from here

Canterbury & South Island news:

Godwits have landed. (16 September, CCC).

Young Auckland designers return to Ellerslie to chase gold. (17 September, CCC).

Christchurch City Libraries & NZ Book Month (October). (16 September, CCC).
Also:
Free digital downloads from 'library without walls' - starts 5 October. (17 October, CCC).

ECAn releases two NIWA reports on Canterbury water quality. (16 September, ECan).

Historic Halswell farm buildings demolished. (15 September, Stuff/The Press).

Canterbury drought likely, say forecasters. (16 September, Stuff/The Press).

Those Aussies: We're eating their dust and now they want it back for analysis. (16 September, Stuff/The Press).

Nelson: Protesters march against community education cuts. (14 September, Nelson Mail/Stuff).

Nelson: Plea to not crash Adele Island kiwi creche. (15 September, Nelson Mail/Stuff).

Nelson: Concern for bats halts poison plans. (16 September, The Nelson Mail/Stuff).

Timaru: Young scientists' research ranges from the supermarket to the Faroes. (17 September, ECan).

Waitaki River: Illegal vegetation clearance heightens flood risk. About 600ha has been lost over the past five to 10 years as farmers have cleared trees and vegetation to create more pasture. (17 September, ECan).

West Coast: Single objector stands in way of hydro plan. (15 September, Stuff/The Press).

Oatago Peninsula: Not just for benefit of geckos. A NZ-owned environment control company is now the champion of the native jewelled gecko. (17 September, Otago Daily Times).

North Island & national:

Doctors issue health warning ahead of climate conference. Human society faces a global health catastrophe if climate change is not effectively tackled. (17 September, NZ Herald).

Global warming threatens NZ: "particularly at risk" as quakes, volcanic eruptions, giant landslides and tsunamis are increasingly triggered by global warming changing the earth's crust, scientists say. (17 September, Stuff).

Greenpeace protest won't shift Fonterra or PM. (17 September, Stuff).
Also:
Fonterra says 'no' to ship protest plea. (17 September, NZ Herald).

Public to pay tab for polluters. (15 September, Dominion Post/Stuff).
Also:
Reworked ETS has backers and bashers. (15 September, NBR).
Also:
Labour, furious, quits climate change talks. The Green Party just as angry but for a different reason. (16 September, NBR).
Also:
Editorial: Key missed bipartisan opportunity - not John Key's finest hour, as may be evident in years ahead. (16 September, NZ Herald).

'Footprint' for water: Following on from carbon footprints and food miles, moves are under way to include water information on labels. (15 September, Stuff/The Press).
Also:
'Water footprint' as pressing as CO2 emissions. The water issue is still five to 10 years behind that of carbon, but "it's going to reach a crunch quicker than carbon". (15 September, NZ Herald).

Key insists on state-owned power company profits, ignoring Labour's suggestion this leads to the "price gouging" of consumers. (15 September, NZ Herald).

Re-opening door to miners ignores history. For the environment, the victories are temporary and the defeats permanent. Gary Taylor. (14 September, NZ Herald).
Also:
Labour's David Parker on Gerry Brownlee: Mr Lignite 2009. (16 September, Stuff/The Southland Times).

Kiwi Rail - any one want to buy a train set? Finance Minister Bill English has been heard to label KiwiRail as “worthless.” (14 September, NBR).

Call for top-up of insulation funds. Govt's target is to insulate 180,000 older homes in four years, but a poll suggests about 280,000 home owners may apply. (16 September, Stuff/The Press).
Also:
Rich keenest on hand-out for insulation. (15 September, NZ Herald).

Alarm over education funding - OECD report shows teachers in New Zealand work some of the longest hours for the lowest pay in the developed world. (15 September, The Nelson Mail/Stuff).

Night schoolers' next stop is Parliament - not giving up on fight to reinstate funding. (15 September, NZ Herald).

Ruahine Forest Park: DOC using "Judas goats" to help track wild goats and prevent their spread. (15 September, Manawatu Standard/Stuff).

Wairarapa: landowner accused of destroying protected wetlands. Tauherenikau Delta, bordering Lake Wairarapa, is part of the largest wetland complex in the southern North Island. (11 September, Stuff).

Auckland: Record visitor numbers at libraries. Economic downturn may be bad for business but it’s doing wonders for the local library. (16 September, Central Leader/Stuff).

DOC and local designers come up with home grown 'kiwi saver'. (17 September, DOC).

Kokako ready to take flight to Fiordland. (16 September, DOC).

