Foraging Workshop w/ Sharon Stevens

Join us for a gentle walk around the Ashhurst Domain as we identify plants and their uses while discussing foraging as a way to connect with nature, have fun and get a little extra nutrition. We will address safe foraging, foraging ethics, and other guidelines with the goal of participants being able to confidently identify up to 10 plants for safe foraging.

10am-12pm at the Ashhurst Domain

Free, but koha appreciated

Please register HERE

Keep Ashhurst Beautiful

We have another public clean up as part of the Ashhurst Library’s October School Holiday Programme on Thursday October 6th. 

We will be meeting at the Ashhurst library at 10am for a quick chat with Nelson Harper from the Palmy Plastic Pollution Challenge and Source to Sea; collecting gloves, picky-uppy-sticks and bags and and we will be focusing on the main village area of Ashhurst around the shops, school, library and Village Valley Centre. Children under 10 will need to be accompanied by a caregiver.

After our clean up, lunch is on us back at the library at around noon. 

Registrations are helpful (so we know how much pizza to order!) so if you and your tamariki would like to join us, you can register HERE

A process approach to small garden design.

This workshop is designed to help new gardeners experience success with small steps, while also offering ideas to experienced gardeners who wish to increase the diversity and productivity of a small garden. The workshop take participants step-by-step through a garden design, including, for example:

  • a brief overview of landscape and site assessment
  • setting realistic aims and purposes to account for diverse circumstances
  • selecting the right plants for the right space and the right time of year, together with lots of examples
  • working with permaculture design principles

Registrations are essential and can be made HERE

Composting Workshop

RECAP’s annual educational composting opportunity.

A theoretical and practical session around how to build great compost by creating compost for the community orchard.

This workshop is FREE, but koha is appreciated.

Please register HERE

Trees, forests and foods: an ecosystem approach to perennial food gardening.

Workshop #4 in our Permaculture series.

This workshop introduces basic ecosystem dynamics within a forest context as a way to illustrate how nature can teach us to design better food systems. Participants will have the opportunity to design a functional, diverse perennial food guild around a single fruit or nut tree, and then to consider how to scale up this basic design to a home or community orchard or to a food forests.

This workshop will take place on Saturday August 27th, from 10am-1pm at Slow Farm.

Registrations are essential and can be made HERE.

Designing and retrofitting homes for energy efficiency and water conservation

Participants will learn how they can have a lighter footprint and reduce spending on household energy and water with permaculture principles and design techniques such as: passive solar and appropriate technologies, low-⁠impact and earth-⁠friendly building materials and capturing and storing energy and water when they are abundant for use when they’re needed. There will also be a practical component, where participants will be able to make simple items to take home to assist with keeping your home warm and dry. Entry is FREE but koha is appreciated. Registrations for this can be made HERE.

 

RECAP Annual General Meeting 2022

You are all warmly invited to the RECAP (Society for the Resilience & Engagement of the Community of Ashhurst & Pohangina) Annual General Meeting, will be held this year on Wednesday June 8th from 7:30pm-9pm at the Village Valley Centre, Ashhurst.

We would love you to join us for supper to help us celebrate an eventful year, to learn more about our mahi and to elect our board for 2022/23. If you know anyone interested in standing for the board, please do get in touch.

We would appreciate if you could please RSVP (chris@recap.org.nz) and we look forward to seeing you.

Ngā mihi maioha.

May Crop Swap & drop in session w/ Phil Stevens of Slow Farm

Our second Crop Swap for 2022 is on Saturday May 28th 11am-1pm at the Ashhurst Community Library.

We will be joined once again by local permaculture expert Phil Stevens, who will be on hand to answer questions and discuss topics, such as energy conservation, warm/dry tips, passive solar, solar electric, how to cut your household emissions with simple and achievable tweaks, gardening topics, water harvesting, fruit trees and other perennial edibles, designing sections for resilience, soil health and more.

This is an excellent opportunity on the cusp on winter to learn tips about how to keep your home warm and dry over the colder months, and keep your garden growing and trees healthy during winter. You can bring any questions you may have for Phil on the above topics for some free advice & guidance. 

All are welcome and everything is free! Bring any excess produce, seeds, seedlings or gardening supplies. You do not need to give in order to take and vice versa.

Winter Pruning Workshop 2022

Our ever popular pruning workshop has its winter session for 2022 on Saturday July 2nd 1pm-3pm.

Facilitated by Phil Stevens, (of RECAP’s Permaculture Design Workshops and Slow Farm) and Harvey Jones (RECAP chairperson) this workshop is a practical hands on guide to the how, what and when of winter fruit tree pruning for optimum next season fruiting.

Join us for this unique opportunity to get stuck in with the loppers and secateurs with guidance and support to build your confidence.

This is a free workshop, but koha is appreciated.

You will need to register for this workshop, and you can do so: HERE

NEW DATE: Permaculture workshop #2: Using & modifying microclimates for effective & diverse food gardening

This workshop will introduce participants to a range of readily accessible and low-cost means to design multiple microclimates into a home garden and to use them effectively.

Working effectively with microclimates can extend the growing season and diversify the range of crops that can be grown successfully. While gardeners cannot personally control the climate and weather, they can have an effect on: 

  • soil quality, including soil moisture
  • wind flow and shelter
  • patterns of light and shade
  • soil and air temperature

Attendance at this workshop does not require a vaccine passport. Please note that other public health measures such as wearing a mask or showing a mask exemption, and keeping a physical distance may be required. Please do not register if you are not willing to follow these.

Please register: HERE

To stay informed on these workshops, we recommend you check our website regularly (recap.org.nz) sign up to our newsletter (email info@recap.org.nz to request) or follow us on facebook (facebook/ResilienceAshhurstPohangina) as updates will be posted there.

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