Transition Valley 473

Hi. We're a group of residents from North East Valley, Opoho, Dalmore, Liberton, Pine Hill, Normanby and Mt Mera in North Dunedin. We've got together to help the Valley on our transition journey - coping with the climate, energy and economic changes that are coming.We welcome local residents to join us - turn up at an event and introduce yourself, or you can email us at transitionvalley@king.net.nz for more information.

SubGroups - Focus areas

We have established subgroups to work on the following areas:

• Food & Gardening
• Transport
• Biodiversity - email mhoward@slingshot.co.nz
• Local Economy
• Heart and Soul  We hope in the future to have a group focusing on

• Housing, particularly improving old houses- See the Retrofit project
• Energyand any other areas residents see as important.

TV473's initiating group is looking for a few more members-

particularly with an interest and energy for the following: sustainable transport; energy; local currency; local food production. The initiating group get some projects started, liaise with others with expertise in these areas and the wider TV473 group. We usually meet once a month. If this is you, please contact Maureen on 473 9967 or tv473ig@list.king.net.nz

Upcoming Events

Warmer homes: With the help of the Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust (BRCT), the Transition Valley 473 energy group is arranging energy reports for thirty Pine Hill homes. These reports give residents tips on how to heat their homes better and achieve smaller energy bills. This service will be opened up to the wider Valley area later in the year.

Our aim is to improve the houses in our area so residents live in warmer, drier residences. We can offer independent advice and help people take advantage of the heating and insulation subsidies available.With winter coming now is a great time to find out how to heart your home better. If you are interested in getting a free energy report done for your home, contact Alex on 021 410 420 or alex@king.net.nz

Fruit tree grafting workshop  Sorry, this is full now!

We are planning a workshop with Jason Ross from Sutherland Nursery on Sunday Sept 1st from 1-4pm, however, cuttings need to be taken at the beginning of July, when the trees are fully dormant. If you don’t have a favourite fruit tree to take cuttings from, we may be able to help. During the recent community fruit harvest, we identified some trees with delicious fruit that appear to do very well in our area. Please register by 10 June, by contacting Kristen on 473 9535 or tv473ig@list.king.net.nz

 

Weeding and mulching blitz at the community orchard sites.

If you can help with the ongoing care of the trees, please let me(Kristen) know so we can let you know dates and locations.

All help is appreciated!

 

 

NEV Community Garden* (The upper field above NEV School on North Rd) Working bees are held weekly at the moment, alternating between Saturday mornings from 9.00 am- 12pm and Sunday afternoons from 1.00pm - 4pm.
To get on the Community Garden email list, contact garden@northeastvalley.org and check out their website https://sites.google.com/site/nevcommunitygarden

Pine Hill School Community Garden* Weekly working bees on Tuesdays at 12.30-2pm

* The NEV and Pine Hill School Community Gardens are not TV473 initiatives, but we support them and encourage others to help when and where they can.

Help with basic bike repairs

Would you love to cycle but your bike has a flat tyre or some other problem? Peter, from Transition Valley 473, may be able to help. Contact Peter on 473 1681 or at TV473ig@list.king.net.nz

If you want to do more to promote cycling or would like to improve public transport or work on other transport issues in the valley, such as reducing speed in the gardens shopping precinct, see the transport group's page at http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz/node/3084

Vegetable gardening

Would you like to grow your own vegetables but don’t know where to start? A number of NEV and Pine Hill people are willing to ‘buddy’ new vegetable gardeners and we may be able to help those on low incomes with some garden equipment and materials thanks to funding from the Southern Health Board's Healthy Eating, Healthy Action fund.

We welcome offers from other experienced gardeners who are willing to be buddies, too.

Phone Kristen from Transition Valley 473 for details on 473 9535  or email tv473ig@list.king.net.nz

Looking for new sites for the Community Orchard!

Is there some public land, or a wide grass verge in your neighbourhood, with a sunny aspect and shelter, that would make a good site for planting fruit or nut trees? What do other neighbours think?  Could you help with the ongoing maintenance of the trees, once they were planted?  TV473's Community Orchard group are looking for suggestions.

