Kia ora koutou.

With a number of changes and challenges happening globally and locally, we’re working on a series of workshops to help build personal/whanau/community resilience this year. At this stage we are looking to cover backyard chicken keeping, solar power, beginner/low cost food gardening, seed saving, fruit tree guilds, the social aspects of permaculture, and another Civil Defence workshop as well as a repeat of Death Without Debt. Dates and venues TBC. If you’d like to sign up to our newsletter to be notified when each of these workshops are ready to book, please contact info@recap.org.nz

The Ashhurst School Garden Club has started the year strong, with the tamariki starting a seed library in the office area with seeds they have grown and collected. For school whānau - you can pick up three packets per season. 

The RECAP Seed Library (within the Ashhurst Library) has also been topped up with edibles and flowers to sow in Autumn and Winter. You are able to take three free packets per month. Many of these seeds have been collected from local gardens which means they are acclimated to our local growing conditions, and the seeds can continue to be saved from your own plants. These seeds have a green label. 

Community Kai has seen an increase in customers as the cost of food continues to bite (pun sadly intended). Our donations are seeing a drop as well, with this situation likely to get worse. With this in mind, we’d like to remind you of a couple of things when accessing this service: You can only take ONE bag of kai unless you have contacted us with exceptional circumstances. Please note: we may need to limit everyone to strictly one bag if donations continue to track down. And please take only what is allowed from what is on offer. Each item has a limit posted. We rely on everyone’s honesty to enable this kai to be distributed fairly. Thank you.

We’d like to take this opportunity to give a huge ngā mihi to the team of volunteers - past and present - at McCrae’s Bush. For those unaware, McCrae’s Bush is an area of remnant native bush and wetlands which can be accessed via River Road (on the way to Saddle road) or via some steps from The Terrace. The Olsson Community Orchard is nestled in a clearing here.

RECAP supports a team of volunteers who have weekly working bees to hand weed the invasives in this area (avoiding using damaging chemicals as much as possible), replant natives and care for the baby trees and plants that are popping up naturally throughout the bush.

Dianne McConnell began this group in 2018, after attending a Permaculture Design Course where participants were tasked with finding or creating a project in their community. One of the first participants was Margie Rogers. They were then joined by Lance Fitness, Peter Todd, Veronika Naglmaier and Julie Doyle. 

By late 2023, some of the long serving volunteers stepped back and Julie found herself in the position of leading the team. There is now a new group of weekly volunteers who are doing this mahi: Margie is still active here and they are now joined by Philip Prujean, Lucille Floyd, Bruce Roberts, Jill Stewart, Harvey Jones and Katherine Gibbs.

In the past few years, groups of local tamariki, student volunteers and workplace groups have participated in working bees here, always including a walk through the area and some education on the trees and plants. There has also been a revived trapping effort with PNCC and RECAP providing more traps, which are cleared and reset by contractors and volunteers.

With the recent incidence of storms and flooding, there have been some changes to the landscape here with some trees not surviving the rough weather; so, their continued efforts to care for this space and ensure its long-term viability is especially important.  

The work has not only helped the local flora, but many native birds also call this bush home with fledgling ruru recently delighting local walkers and photographers.

Their dedication to this very special place is inspiring and their mahi has ensured the health of this wonderful thriving green space for our community (both present and future - human, flora and fauna!) to enjoy. 

Chris Love RECAP coordinator