Education for planet earth. For almost 20 years, Green Teacher magazine (Toronto based) has been publishing innovative ideas and learning activities for educators of environmental literacy and global green awareness among young people, aged 6-19.
It is offering digital subscriptions to NZ educators and schools for half what Canadians and Americans pay. They have also reduced the price of print subscriptions, after finding a cheaper way to mail magazines and books to NZ.
Read, download and/or print a recent issue for free, via a link on the main webpage at  www.greenteacher.com.  By clicking "Search Back Issues" on the main page, you can read annotated descriptions of past articles and activities.

Love it or lose it: save our heritage places. No government has the right to deprive our children of our most treasured places and native species. Download the petition, send a message to PM. (The Green Party's anti-mining webpage).

Forest & Bird polls open for Bird of the Year. Cast a vote for your favourite.

Re-linked awards, submissions, consultations etc:

• Bayerboost Environmental Scholarship Scheme: administered by Royal Society of NZ, in partnership with Bayer, to sponsor secondary school and tertiary students intending to study environmental sciences or related areas, in summer work/research programmes to gain experience that will support their future careers. Applications to RSNZ by 5.00pm 30 September. More info here. (www.bayerboost.co.nz).
  
  
• Entries for 2010 Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards open 1 September and close 23 October, 2009. Entry forms/more info: www.bfea.org.nz or contact: Nicola Hunt, Canterbury Regional Co-ordinator, Ballance Farm Environment Awards, (03) 353 9711, email bfea@ecan.govt.nz
  
  

• Public views sought on Council's funding of new conservatorium of music at the Arts Centre. Till 23 September.
  

• Planned cycle lane for Harewood Road - public's views wanted. Before 2 October. (CCC).
  

• MAF sustainable farming fund: applications for over $20,000 close 7 October. more info here. (MAF).
  

• Feel the Heat Petition. Take action on Climate Change. (www.oxfam.org.nz).
  Also:
  Sign on. There's no planet B. Sign On (More than 110,000 NZers so far). (www.signon.org.nz).
  
  
• Have your say: current CCC consultations.

& from there

• World Bank urges climate 'action now' - including a rapid scaling-up of spending on clean energy research and protection for poorer countries. (15 September, BBC).
  
  
• China: Chinese government adviser warns: 2C global warming target is unrealistic. (16 September, The Guardian).
  
  
• UK: If Obama can't defeat the Republican headbangers, our planet is doomed. The fate of a global climate treaty rests in Ameirican hands. Jonathon Freedland. (15 September, The Guardian).
  
  
• Suddenly, a few reasons to be optimistic about Copenhagen. Geoffrey Lean. (16 September, Grist.org).
  
  
• New CO2 data helps unlock the secrets of Antarctic formation. The link between declining CO2 levels in the earth's atmosphere and the formation of the Antarctic ice caps some 34 million years ago has been confirmed for the first time. (13 September, e! Science News).
  
  
• EU: Mafia 'sank ships of toxic waste' - an illegal operation to bypass laws on toxic waste disposal. Possibly radioactive. (16 September, BBC).
  
  
• Australia: Overtakes US as world's biggest individual polluters. (11 September, Physorg.com).
  
  
• UK: Against the grain on Norman Bolaug. Founder of the 'green revolution'. He may have saved a billion from starvation, but critics say he planted the seed for future environmental woes. (15 September, The Guardian).
  
  
• US: Male bass in many US rivers feminised, study finds. Intersex fish are seen as a general warning about a wider problem of endocrine disruptors in the environment. (14 September, abc News).
  
  
• Hawaii: Exotic timber plantations found to use more than twice the water of native forests. (15 September, e! Science News).
  
  
• US: Green certification for the White House on the horizon? President Obama intends to get the White House LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. (14 September, greenerbuildings.com).
  
  
• US: The top 5 sustainable food stories of the year. (8 September, Alternet).
  
  
• US: 15 must-read books that will forever change how you see the world. (10 September, Alternet).
  
  
• US: Radical collaboration. Traditional competition may not be the most effective way to make large-scale change. (16 September, Worldchanging).
  
  
• UK: Fairtrade chief gets on her bike to tackle global trade problems. (12 September, Times Online).
  
  
• UK: Cars and cycle lanes - too close for comfort. A new study has found motorists leave less room when passing cyclists in a bike lane. Should we avoid riding in them? (Bike blog, The Guardian).
  
  
• Caucasus Mountains, Georgia: The first tailors? Researchers find ancient fibre - from more than 30,000 years ago. (c12 September, Google news).
  