More about the Community Orchard ~ 1000 Fruit and Nut Trees

As a community we are planning to look after ourselves and each other into the future when food and its transport become increasingly expensive. One way we can do this is by planting and looking after fruit and nut trees in our community.

Transition Valley 473 received some funding in 2010 to start planting fruit and nut trees as part of our Community Orchard - 1000 Fruit and Nut Trees Project.

Initially, we asked for people in our area to identify possible planting sites on
public land, and then consulted on these suggestions in the immediate neighbourhoods, via the Valley Voice, and with the DCC. As a result, we  identified the areas of public land listed below in North East Valley and Pine Hill as places where trees could be planted for harvesting by the community.

Calder Ave and Buchanan Street 
Chingford Park
Wilkinson Street
Pine Hill Park

In 2012 another site was identified - below Hislop St in Pine Hill, above the Northern Motorway.

We are always interested in ideas about other possible sites.

We rely on local people to help with the ongoing care of the trees in their neighbourhood, and plan to hold future workshops about tree care (including pruning), and preserving fruit.

For more information or to get involved, please contact Philippa,the Community Orchard Coordinator on 473 9293. Thanks to ... HEHA for providing financial support for this project, Dunedin City Council and Sutherland Nurseries for expert advice and support. The North East Valley Community Project, The Valley Voice and North East Valley School for their support.

Fruit and Nut Tree Register

We have the vision to plant 1000 fruit and nut trees in our area. Some will be planted in schools and public places. But we're also keen for all residents to plant new fruit and nut trees on their own properties. We hope this will be our first concrete (or should we say 'wooden'?) project. To encourage people to do this, we are going to provide information and support, as well as letting them know where they can get seedlings from.

We began a register of the trees in 2009 - then realised how complicated it is! We want to maintain the privacy of trees in private gardens, while collecting information about what trees and cultivars are growing well in particular locations. Fruit and nut trees growing on public land can be mapped on google maps and TV473 have mapped some of the community orchard trees. At the moment TV473 have paused on the 'fruit tree register' project, however, if you have ideas on an easy way to get the register to work and computer skills to volunteer, please contact us.

In the mean time, you can still help us achieve our vision of 1000 fruit and nut trees! Fruit trees are available from Youthgrow (see attachment at the bottom of the page) and Sutherland Nurseries, and you can find out about caring for trees from Peter Waymouth.

Films for loan

Movie "HOME"- A Hymn for the planet. Released worldwide June 5th 2009

*TV473 has a high resolution version of the film 'Home' that was screened on Earth Day from (www.home-2009.com) via youtube (.flv) or converted to a normal DVD movie format. If anyone would like to borrow them, and perhaps watch it with friends/ neighbours etc, email Chris : bracey-browns at clear.net.nz

Also "A Farm for the Future". Produced by the BBC, this film asks the question how England could feed itself in a post-Oil, Climate Changed world. Some of the themes it explores are permaculture and no-till pasture systems.

Earthwhisperers. This absorbing documentary focuses on 10 visionary New Zealanders who are environmentalists, seed savers, organic growers...The film, by Kathleen Gallagher was shot at spectacular locations around New Zealand and is described as inspirational.

Initiating Group Information

The group currently consists of residents who want to get a Transition Town moving in Dunedin North. We welcome new members who are good at organising, or those interested in our Food & Garden, Transport or Local Economy working groups. In the spirit of the "traditional" 12 steps group though, we see our role as temporary, lasting only as long as needed until we have "sub groups" (focus area groups) in place.

Initiating group members - there is information about How to use the website and email lists

About the Valley and Catchment

The catchment of Lindsay Creek, which runs through North East Valley forms a potential transition community. We have a nacent community formed around such facilities as the Gardens retail area, and Dunedin North Intermediate and other schools. We cover both urban and rural land, and our population includes families, retirees and school and tertiary students. Our population is 3000+ and our phone numbers (mostly) start with 473....

Community sustaining initiatives running in the valley include the North East Valley News, a monthly newsletter /noticeboard published by the North East Valley Community Programme, and the North East Valley Community Development Project, which involves local schools and businesses to improve the welfare of residents. The report from the Project is available for download and summaries of key points appeared in the April and May 2009 issues of Valley News.

