community garden Spring film series.

The Lyttelton Community Garden

presents

The Spring Film Series.

I know, I know. Spring isn't here yet, as the title of the film series suggests, 

but I am optimistic by nature and I know for sure,  it will come.

Lyttelton Community Garden, The Portal, 54a Oxford St, Lyttelton

(up driveway between playground and Pool)

Monday evenings, 22 August - 19 September.

6pm: shared dinner for those who wish.

7pm : film screening.

Monday 22nd August
DIRT! THE MOVIE (80 minutes duration)
A film which is a call to action.: This film tells you the story of the Earth's
most valuable & under­appreciated source of fertility & takes you inside the
wonders of soil. "When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything
changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt & humans has
been intimately linked."

Monday 29th August
VANDANA SHIVA: The Future of Food & Seed (60 minutes duration)
World­renowned scientist, feminist, ecologist & author presenting the
keynote address at Organicology in Portland, Oregon in 2009.

Monday 5 September
THE ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS(65 minutes duration)
The approaching energy crisis will force a revolution in farming practices & will
affect what we eat, where it comes from & even whether there will be enough
to keep us fed. Follow Rebecca Hosking as she goes about changing her family
farm to be fit for the future.

Monday 12th September
THE VANISHING OF THE BEES (90 minutes duration)
Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally
vanishing from their hives. Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia & Asia,
this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees & the
greater meaning it holds about the relationship between humanity and mother
earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alterna­
tive reasons for this tragic loss. Conflicting options abound & after years of
research, a definitive answer has not been found to this harrowing mystery.

Monday 19th September
BACKYARD HIVE (1 hour, 25 minutes)
Become a bee guardian. This evening is especially for those people who are
interested in alternative beekeeping using the Top Bar hive in your backyard
or in your community garden.
Everyone welcome.

enjoying the seasons.

Are we masochists?
Early in the week I noticed some excitement in the air as the weather forecast predicted a significant snow storm.
I wondered how many challenges we are able to face.
Would the power remain on? Would we keep warm?
But since the earthquakes an NGO in Christchurch has been providing ‘snuggle sacks’ for older people to keep them warm as some of our houses are not as draft proof as they were.
I’m in that age group, so I have a snuggle sack to keep me warm. I’m told I shouldn’t be seen in it, but who cares, it keeps me cosy – especially at the computer.
A month ago when it snowed for the first time this winter,  I enjoyed watching and listening to young people take advantage of the new environment immediately as the snow fell. They snow boarded down Lyttelton’s steep streets, their voices heard in the eerie black and white stillness.
They did it again this time around. One of few benefits of living on steep streets.
I simply relaxed and kept warm; I had a stack of books from the library, knitting I wanted to do and entertainment provided by snowboarders that I watch from my newly double glazed window.
So no, I don’t think I am a masochist, but a lover of changing scenes, situations and challenges.

written by Margaret Jefferies, chair of Project Lyttelton

...round and round and round...

                                              

The humble Kiwi garage sale can take on many forms, and has been adapted to great use in Lyttelton: For about a year now Project Lyttelton has run a garage sale most Saturdays in an unpainted, unheated, badly lit breeze block garage, obviously nothing fancy, but workable. It is situated close to the craft market and the Farmer's market, so all three benefit from each other by drawing different crowds and more people overall.

Like everything in Lyttelton, the garage sale has been influenced by the earthquake. In the weeks and months after the earthquakes, when people had to tidy up their 'munted' houses, the garage sale often was at the receiving end of those clear-outs. Many people felt really good about getting rid of the accumulated 'stuff' that seems to accumulate in houses over time. There were a few weeks where so much stuff was donated, that we were unable to run a garage sale, because every square centimeter was filled with boxes, bags, furniture, suitcases, baskets and containers of donated goods.
                                               

                                              

After a few weeks of hectic activities, organising a small garden shed to store all new goods and sorting through all the donations, we have started trading again. We became quite ruthless with sorting out donations, partly because our space to display and store items is very limited. That meant that every week we were able to donate one small pick-up truck full of superfluous items to a local charity barn.

The garage sale is manned by Timebank volunteers. We have a very committed group of people who are regulars and a few 'newbies' now and then. The groups receiving the money are expected to have some volunteers present also. They can can lend a helping hand while talking to customers about the group or project they are involved in.

What do we sell? Like any garage sale it depends entirely what people drop off. in the weeks after the earthquake we received an amazing variety of goods: a local chef donated her cake tins in amazing shapes and sizes, from tiny to huge; there were local treasures such as 'Godley House' beer tankards (Godley was a historic homestead in Diamond Harbour, hosting a lovely restaurant and bar, which had to be destroyed after the earthquake) and cocktail shakers, and a whole set of Japanese paper fans, lanterns and paper umbrellas (from another restaurant?).

Everyone in Lyttelton lost at least some crockery and pottery in the earthquake and some unlucky people lost everything. The only op-shop and supermarket in Lyttelton were closed and trips to town were very nerve- wrecking in the weeks after the earthquake as roads were damaged, everyone was afraid of more severe aftershocks and most shops this side of Christchurch were closed. In a lucky stroke of fate, business at the garage sale roared, people being happy to buy locally and even discerning house-keepers bought 'second-best' pottery, because Lytteltonians had become fatalistic and realistic enough to know that more quakes were going to happen.