  Technology:
  
• US: World's first smart grid city is now operational. (11 September, ecoGeek).
  
  
• Australia: Skyburbs: Two Sydney architects bringing suburbs to the city. (11 September, Inhabitat).
  
  
• US: DNA 'barcode' to help nab illegal wildlife traders. (14 September, NPR).
  
  
• Gadgets: rechargeable (wind up) bike lights for cyclists. 15 quid. (The Guardian ecostore).
  
  Natural world:
  
• Florida, US: Already squeezed by the invasion of the giant Burmese python, Florida now faces one of the state's "worst nightmares." - Africa's largest snake, the 6m rock python. (14 September, National Geographic).
  
  
• Italy: Soprano pipistrelle: The bat that came out of the dark to hunt by day. Very unusual. (14 September, BBC Earth).
  
  
• UK: Humpback whale found dead in the Thames. The first ever. (14 September, The Guardian).
  
  
• Rwanda mourns most famous gorilla. Titus. (15 September, BBC).
  
  
• Anchorage, Alaska: Walruses congregate on shore as ice melts. (9 September, Yahoo! News).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Using ecoNet

Is easy. Just send in to the editor information about an event, activity or submission you want to share and it will go in ecoNet....as long as it's appropriate of course.

ecoNet is put out (Fridays) by Christchurch Branch of NZAEE (NZ Association for Environmental Education), a non-profit, national organisation of people working to promote and support environmental education, lifelong learning and sustainable behaviour throughout New Zealand/Aotearoa.

How do I contribute?

Use the links below to:

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• contact us

• Work day: weedbusting (again) - Boneseed removal.

  When: 9.00 - 12.00 pm Saturday, 19 Sept.
  Where: Barnett Park; meet end of Bayview Rd.
  Bring: gloves, saw, loppers. Otherwise supplied.
  Contact: Nigel 941 7573 or 027 234 1353.
  Organised by Port Hills Rangers Service, CCC.
  
  

• Planting day: The Travis Wetland Trust.

  Continuation of matai/kahikatea/totara forest establishment.
  When: 10.00 am - 12.00 pm Saturday, 19 Sept.
  Where: Meet at the Education Centre, end of Beach Rd.
  Bring: gumboots, gloves, water etc. Spades provided. A BBQ will follow.
  Cancellations on Newstalk ZB.
  Info/contact: http://traviswetland.org.nz.
  In association with Trees for Canterbury & CCC to celebrate World Parks Day. (see here).
  
  

• Work days: Quail Island Restoration Trust planting days.

  When: Sat 19 & Sun 20, September.
  (Ferry leaves Lyttelton 9.20 am and returns 3.30 pm).
  Booking essential.
  Contact: Ian McLennan ph 384 5338 or id.mclennan@xtra.co.nz.
  Background info: www.quailisland.org.nz
  
  

• Canterbury Restoration Field-days, September 2009: Bringing Back Biodiversity - “Get Inspired, Get Involved, Get it Right!”

  When: 10.00 - 5.00 pm Saturday, 19 Sept. (Field trips round central Canterbury Sunday, 20 September).
  Where: DOC nursery, Motukarara.
  More info/registration & programme: www.canterburybiodiversity.org.nz/ .
  Contact: wayne.mccallum@ecan.govt.nz.
  
  

• Workshop: Reconstruct Your Clothes!

  Description, demonstration & practical.
  Tutor: Briar Cook. (see: Rethreads www.felt.co.nz).
  When: 1.00 - 5.00 pm Saturday, 19 Sept.
  Where: St Albans Community Centre, 1047 Colombo St.
  Bring: Sewing supplies, out of style clothing, fabric remnants, sewing machine if you have one.
  Cost: Koha/donation.
  Contact: St Albans Community Centre 379 6350.
  
  

• UN International Day of Peace, 21 September.

  WMD We must disarm.
  Background info: www.un.org
  Also:
  
• Peace walk: UN International Day for Peace. Discover Christchurch in peace and conflict.
  When: 5.00 pm Monday, 21 September.
  Where: Starts at the Elsie Locke Park at Centennial Pool on Oxford Tce., through Latimer Square to the Canterbury Women's Place, 190 Worcester Street.
  Speaker: Natasha Barnes, Canterbury University post-graduate specialising in nuclear disarmament issues.
  Organised by Canterbury United Nations Assn.
  
  

• Event: to celebrate Suffrage Day 2009 - with Women on Air & Plains FM.