Transition Valley 473 aims to bring together the community to plan out - and live - our energy descent.

Join our mailing list for announcements:

At http://list.king.net.nz/listinfo/transitionvalley-announce

Join the Transport Groups's discussion list at http://list.king.net.nz/listinfo/tv-transport

You can also see the previous posts there, made since the list was started a few months ago.

Ongoing projects

Projects we are planning for the Valley include:

• Film and talk series
• Fruit and nut tree plantings
• Street based sharing of surplus and gardening support
• Sustainable transport - bikes, car sharing, electric trams or trolley buses.
• Community gardens
• A local currency
• Water - rain barrels
• Retrofittiing insulation

 

Transport Group

As part of our vision for sustainable transport, we are investigating ways to make the valley safer and more pleasant for walkers and cyclists.  We are looking for residents interested in transport issues - cycling, walking, public transport, electric vehicles - to join the transport group.  We will be hosting practical events as well as visioning a better future transport system.  If you are interested, see our page at http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz/node/3084

 

Previous Events

Pruning fruit trees on Sat 15 June 2013 at 2pm

This year we are joining up with the Dunedin Vege Growers Club for a pruning workshop at East Taieri . Contact Kristen re carpooling, or for details.

Vege garden visit Sat 1 June 10am -11.30am
Kat Lilly, a NEV resident, avid gardener and scientist, has offered us a tour of her vege garden in Bouverie St, NEV.  Kat gave a really interesting talk about lead contamination in soils at a recent Permaculture meeting. She has tested her garden for lead and had to take some pretty drastic steps as a result of lead contamination. She has a very productive and interesting garden. Numbers are limited; bookings required. Contact Kristen.

Community fruit tree harvesting and preserving
Feb-May 2013
Do you have fruit trees that you don't harvest or need help to pick? Could you help pick fruit? Do you know how to preserve the fruit, or would you like to learn?

Sustainable Dunedin City, Transition Valley 473, Presbyterian Support, and other volunteers are teaming up to do some community fruit picking and preserving.

Volunteers could preserve in their own homes, perhaps with the help of neighbours, friends or family, or at a 'community preserving workshop'. All volunteers and tree owners will get to keep a little produce themselves, with most of the produce going to the Food Bank.

Contact Kristen on 473 9535, or 027 779 5481, or at tv473ig@list.king.net.nz to offer your fruit tree, volunteer to pick, or to preserve.

We especially need trees that have ripe fruit now!

We have already had fun preserving plums, pears and zucchini... making plum jam, plum chutney, bottled plums, zucchini pickle, Pear chutney, bottled pears, apple and pear crumble...Yum!Thanks to Dunedin North Intermediate School for letting us use their Technology room free of charge, and all our volunteers - experienced and beginners.

Here is a bit more about this project from a Channel 9 interview
http://www.ch9.co.nz/content/nightly-interview-kristen-bracey

and the ODT http://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/251091/gift-keeps-giving

All volunteers and tree owners will get to keep a little produce themselves, with most of the produce going to the Food Bank.

Contact Kristen on 473 9535, or 027 779 5481, or at tv473ig@list.king.net.nz to offer your fruit tree, volunteer to pick, or to preserve.

We especially need trees that have ripe fruit now!

Beekeeping tour Waitangi Day 2013

There has been growing interest in bees, so we asked experienced beekeeper, Colin Fitzpatrick, to give us a look inside the hives at the NEV Community garden and his top bar hive. It was fascinating! Thanks to Otto and Tim for lending us beesuits so we could get up close without fear!

Weeding blitzes at the community orchard sites. Bring a friend! Plenty of weeds for everyone!

First blitz at Pine Hill Park on Sun 10th Feb 2013 at 1pm. Pine Hill Rd, opposite the red dairy

Second blitz at the NEV Community Garden on Sat 16th Feb 2013 9.30am-12pm. Upper field of NEV School, North Rd

Wed 14th Nov. 2012 - Backyard Biodiversity Talk

Tahu Mackenzie, an Education Officer for Orokonui Ecosanctuary, will give a talk on what we can do to improve biodiversity in our area. At the Baptist Valley Church on the corner of Calder St and North Rd

Nov 11th 2012- Transition Valley 473 will be at the Salvation Army's 'Party in the Carpark'

We will have vege seeds and seedlings to swap or give away, and information about free energy audits to make your house warmer and healthier.

