aggressive behaviour toward officers charged with enforcing the rules around disposal of dairy effluent. One farmer claimed entitlement to stand his cattle on the riverbed because his family had farmed that way ‘for 100 years’. The issue of the failure of voluntary codes of practice around farming issues is a vexed one. Many farmers decry interference from any agency that tries to ‘tell them what to do’, and yet claims of self regulation by farmers are not convincing and experience shows that regulation and enforcement is needed. If our rivers are to run clean it seems we need rules. RIVERTON ORGANIC GROWERS SEED SAVERS WORKING BEE Wednesday the 19th of July we will be stocktaking our 2006 vegetable seed supply and updating catalogue. 7pm-9pm at the Centre. Please come along if you are free and help out with this valuable collection. NEW CATALOGUE with be out the following week. ORGANIC HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING COURSE to start in early spring If you have never had a vegetable garden before this course will start you from scratch and by summer you will be picking and eating your own vegetables. The three 2 hour workshops will give you all the basic skill and information for success. Dates and times to suit participants. Phone the Centre 2348717 to register and we will be in touch closer to the time with the details. BOOK REVIEW Organic Gardening by Geoff Hamilton This is a wonderful inspiring book filled with beautiful pictures that make you want to get going, growing organically. The first chapter talks about what you can grow. Perhaps you could try growing vegetables and flowers side by side. People do it and it looks fascinating; particularly good if you have a free spirit kind of attitude. The diversity of plants will attract an amazing community of wildlife. There is no need for this kind of garden to look untidy for this in itself will encourage pests and diseases. Pages 12-47 offer a wide variety of plants that you can grow and there are tips on making the winter garden look interesting, probably something we should be beginning to think about. There are also plants for autumn in case you do not want to get that far ahead. Salad vegetables can be grown all the year round, if you have a glasshouse or frost free protection. Things can be done about aspect and climate. You can always put up shelter if need be. I guess this book teaches you about options. There are also chapters on how to give your soil nourishment and also a chapter or two on compost. The final section of the book is about how to start your organic garden and includes topics such as how to choose suitable plants, annuals and perennials, planting and harvesting herbs, cultivating shoot vegetables and tree fruit. A valuable resource. By Yvonne RIVERTON – FRUIT BOWL OF SOUTHLAND Fruit grows well in Riverton. Gardeners old and young have shown that cool climate fruits; apples, plums and pears love it here and bear well. Could our town adapt and become a ‘drive through’ orchard? Presently there are next to no roadside fruit trees, where locals could pick fruit should they wish to. Other towns are lucky with their ‘wilding’ fruit trees and lucky describes the children of those towns, who are able to browse at will from plum, cherry, loquat, feijoa and kiwifruit growing in parks and on other public lands. We could have this here, in Riverton? Already trees are being grown for the purpose of ‘freeing the orchard’ from a few backyards and these will be available next season. Finding spots to plant them will be a very interesting challenge. The schools have shown a strong interest, as have many home owners. Looking ahead optimistically, our town could do itself a big favour by growing its own fruit. The cost of fruit at the supermarket will rise with petrol prices going up. Heritage fruit varieties of the kind this project will supply do not need spraying and are therefore healthier to eat. Also, in the event of a prolonged civil emergency, this fruit could contribute to the wellbeing of all people living in the town. Bellbirds, we have seen, love to eat apples and plums. They could multiply in numbers with an increased food supply over the autumn period. The benefits of a town wide orchard are great. Have a think about the idea. Fat-Power Riverton’s wharves were graced recently by the presence of the super sleek Earth Race trimaran. The boat attracted crowds of Rivertonian’s keen to see up close the curvaceous wave-piercing hull and Spartan interior and find out more about the challenge undertaken by the team on board. The boat, powered by bio-diesel rendered from animal fats, is designed not only to run on alternative fuels but to travel more efficiently than other craft, due to it’s hydrodynamic and aerodynamic design. It’s not clear whether the moko painted on