                                

And what about the money generated? The first few garage sales were all fund-raisers for the Lyttelton Timebank. But after the earthquakes we decided to run the sales in aid of different community groups. Every individual and every charitable organisation in Lyttelton had suffered, either through loss of housing and work space or through people leaving or losing jobs, and through this being unable to continue helping out. The following groups have profited from the garage sale, and we are always looking for more local groups:

•  Radio Volcano, a local community radio station
• the Sea Scouts
• The Plunket Toy Library and 
• the newly established Lyttelton Petanque Club, a Gapfiller project.
• the Lyttelton Community garden, 
• the Lyttelton Youth House,
• the Lyttelton eARThquake therapy initiative

                                             
 While there is always a Timebank volunteer at the sales, the groups receiving the money are expected to have some volunteers present also. They can can lend a helping hand as well as being able to talk to customers about the group or project they are involved in.

So not only the pre-loved goods go round and round the community, but also the money,- what could be better?

written by Bettina Evans

Shared office space in Lyttelton – not just a dream

Many of our work situations have changed dramatically since February. Businesses have moved from the city centre to more industrial zones or closed permanently, public transport routes are different, congestion on the roads has increased, and cycle routes are in some cases more treacherous because of both increased traffic and earthquake-damaged road surfaces. Many of us have been forced to come up with new ways to meet work expectations. Working at home is now more common as people choose to put up with the challenges of working in isolation as they exercise choice about where they spend their days. 

Back in March I wrote a small piece in our local paper, the Lyttelton News, about the idea of a shared office here in Lyttelton for people who had flexible work arrangements and who would prefer to work on this side of the hill.   There was plenty of interest, and a group formed to discuss needs, timeframes and visions. The drivers for me in this include: wanting to be near my 2 year old son who is cared for at home while I work part-time; building community; and making new connections in my home town.

Now the dream of sharing office space is about to become reality. Starting this week, a small group from diverse backgrounds (ecology, telecommunications, and cycling) are sharing an office on London Street, with plans to refine the setup and evolve over time.We were keen to just get started, to show people that there are few barriers.  This project is building on the culture of possibility that Lyttelton is famous for. We will keep each other company while at the same time providing a professional work space. We will help revitalise our town centre by just being there. The aim is for this to be a long term arrangement, with possibilities for accommodating a wide variety of work needs. Right now the shared office provides desk space, wireless internet, phone and printing capabilities. Future space may also include workshops, or any other element that we figure out we need. It's even looking like there will be more than one shared office as interest grows.

Now is the time to have input into the plans of property owners that are considering rebuilding. Imagine a purpose-built shared office in the heart of Lyttelton! Once again the earthquakes provide us with the opportunity to think about a new way of being.

Written by Jodi Rees

In Steps Towards a More Sustainable Pantry - Chicken

We are always trying to find or create the best way of doing things with the food that we buy. In that I mean with the least amount of waste whether it be calculated in food miles, packaging or straight up waste that goes into the bin.

We are meat eaters, however, ever so conscious in what we buy. We want to know where our food has come from, who has grown/produced it and in what way. We feel that asking these questions about our food is crucial to helping create a better food system and making a conscious decision about who and what we support with our dollar.

We are all about supporting the local community when it comes to our food.  On Saturday we went down to the Lyttelton Farmers Market and purchased a fresh size 24 free-range chicken from Westwood Chicken.  Antibiotic and hormone free, predominately grass fed. We found out that this chicken was grown for 63 days where as the shop owner said they are normally grown for 50+ days and where the brand Tegel’s normal chicken growth is around 36 days.

Now Giulio will demonstrate how to portion a chicken. Maybe something that seems quite simple or hard. Whatever it is to you hopefully you can learn something new.

Written by Christy Martin

A link to Giulio's Blog : http://giuliosturla.wordpress.com/

mindful rebuilding

Thich Nhat Hanh the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher has said that: “…The next Buddha may take the form of a community – a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth.”

Margaret Jefferies, chair of Project Lyttelton, speaks about this idea and wonders aloud if we simply consider this possibility, how would that change the way we go about being who we are? How would that show up in us as we move forward in putting the buildings back up in our community?
I am amazed and awed by this idea and it is one that for me the opportunity to move more towards understanding and less towards what I think I know already. As we move towards the future, the way we move forward in the present is perhaps the most important thing that we will do.
Perhaps this will be our way of being the Buddha. Who knows?
In reality, I don’t think knowing really matters. What does matter is having the faith that how I think about this guides me in how I interact and how I support others as our ideas emerge from the dust.

I have been passionately advocating for a process that builds our ownership of our own healing through our rebuilding - perhaps I need to listen more and support more and remember that my own understanding will be flawed?
How would loving kindness and mindfulness be in me? And what would that mean to my community? I have no answers to these questions. As usual they are just questions and thoughts that come to my mind and then I play them out as best as I can.
What I am clear about is that community is something that I think many of us have been looking for to answer some of our questions, our longings, and that this is an opportunity to find some answers. They may not be answers as we know them – they may simply be more questions.

festival time

We had been waiting for a while for this festival.

Postponed back in June due to the earth shaking, the town still needed a chance to celebrate and the light returning still seemed like the most appropriate reason.

Apparently so did half of Christchurch; last Friday night the streets of Lyttelton heaved with frivolity and celebration.

And that's exactly as it should be.

The year has been a tough one for many in this shaky town.

Tough, and yet such deep veins of sweetness have been uncovered.

It felt good; the masked parade, the fireworks, the buskers and dancing in the rain to good, homegrown music.

It felt good too to have all the currently homeless businesses back out on the pavement, once again inhabiting the streets of our town .

Many thought of those people we have lost.

Many peered into the spaces where, not too long ago, our dearly loved historic buildings stood; gaps illuminated with light shows and sculpture.

And others asked after those who are still away or waiting to hear about their homes.

And yet the exuberance present at the festival reminded us that what is left, and in fact is thriving in the uncertainty, is the spirit of the people and the strength of the ties that hold us together as a community.

Thanks to local photographer, Gill Taylor for the photography.

Written by Jacinda Giligan, also at www.watchingkereru.blogspot.com