Mon. 12th Nov. 2012 Energy Group meeting

Contact transitionvalley@king.net.nz, or phone Alex on 929 1133

Transition Valley 473 Bike Fix It Days

Tune up and or repair your bike for Spring, with help.Dunedin North Intermediate School, Saturday 8 September  10.00am to 2.00pm.

If you have unused storage space that could be used for bikes and parts pending fixing, please contact Peter on 473 1681 .

Sat 25 August - Growing the community orchard in Pine Hill

Meet at 2pm at 73 Hillary St. We will be planting  a walnut and 3 sweet chestnuts  below Hillary St and above the Northern Motorway. Also a couple of fruit trees - an apple and a greengage to begin with. If you know anyone successfully growing a peach or citrus trees in this area, please contact us.

Fruit tree pruning and planting

Did you miss the workshop with local arborist, Peter Waymouth? Would you like to learn how to prune your fruit trees with help from a 'buddy' or to help someone else prune theirs? Contact Kristen at TV 473 or check out these websites for further information

Otepoti Organics update - Backyard orchards

A couple of excellent podcasts on fruit tree pruning -  Jason Ross, July 12 on     http://www.oar.org.nz/browse-podcasts/

Gardening with Kath Irvine: pruning

Planting a shrub or fruit tree video (American; shows technique well though you probably don't have to amend the soil as much as shown. Link suggested by Peter Waymouth)

Pruning a young fruit tree video (American; shows technique well. Link suggested by Peter Waymouth)

Sutherlands Nursery for heritage fruit trees and ones well suited to Dunedin growing conditions

Kiwifruit pruning workshop

Saturday 28 July 2012        1- 3 pm
Learn how to prune kiwifruit and have a go on four well-established vines in Dalmore, 1 male and 3 female. Take cuttings away to try growing them.
$5 donation if you can, maximum 10 people. Contact Kristen for more information or to book a place on 473 9535 or email tv473ig@list.king.net.nz.

Backyard Biodiversity in the Valley - Talk by Dr Yolanda van Heezik

Thursday 31st May 2012, 7pm
Is your garden home to skinks or fantails? What can you do to make it more wildlife friendly? As a community, could we create a bird corridor that eventually connects with wildlife overflowing from the Orokonui Ecosanctuary?

You are invited by Transition Valley 473 to a talk by Dr Yolanda van Heezik from the Zoology Department at the University of Otago. Recently Yolanda participated in an indepth study of the biodiversity in gardens in Dunedin and how important the urban environment is to birds, lizards and insects in our region. Some of the results of this study are now available for the first time!

Yolanda’s talk will be followed by a discussion about what we as a community can do to protect what we have and to work together to create a biodiversity rich environment.

Growing the community orchard at Chingford Park- Sat 5th May, 2012 at 1pm

Come along and help TV473 plant thornless blackberry, black currants and feijoa by the playground at Chingford Park. Be part of improving local food supply and resilience in preparation for climate change and the impacts of peak oil. This is part of a 350.org day of action to draw attention to the impacts of climate change http://act.climatedots.org/event/impacts

Fruit Tree harvest, preserving and baking - In partnership with Presbyterian support and DNI School

We have harvested the fruit. Now we are looking for helpers to bake and preserve with it.
When:      Monday and Tuesday 16-17th April, 2012, 12pm-7pm
Where:    DNI Cooking Room, 34 North Road,  NEV
Please bring:    Jars (if you have any spare) and a packed lunch/dinner for yourself or family if you will be staying the day.   
The produce will be shared between the volunteers, fruit tree owners and food banks in Dunedin.
If you would like to volunteer to help harvest and/or preserve please phone Amanda Brown on 4700851 or email amandab@psotago.org.nz.  Or contact Kristen on 473 9535 or TV473ig@list.king.net.nz

TV473 Heart and Soul Group: DVD screening on Marshall Rosenberg's four part Nonviolent Communication process (www.nonviolentcommunication.com)

This is with a view to forming a group who will support each other to learn to incorporate this communication style into our daily lives. Beginning on Monday 19th March  7pm at Francine and Alex's home in Normanby. Contact them for address and for more info. Ring Ph 4780874 (work evenings and weekends).

