Our breakup celebration was a great success yesterday with a good crowd of volunteers on another rainy day!
We had a few treats – Pauline had made a fabulous Harakeke Christmas Tree, Clarissa had brought her lovely pottery, Chris gave out Honolea’s natural soaps as thanks for volunteers and Geoff, Pauline and Eleanor brought their ukuleles for Christmas Carols! And the food……..scrumptious!
Then the drum roll……………………… and the winner of the Jo Ogier Karearea print was Els – one of our most regular volunteer helpers, who was here to collect it.
Thanks to Jo for donating the print and to everyone who took a raffle ticket, proceeds support what we do here at the Community Nursery.
Happy Christmas everyone, see you in the New Year and have your native planting plans ready!
Chris and Brian
Posted: 20 December 2025
A month has gone by since the last post and soon we will be closing for Christmas holidays. As well as closing day on Friday 19 December we will also be drawing the raffle for the Jo Ogier Karearea Print, so last few days to buy your raffle - Tickets are $5 each and you can pay at the Nursery (cash) or on internet banking – Sthld Community Nursery, bank account number 03-1355-0645582-00.
This month has flown by and we have had lots going on at the Nursery and Education Centre. Fridays have been busy with main activities watering, potting, pricking out and weeding. While we are mostly here over the Christmas holidays it would be good to have back-up waterers – so if you can spare a few hours over the holidays to help water the Nursery, that would be appreciated – email or txt Chris.
We have supplied quite a few native plants to schools and other groups for planting over the last month and look forward to doing some planting ourselves around our new pond over the holidays. Everything is flowering at the moment – from harakeke and cabbage trees to rata and it should be a bumper seed season. I had an encounter with a fernbird recently at Bushy Point, it was picking insects off cabbage tree flowers – not great photos but it was unusual activity to see. Also tadpoles in the pond and a bittern, kereru eyeing up our cherries, and our veggie garden is being taken over by poppies and they are glorious!!
We have had numerous Christmas end of year functions in the Education Centre and recently a “Film Night” on the big screen. We have also had a Conservation Dogs training day with Sandy King and two Harakeke workshop field trips to our property.
On Friday 19 December, bring your best baking and we will celebrate the end of the 2025 year and look forward to 2026. We will also draw the Jo Ogier print raffle!! The Nursery will re-open on Friday 16 January 2026. If you don’t manage to get to the Break-up day, best wishes for Christmas and see you in 2026!
Also in the last month was the SERN trip to Te Anau visiting lots of inspiring restoration places – see story and photos at - https://www.sern.org.nz/news/sern-spring-trip-te-anau-revisited-16-november-2025/
And finally, a walk around the Oreti Totara Dune Forest with Barry Smith on Wednesday 17 December 2025 - 7:30 pm This walk will take about an hour and is suitable for families. As this forest belongs to the Native Forest Restoration Trust, no dogs are allowed. No need to book just turn up, entrance at 348 Oreti Road - https://www.nfrt.org.nz/reserves/oreti-totara-dune-forest/
For other Otatara news see the latest Otatara Pigeon Post - https://www.otataralandcare.org.nz/news-events/the-summer-pigeon-post-is-here-in-full-colour/
Chris and Brian
Posted: 15 December 2025
On the weekend of 8-9 November 25, Jo Ogier came down from Christchurch to tutor another workshop here in the Community Nursery Education Centre.
Always eagerly awaited, the workshop’s participants came into the room armed with pencils, paints, paper and enthusiasm. Chris gave a quick introduction to the “place” and a bit of Community Nursery background to newcomers and then Jo was straight into it. The room had been set up the day before with everything needed for “Lino Printing” including the small Nursery Press and a new Press Jo had brought down as well as various cutting tools, paper, paints and other materials. We were also lucky to have some taxidermy native birds from DOC to study very close up. The Rances wetland provided inspiration to some who used the landscape views and plants as themes.
