whakatane newsletter june 2010
GATHERINGS:
To celebrate The International YEAR OF BIODIVERSITY, You are invited to attend a presentation by Mr Willie Shaw, ecologist and a Director of Wildlands, the national and Pacific ecological restoration consultancy. His vast experience will ensure an informative and entertaining evening. Wed 30th June 8pm ACACIA HOUSE – Louvain Street (Masonic Lodge) Wine, orange juice, tea/coffee and nibbles supper.
GREEN LUNCH We are usually meeting in Whakatane once a month, in Peace Park, Boon Street if the weather is nice! If your environmentally-friendly future needs connecting to others, then contact us and we'll keep you up to date if we change times or venues. Next event is on Wed 23rd June. We'll be back out in the Park at noon, or at Vendor.
COMMUNITY GARDENING - We have a new plan to meet and work at members gardens on a weekly basis, and all work will be done through EASTBAY TIMEBANK. Earn Time Credits, work and learn! Next Gardening date Sat 19th June. If you'd like more information Contact Us or eastbaytimebank@gmail.com. For more information on TimeBank you can download a brochure here
RAW FOOD WORKSHOP
Pixie will demonstrate how to prepare many delicious recipies using Raw Foods. These vegan recipies are also suitable to any on a dairy-free diet. Sat 26th June, 10am - 2pm at home in Wainui. Cost: $50, which includes many fabulous samples! Booking essential, so contact Pixie on 07 312 4977 or E-mail: pixie@rawhearts.com
RAW HEARTS - The first totally Raw Organic Chocolate made in Aotearoa. Made by Pixie and available from Michelle's on Boon Street.
BARISTA COURSE - Neville Morgan of Bean Zone Coffee is running a BARISTA COURSE at 6pm on Wed 9th June at Beaver Kitchen Showrooms in Whakatane, using a blend of FAIRTRADE beans originating in Colombia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Cost $35. Phone 07 308 7642 for more details.
LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
TAURANGA ENVIRONMENT CENTRE Newsletter May 2010. Sustainable Living programme continues on June 8th 7-9pm MORE.. on this and other notices.
DOC Conservation Korero - Upcoming Events & Info, including an update on the Whakatane Kiwis HERE...
APANUI SALTMARSH Clean-up - Meet at the bottom of McAlister Street by the river, 8am weather permitting, cancellations are put onto 1XX. Please make sure you have your sun hat, boots or strong shoes and warm clothing during winter. Next clean up on July 10th. Contact rosemarytully@clear.net.nz for more information. Future dates on Regular Links page.
BIRD RESCUE Read Rosemary's Bird Rescue Newsletter from the NZ Birds website.
MOKO at Ohope Beach - Local Marine Mammal permit holders and the Surf Club are keeping an eye on the situation. You can get the latest news from Moko's Ohope Facebook and Blog.
GARDENING NEWS
HOME GROWN MARKET Remember this FREE community initiative to assist locals with buying, trading and selling locally produced food or 'stuff' - keep it fresh, and keep it local!
FRUIT & FOOD SHARE MAP "Tonnes of food around NZ goes to waste every year, as trees produce fruit which is never picked or eaten. Use Michael Brenndorfer's interactive GOOGLE map to highlight fruit/nut trees, and other natural urban food/resource sources. This map is open for editing by anyone. Just sign in with a Google account and you're away. Please list details about the trees you are labeling, giving them a name starting with the city the trees are in, followed by the type of plant/tree. Then, in the details section, please provide more details, exactly where the tree is, when it fruits, whether it is on public or private land etc." WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!
OTHER NEWS
New - The Story of Bottled Water
In the US alone, 500,000,000 bottles of water are consumed each week. People in Britain spend an average of £25 a year on bottled water. It's a big waste, environmentally and for your pocket. While 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water worldwide, other people spend billions of dollars on a bottled product that's no cleaner, harms people and the environment and costs up to 2,000 times the price of tap water. The Story of Bottled Water (from Story of Stuff Project) is a new film using simple words and images to explain a complex problem, in this case manufactured demand: how you get people to think they need to spend money on something they don't actually need or already have?
PAKnSAVE Runner up in the Fairtrade Supermarket Awards 2010 was Pak’nSave, Whakatane. The store’s proactive efforts to make Fairtrade certified products accessible and affordable and listening to customers helped secure it’s nomination. Store owner Andrew Soutar says “Fairtrade is an indication of changing shopper behaviour and Pak’nSave Whakatane has quickly responded to it. We are delighted to receive the recognition as further reinforcement that we are meeting the needs and expectations of our customers. There is demand from our customers for fair trade products and we are pleased to be able to offer a number of products that are priced within our policy of providing New Zealand’s lowest food prices” says Mr Soutar. Pip Wonacott is presenting Andrew at PAKnSAVE with his Certificate 2pm Tue 1st June on behalf of FTAANZ (Faitrade Association of Australia & New Zealand)
FAIRTRADE NEWS Fairtrade Bananas have been available from PAKnSAVE for a few months, and now can also be purchased from New World Whakatane and Michelle's Health & Nutrition shop. PAKnSAVE still win on value, at $2.69 a bunch (around 1kg). All Good for us!
ENERGY OPTIONS have applied to become a Fairtrade Workplace - Whakatane's first! They will be supplying Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar in the workplace to start with, and looking at other purchases.