 

Mulching at Chingford Park during the NEV Community picnic Sun 18 March 2012  12-2pm.

Also at Pine Hill Park at 10am on Sunday 18 March, followed by Wilkinson St.

Bring a spade, wheelbarrow and gardening gloves if you can!

If you would like to help or find out more about any of the community orchard sites (Calder St, Chingford, NEV community garden, Wilkinson St and Pine Hill Park), contact Kristen Bracey 473 9535. Looking after the trees does not involve a lot of time but we desperately need some more helpers - many hands make light work! we need people to just keep an eye on the trees and report if they need some care, and for occasional mulching and weeding.

EXPLORING THE CRITTERS OF LINDSAY CREEK - Sat 10th March from 11am-1pm at Chingford

Transition Valley 473 is launching a new series of activities focused on protecting and enhancing urban biodiversity in our community. The first activity “Explore Lindsay Creek” is planned for Saturday 10th March. Everyone interested in the health of our stream and enhancing our urban biodiversity is welcome. Dr Marc Schallenberg, who is a freshwater ecologist, will help us identify the invertebrate and fish life present in Lindsay Creek and check how healthy our stream is.

Meet by gate to Chingford Park on North Rd. Contact Maureen Howard on 4739967 for more details. Please bring gumboots and a packed lunch. Hot refreshments will be provided for people who bring a re-usable cup.

Valley Community Expo Wednesday October 12th 2011  3:00pm - 7:00pm at DNI school hall. (Pine Hill, North East Valley, and Opoho).

A free expo to help promote community health and wellbeing, and showcase choices and opportunities the community has around education, health, activities and support.

TV473 will have a stall promoting low carbon transport, energy efficiency, local food production and economy. 
The Food and Garden group has vege seeds and currant cuttings to give away. Please bring any of your own you'd like to share or swap.

Moving Planet  day event on Sat 24th Sept 2011 !!  www.350.org

Moving Planet is a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis—a single day to move away from fossil fuels. 

Come on bike, on skates, on a board, or on foot. Come with your neighbors and your friends, your family and your co-workers. Come be part of something huge. It's time to get moving on the climate crisis.

DNI from 10am -3pm

10 am - 1pm Low carbon transport event:

Get help to give your bike a 'Spring tune up' and basic repairs so you can get cycling. See the display of electric bikes, bicycle trailers, other people-powered vehicles - come along and show off your low-carbon transport, and try others

11.30am Talk on benefits of barefoot walking and running

12.30 -3pm live music and interactive stalls - learn ways to live more sustainably and reduce your carbon footprint,  ask the expert, free give-aways from the Eco Store and more, including: TV473's Food and Garden Group - We have currant cuttings and vege seeds to give away or swap. If you have cuttings, seedlings or seeds to share, please bring them along!

Pruning workshop - Sat 27 August 2011,10am-12pm.

Learn how to prune fruit trees with Peter Weymouth. Gold coin donation.

"Money as debt". Thurs 11 Aug 2011 at 7pm at the North East Valley Baptist Church.

This time we'll watch the whole film!

Transition Valley 473 is holding a Film Evening and Discussion around the film "Money As Debt". Pot Luck Supper and Gold Coin donation appreciated. For information contact Peter 473 1681, 027 379 4388, peterd0n@clear.net.nz.

 

Workshop on planting fruit trees on Saturday 18th June 2011 at the NEV Garden

There is more to getting your fruit trees off to a healthy start than you might think and the group will demonstrate how to check you have chosen the right site for the particular tree, and how to prepare the hole.

Mulching at Pine Hill Park - Sat 18th June at 11am.

Come along and help look after our growing community orchard!

Public Meeting Thurs 9th June 2011- Peak Oil and the economy of North East Valley NEV Baptist Church, corner of North Rd and Calder St

TV473 is hosting a meeting in June focusing on the implications of Peak Oil and Climate Change on our local economy.  How will we fare when Peak Oil begins to bite, how will the products we buy change, and how can we prepare ourselves?  The meeting will feature film segments, short talks and community discussion.  This meeting will be the birth of the new TV473 Economy and currency group.