the body and fins add to the easy passage of the Earth Race through the waves but they certainly look sharp! Someone in the group I was with noticed too, that the boat is fitted with several rod-holders, indicating that though the challenge to sail the oceans more efficiently than any other craft is the aim of the crew, they might be able to squeeze in a little recreation as well. Article for Coastline – Written By Steve Baker a young American traveller. UPDATED COMPUTER MONITOR NEEDED If you know of anyone selling cheaply a larger, more modern computer monitor, our office is keen to know about it. Our computer is still fantastic and continually updated and modernised by Geoff. However our screen is small and attracts all the glare. A flatter screen 15-17” one would be better- and any depth would be fine. Thanks for keeping an eye out for us. ORGANIC WINE RAFFLE Get your ticket now! We are fundraising to pay for a couple of ceiling fans to circulate the air in the Centre for more even warmth. The top part of the ceiling and in front of the fire are cosy – but the rest is more fridge-like! We hope to have the fans installed by the end of the month to benefit from them ASAP. WANTED HENS We often have requests from people new to Riverton wanting to buy a few free-range hens, some spray-free hay, or other items needed for setting up an organic property. Please check the Networking board at the Centre or leave your details as someone who sometimes has these available. Latest request, Paul would like to buy four young hens. OUR PEOPLE NEWS A big welcome to… Nick Kiddey who comes with experience and enthusiasm to join our team, while he is studying an Environmental Management degree and Glenys and Peter Williams & Annalise from Aparmia. Their willingness and enthusiasm to bring along their produce weekly has made our farmers market possible. As people move into our area or discover the Centre for the first time many return often, appreciating what we offer and become part of our ‘Eco-friendly community’. We extend a warm welcome to all those new folk. Further Away... Nathan and Angela are now in Raglan. Angela is working for Te Mauri Tau, and Nathan is working for ‘White Gloves Productions’, Maori educational gardening TV programmes. Dave and Bie have had a challenging year in Wellington as Bie hasn’t been well. Michelle and Paul are now on Fairlight Station and it was great that Michelle and Georgia could come down to our Birthday Celebrations. Geoff is spending a few months in England with his parents but still helps with the web site from afar. WHY RIVERTON? People often call in to the Environment Centre and are amazed….why has this small country town, (population of 1500), at the bottom of NZ got such a dynamic Environment Centre, and possibly the best and longest operating one in NZ? The simple answer is because there were enough people living here who believed it was worthwhile, and believed it was possible in 1996, and , there is still enough here today! 17 years ago the Guyton’s, new to Riverton, believed a few local people would be interested in hearing Perry Spiller, the then president of the Soil and Health Association of NZ speak about organic growing and took the risk of inviting him to come. An unexpected 54 people turned up to the Riverton meeting! (double Invercargill’s number the previous night). That meeting turned out to be the inaugural meeting of the large, active and long running Riverton Organic Group. The rest just followed on- why not have an Estuary Care Group, an Environment Centre, a Community Garden- what have we got to loose…..it may just work? President Kennedy had a famous saying ‘Most people ask why? But I ask why not?” That is the difference between us here in Riverton and the rest of NZ. We believe that the small steps we all make will make a difference to the big picture. We may well inspire others to follow suit, and they in turn inspire others. The effect of these combined efforts may tip the balance. If you, like us, believe in putting energy in to environmental projects is worthwhile, come and join our team and let’s keep making it happen. Why not we say! REMEMBER THE SURVEY SHEET (emailed on request) At the back of the sub form is a tick sheet we love you to fill in. It just lets us know what our members are interested in doing, seeing, helping with. There is no obligation but it is great to have a list of people interested in a group or topic that we can contact if an opportunity comes up. We may have someone passing though town with specialist knowledge and if we know our membership better we can ring those folk and arrange an evening talk. You may have a skill or interest you may like to share or something you would really like to learn. If more than a couple want to learn the same thing we will make it happen for you! |