Then the hush descended and people got into the exercises that Jo had developed to get the process started. It all looks very concentrated and intense as peoples ideas formulated and then the cutting commenced and everyone is in their own world until snapped out of it by another Jo tutorial, another tip, another handy hint which makes the whole process come alive. Then to the inking and the use of the presses – a procession of works inked up then revealed with eager anticipation, like a photographers negative. Then layer on layer, colour on colour and by day two some beautiful works were emerging.
It is always amazing to me how different everyones work is and how the whole process comes together at the end in some very beautiful artworks. There is a whole selection of photos below to illustrate this. And a group photo of all the participants. Its all very full on, “its not a holiday” said one participant. Another said it was great for not thinking about anything else all weekend and feeling very relaxed, once it was over!
Thanks again Jo for sharing your time, your skills, your “secrets”, your patience and your enthusiasm.
Jo has again been very generous in donating a print from her Mataura series for us to raffle proceeds to the Community Nursery. See the karearea print below. Tickets are $5 each and you can pay at the Nursery (cash) or on internet banking – Sthld Community Nursery, bank account number 03-1355-0645582-00
The raffle will be drawn on the closing day of the Nursery on Friday 19 December 2025.
Chris
Posted: 14 November 2025
Events coming up – Jo Ogier art workshop Weekend 8-9 November 2025. One of our participants has had a cataract operation and cant now attend so there is now a place for some lucky person. It is a privilege to have Jo down here so don’t miss out if you have always wanted to do one of her workshops – now is the time. Send me an email. Poster here
Southland Ecological Restoration Field Trip – Weekend 15-16 November. The trip is to Te Anau, with an overnight stay at Te Koawa Turoa o Takitimu accommodation near Blackmount and we will car pool from Invercargill so if you are keen to join us to see the exciting restoration projects around Te Anau please email Gay - [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]. The accommodation cost will be covered so it’s a great chance to see some projects you wouldn’t normally get to. See poster.
Since the last post a lot has happened, including of course the Big STORM. Personally, our property stood up well with little damage, astonishingly. The bush was thrashed about but stood firm and our native shelter withstood the blast. We were also heartened by our great neighbours who all supported eachother, in particular Barry and Robyn Smith who invited all the neighbours to their place – they had power from their solar system and shared it with everyone, so here is a shout out to them!
The Bushy Point Planting went very well, thanks to all the Nursery volunteers who helped put out plants onto site and helped with planting – the story and photographs are at this link - https://www.otataralandcare.org.nz/news-events/bushy-point-25th-anniversary-celebration/. Bronwyn also led an Otatara school group planting at Bushy Point on the Friday, planting 5 year old kahikatea and pokaka trees from the Community Nursery, into gaps in the original 2011 plantings, so it was a very successful event all round - see Express article below.
Friday volunteer morings are very popular and the food is next level!
Chris
Posted: 2 November 2025
The first event is on Sunday 12th October 2025 – a book launch by our good friend and nature educator Mark Oster. His collection of poems “The Incessant Gossip of Leaves” and author talk will be in the Invercargill Library 2-3.30pm - more details below.
Friday 17 October 2025 Nursery Volunteers will be helping to put out plants and combi guards in preparation for the Bushy Point planting day on 18th October. This will be the 25th Anniversary of the Bushy Point project. All of the 30,000 plus plants have been grown by the Nursery, first by Linda and Ray and latterly by Nursery volunteers (including Linda and Ray). If you can help out Friday all good but also if you can come and help out on the planting day it will be a big celebration event and free bbq. You will be able to see the difference the Otatara Landcare Group has made by looking at the “before” and “after” photos below and we would welcome anyone who has been involved the past and new helpers on this longstanding and inspiring project. Poster for details here.
There is one place left on the Jo Ogier Art Workshop to be held on 8th November 2025 - details here. Get in quick if you’d like to attend, send me an email.
Congratulations to all the Environment Awards nominees and winners last Friday but especially to Alan McPherson (eighty something) and Jordan for Kew Bush and Zac Marsh (11) from Te Anau, such inspiration to everyone.
Chris
Posted: 6 October 2025