As a starting point here are two main themes.  One is the idea of trading locally to support local enterprises and individuals - from the supermarket to the local tradesperson for mutual benefit.  The second is strengthening local networks using other mediums of exchange to get more resiliency and sustainability into the local economy.  Examples range from more formal set ups like complementary currency circuits  for businesses and time banking for individuals, to informal assistance networks between neighbours and friends.

The goal is a richer network of connections within the Valley a higher level of mutual support and a healthier local economy - healthier in terms of needs met rather than purely money-based indicators. In this area we acknowledge the current efforts of the North East Valley Community Development Project and Valley Voice as working to similar ends.

 

Did you miss James Hansen's talk? You may be interested in the open letter he wrote to John Key or other papers he has written about climate change as a scientific, moral and legal issue.

Fruit tree and vegetable gardening workshop at the new NEV Community Garden (the upper field above NEVN School) on Saturday 14th May 2011 10am – 12noon.

Wear your gumboots and bring along your gardening gloves!
Help (or learn how to) choose good sites for planting fruit trees and currant or berry bushes. We will prepare the holes, ready for planting in a couple of months time.
We will also be preparing a vegetable garden from scratch and putting in some winter vegetables. Come and see how it’s done, or to lend a hand. Here is a You Tube clip of one way of preparing a 'no dig garden' we will demonstrate.
Want to learn how to improve soil that is less than ideal for vegetable growing? The community garden site has acidic soil and poor drainage and we will be taking steps to address this.
These are collaborative workshops brought about by Transition Valley 473, NEV Community Garden, Healthy Eating Healthy Action  Funding and the NEV Community Project.

Public Meeting with Dr Glen Koorey, Thursday 28th April 7:30pm at the Valley Baptist Church Hall, 268 North Road.

Slowing traffic on North Road

(see the outcome of the meeting at http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz/node/3084)

TV473's transport group are pleased to host a public meeting to discuss slowing traffic speeds on North Road.  Dr Koorey will discuss research from New Zealand and overseas highlighting advantages of slowing traffic, and explain how to get speed limits changed.

Submissions on the DCC's annual plan - due by12th April 2011.

TV473 made submissions to the DCC on food and transport.

Our draft submissions are on the Transition Towns website. Look under Community - Forums - Dunedin area.

 

Vegetable garden tour and seed-saving advice Sunday 13th March 1-4pm.

Visit a very productive vegetable garden in North East Valley and pick up seed-saving tips from the owner, Paul, and Bart from Otepoti Organics. Seeds being saved include peas, beans, silverbeet, parsnips, garlic. Bring along a gold coin donation, seeds for swapping or a little money for seed purchases. Share vegetable gardening advice over afternoon tea. Limited to 20, so contact Kristen if you are interested by email to tv473ig@list.king.net.nz

Fix your bike and get cycling!

Sat 29th January 2011, 10am-12pm at Pine Hill School and Crooked Spokes workshop, 111 Moray Place.

Volunteers will help you do basic repairs (eg fix flat tyres and punctures), at Pine Hill School. If more complex repairs are needed, we will have a van and trailer to take you and your bike to Crooked Spokes workshop. They have lots of tools and spare parts, and experienced bike-fixers. They also have some secondhand bikes, including children's bikes, which could be yours, if you help with the repairs!

If you would like more information, or to volunteer, contact Kristen at tv473ig@list.king.net.nz or on 473 9535.

Saturday 23rd October 2010- Mulching at the community orchards - Chingford Park, 2pm, just over the bridge and to the right; Wilkinson Street, 2pm, followed by Pine Hill Park at approx 3pm.

10/10/2010 - Bike fixit day and Local Food Picnic - 10 th October - Big Green Challenge - Note some changes to the plan due to the weather :(

Transition Valley 473 transport group are organising bike fixup morning on the 10th of October.

Starting at 10am at Dunedin North Intermediate School,  there will be a bike fixup morning.  You don't necessarily need to spend a lot of money to get cycling.  If you have a bike in your shed or garage that needs some attention, get it out and bring it along.  People will be on hand to help with fixing flat tyres and minor repairs.

