The final nursery volunteer Friday for 2013 was a very festive affair! The christmas tree was decorated, people brought a fine spread of food to share for morning tea and the “bubbleman” Alan Admore came with his marvellous array of bubblemaking devices.
Thanks to all our volunteers in 2013 who have helped to make the Community Nursery a truly wonderful community place - and by the way we did produce over 10,000 locally sourced native plants to go out into the Southland environment this year as well!
With your help, we look forward to 2014 - Chris and Brian
Posted: 21 December 2013
Since opening the nature Education Centre we have had a number of schools and groups visiting - at the end of November Otautau Scool visited as part of their trip to Omaui Camp. On 27 November Southland Girls High School visited Bushy Point and the Centre with John Kennedy and Lynley King - learning about pest animals. This visit was followed by a group of SBS banking staff learning about pests and native plants accompanied by Environment Southland staff. The SBS staff were particularly interested in our “kiwi saver” koha scheme! (see photo below).
On 5th November Makarewa Preschool visited and spent the morning looking around the ponds and tracks, playing “leaf bingo” and testing out the activity sheets sensory trail as well as potting up seedlings in the Nursery.
During the latter part of December a number of groups had their Christmas breakup mettings at the Centre - Otatara Landcare Group, Southland Forest and Bird and Southland Natural History Society. We welcome the use of the centre for meetings and workshops.
Posted: 21 December 2013
The official opening of the Nature Education Centre was an awesome event.
Estelle Leask welcomed about 60 people to the new building and with Dave Taylor’s address, it was a very moving start to the celebration.
Brian and I explained our vision for the property and the new Centre and thanked our volunteers, key supporters (particularly Linda and Ray Jackson, Maggie and Stephen Elford, Dawn Patterson and Janet Hodgetts) and sponsors for enabling the project to happen. The funding for the Centre had been one third Southland Community Nursery Trust (from sale of plants), one third from ourselves, and one third from the Community Trust of Southland. Further grants for carparking and decking to finish the building had been given by Department of Conservation and Southland Forest and Bird Society. Janet Hodgetts artwork in the Centre was enjoyed by all.
Our patron Ruud Kleinpaste put the community project in a national context. Earlier in the day Ruud had taken some excited Limehills schoolchildren on a bug hunting expedition around the ponds and bush.
Only the weather didnt behave, but I guess that’s why we build the all-weather facility in the first place!
We welcome school enquires and if you would like to hold a workshop at the property - have a look at the Education Centre section of this website and book with Chris.
Posted: 13 November 2013
There will be two opportunities to visit the new Nature Education Centre - the official opening on Friday 8th November at 1pm with our Patron Ruud Kleinpaste and an Open Afternoon on Saturday 30th November.
We look forward to showing you our new facility at one of these events.
Posted: 4 November 2013
While Brian and I were away visiting family and friends in the UK the “closed” nursery went on as usual with Linda and Ray and regular volunteers coming and helping on Fridays. While we enjoyed the best summer in the UK for many years, there was the odd rainy day - as experienced while camping with nephew Jack in Devon - see his delight as a river started running into our tent!
The Otatara Landcare Group held the third Living Legends planting event in August with 3500 of Linda and Ray’s nursery grown plants going to Bushy Point - totalling 10,000 native plants in the last three years - a mightly effort by the Landcare Group committee, Otarara volunteers, schoolchildren and the public.
The Nature Centre - though not quite finished, was equipped well enough for ES Enviroschools Mark Oster and Pat Hoffman to hold two workshops in the building - one for school caretakers and one for teachers. Both were well received and the Nature Centre proved to be a good venue for the workshops. We are now gearing up for school visits and other workshops.
Murals by Janet Hodgetts and an interactive “tunnel” in the Nature Centre are big drawcards for the children who visit!
Posted: 2 October 2013