There are probably hundreds of little-used bikes in people's sheds and garages, and with spring coming now is a good time to get them out and tune them up.  We want to encourage more cycling in the Valley, it's good for your health and the environment.  The cycle paths down the valley are a great start to making cycling safe.  The valley could be Dunedin's "capital of cycling"

There will be a picnic lunch with Waitati Transition Town folk, the Free Shop and others at 1pm.  Bring food for a picnic, the theme is local food so maybe you can include something from your own garden or the Farmers' Market, or something else you know was grown in Dunedin. This will be a family friendly event, there will be activities organised for children and entertainment for all ages.

See the bike fixup event page at http://www.350.org/nev-bike-fixup See the picnic event page at http://www.350.org/local-food-picnic-extravaganza

June 19 2010- Fruit and nut tree planting: 10am-12pm at Chingford Park, followed by Calder St and 12.30 - 2.30pm at Wilkinson St, followed by Pine Hill Park. Jason Ross will show how to correctly plant the fruit and nut trees that have been selected. We have prepared the holes at our recent 'digging' working bees, mixing in horse manure and removing stones.

Saturday 15 May 2010, 2 pm, has been scheduled for digging holes in preparation for the fruit and nut tree planting in Winter. Meet at your closest site - Chingford Park (Across the stream to the right, after the sports ground); Calder Ave; Wilkinson St, Pine Hill Park.

 

Saturday 24th April 2010- Fruit and Nut Tree Workshops.

Free- thanks to funding from Otago District Health Board’s Healthy Eating, Healthy Action (HEHA)

Jason Ross from Sutherland Nursery will visit four selected sites to meet with interested locals ahead of the fruit and nut tree planting in June. He will explain how to choose what species and cultivars are suitable for a site and how to prepare for planting. Come along to a site near you!

12pm Chingford Park, by the sports ground; then at the southeast corner of the park, past the old swimming pool, near the stream.

1pm top of Calder St, NEV

2pm Wilkinson Street Playground, Pine Hill

3.00pm Pine Hill Park

Tree species being considered are hazelnut, chestnut, walnut, elderberry, mulberry, apple, pear, plum.

If you have produce made from any of these, please bring along a little to share and your recipe! Cuttings to share would also be great.

Final decisions about what to plant will be made after these workshops and the trees will be planted in June. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Philippa on 473 9293.

Seed Saving Workshop Sunday 28 February, 2010 1 pm.
Transition Valley 473 is holding a seed-saving workshop, led by Bart Acres of Otepoti Urban Organics and Symbiosis Seed Exchange. Learn how to harvest and store your own vegetable seeds.
$5/$3. Afternoon tea included. Please phone Philippa 473 9293 to book.

SUSTAINABILITY THEMED BOOK NIGHT

WHEN: Monday 15th February,2010, 7-9pm
WHERE: Dalmore
WHAT TO BRING: 1-2 books

Do you have some books that have made a positive impression on how you think or feel about nature, sustainable living or community? Would you like to hear about what books other people recommend on this topic? If so we would love to see you at our Sustainability Book Night!
This Book Night is being run for people living in the wider Valley area (Pine Hill, Dalmore, Opoho, NEV or Normanby). For more information or to register please contact Maureen on 4739967 or Polly on 4739391 or email mhoward@slingshot.co.nz.
PS - We'd also love to hear from you if you would like to be part of a sustainability themed Bookclub.

350.org Event, Oct 2009

Transition Valley 473 held a 350.org event in Baldwin Street on Saturday October 24rd 9-10am as part of the world-wide 350 campaign on climate change. We and the community created a living scale on Baldwin Street to show the 350 carbon parts per million target. Well done and thanks to all (particularly Tania and Kevin). Links to Dunedin video and photos. This was the most widespread day of political action in history with 5200 events in 181 countries (http://www.350.org/). Now on to Copenhagen where we require our leaders to commit to the right (needed) actions. Keep up the pressure on the NZ government.

Retrofitting Insulation in Houses

The Waitati TT and Dunedin Schemes have successfully completed (June 2009). More information on new projects from EECA and the government press release there.

Food and Garden

Seed & Seedling Swap
The seed and seedling 19th Sept 2009 at the Gardens New World supermarket was a successful event. There were 3 or 4 of us on the stall for the two-hour timeslot and we were kept pretty busy! Thanks to all who contributed, particularly Bart of the Symbiosis Seed Exchange (and Otepoti Urban Organics), Ross, Keri, Kristen and Polly. We swapped, gave away and offered for donation a number of cuttings, seeds and seedlings. Some people brought things to swap, but most were happy to give a donation, and we raised money in donations which will be put towards future Food & Garden group activities.

Symbiosis Seed Exchange
If you are interested in getting seeds or contributing some to this new local seed exchange, please contact Bart at otepoti.urban.organics@gmail.com

Friday 2 October 2009 at 12 noon Alex Huffadine from the Cromwell campus of Otago Polytech will talk about fruit tree growing for the home garden. Venue: Botanic Garden centre between the top gardens carpark and the Opoho Bowling Club. Free.

Lots of good ideas were shared at the 'brainstorming' meeting in May and we heard about some great initiatives that are already happening. For example, produce and cuttings are being shared via "Freecycle" You can register on www.freecycle.org. Several people have offered to teach anyone who is interested how to take cuttings and to make preserves. We held a fruit tree pruning workshop in July anyone want to host this in their garden and have their trees pruned? Are you planting fruit or nut trees this winter? If so, let us know so we can add them to our register and help us reach our target of 1000 fruit and nut trees planted in the wider Valley area. If you have ideas, or want to be contacted about 'food and garden' happenings, contact Philippa.

Sutherland Nursery's first open day on Feb 28th was a great success. Jason Ross is a mine of information about growing fruit trees. He gave us tips for successfully raising apple trees at home, producing good crops without needing great labour or effort to prevent pests and disease.

The Great Edible garden tour was held on 22nd March 2009. We are planning a couple of edible garden tours in the Transition Valley area for November. Gardens are to be confirmed. If you know of any great gardens that we could visit in November or later, let Adrianne ( 473-0995) know.

Films and Education

 

Dunedin Rideshare workshop, was held by the DCC on Thursday 6 August, 2009 12 - 2.30pm

Earth Whisperers/ Papatuanuku film screening, Friday August 14th

End of Suburbia was screened on 14th May.

Power of Community was screened at four locations on the 16th, 17th, 18 & 19th of March.

Our first event, a talk titled "Is our community resilient enough?" and held 12 February 2009 attracted about 70 people.

Water, stormwater and waste

TV 473 was invited to contribute to the development of these aspects of the DCC's draft TLCCP. The following issues were raised:
- the urgent need for the DCC to plan for climate change and sea level rise;
- managing (and reducing) the demand for resources, for example through promotion of rainwater collection, greywater reuse and composting toilets, through bylaw changes and grants/loans/education/DCC investigation into their use;
- the improvement of our existing water, stormwater and sewerage systems to a high standard;
- stormwater - provision of cigarette butt collection with all litter bins, more litterbins, more public recycling bins, education programmes
- upgrading of sewage to tertiary treatment by 2011 as stipulated, reuse of treated material e.g. compost, mulch

We created a page on 'giving away to a good home' reusable goods in the North East Valley area (link).

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Join our mailing list for announcements:

At http://list.king.net.nz/listinfo/transitionvalley-announce

 

 

Attachment	Size
Baldwin St 350 action.pdf	68.16 KB
In Transition Movie Waitati Poster.pdf	233.17 KB
fruittrees.pdf	153.25 KB
Pine Hill Park 21-09.pdf	1.13 MB
Wilkinson St 21-09.pdf	3.43 MB
Chingford Park 21-09.pdf	1.64 MB
Calder Ave 21-09.pdf	713.47 KB
DCC_Elections_Spokes1.pdf	82.17 KB
Garden Memorandum of understanding Dec 2010.doc	35 KB
DCC submission TV473 Food group 2011 final.doc	57 KB
Feb Fruit tree Harvesting 2012 - Presbyterian Support.doc	4.27 MB
North Dunedin - SAND- 2012 Year Plan.doc	49.5 KB
sutherland_2012.pdf	1.03 MB
Law SOGOS Poster 13 - Nicole Foss.pdf	39.16 KB