  Speakers: include Meteria Turei, Green Party co-leader, & Iranian Shabnam Dastgheib, on her own story so far & life for women in Iran.
  When: 7.30 pm Monday, 21 September.
  Where: Christchurch Girls High School.
  Tickets: $12/10 (friends), $8 students.
  Phone: Ruth 384 4721 or Morrin 329 9789.
  More info: here (http://plainsfm.org.nz)
  
  

• Soil & Health monthly meeting & a talk on WWOOF-ing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms).

  Speaker: Philippa Jamieson, on her volunteering adventures. As author of ‘The Wild Green Yonder’ & editor of Organic NZ, Philippa has a unique view of where the organic movement is at in NZ.
  When: 7.30 pm Monday, 21 September. Where: Oxford Tce Baptist Church, cnr Oxford Tce & Madras St.
  Cost: $2.00.
  Non-members welcome.
  Organisers: Good Gardeners and Soil & Health, Canterbury Branch.
  Background/& info: organicschch.bolgspot.com.
  
  

• Talk: 2009 Pickering Memeorial Lecture series: The Future of Solar Energy:

  Developments in photovoltaics and opportunities for NZ.
  Speaker: Dr Muriel Watt, a Project Manager for renewable energy consulting company, IT Power, Australia, & part-time Senior Lecturer, School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of NSW.
  When: 7.30pm Monday, 21 September.
  Where: Ngaio Marsh Theatre, University of Canterbury.
  More info: www.ipenz.org.nz/pickering.
  Organised by: IPENZ. (Institute of Professional Engineers, NZ).
  
  

• Conservation Week: 2009 - Kia Mahia te Mahi: Get Involved.

  An annual series of national DOC events.
  When: 13 - 20 September.
  More info: here (www.doc.govt.nz/conservation
  -week/events/canterbury).
  
  

• World Car Free Day, Tuesday 22 September.

  Events:
  When: 7.30 - 8.30 am.
  Where: Corner Manchester, High and Lichfield Streets
  Free fuel (toast!) for walkers, cyclists, bus
  drivers ... anyone who has left their car at home for the day.
  Organised by Aoraki Greens.
  Also:
  12 noon: Bike promenade - coming into town on a bike for Car Free Day? Come for a half-hour ride round the inner city. (A try out for the Frocks on Bikes promenade route planned for 24 October).
  Where: Meet at Victoria Square.
  Organised by: 350.org Christchurch/Frocks on Bikes.
  Also:
  Film: Triplets of Belleville, a family friendly cartoon (extended families, the love of
  cycles, competition in Tour de France, the Mafia - in the end good triumphs over all). Organised by Canterbury Cyclists Association Spokes.
  When: 6.00 pm. (5.30 pm for soup & bread).
  Where: Linwood Community Art Centre, cnr Worcester St & Stanmore Rd.
  
  

• Meeting: Greenpeace Sign On planning meeting.

  Less than 90 days before world leaders gather in Copenhagen for the UN climate talks - could well be the most important in history. Help mobilise New Zealanders to ensure John Key cannot ignore the necessity of a 40% by 2020 emission reduction target.
  When: 6.00 -7.30 pm Tuesday, 22 Sept.
  Where: Community House, 141 Hereford St.
  Contact: Dan Marrow christchurch@signon.org
  Background info: www.signon.org.nz (Now over 113,000).
  
  

• Community planting: Lake Heron, Ashburton Lakes.

  Part of the O Tu Wharekai Wetland Restoration Project - i.e. one of three Arawai Käkäriki projects, aimed at restoring three nationally significant wetlands with help from the community, and along the way learn more about methods to use on other wetlands.
  When: 2.00 - 5.00 pm Wed, 23 Sept.
  Where: Meet at the Lake Heron Rd end (from the Hakatere-Heron Rd, turn right at Lake Heron). It's an easy 20min walk to the site.
  Bring: gumboots, warm clothing, a spade, and a drink.
  Sausage sizzle at 5pm.
  Contact: Wendy Sullivan 03 693 1013.
  
  

• Talk & discussion: Wednesday nights at the WEA.

  This week: Poverty - a history of working poor through the ages.
  Speaker: Doug Craig.
  When: 5.30 pm Wednesday, 23 September.(Soup, bread, tea & coffee at 5.30, talk and discussion at 6.00 pm).
  Where: WEA, 59 Gloucester St.
  Cost: Gold coin.
  Register/contact/info: cwea@xtra.co.nz or 366 0285.
  
  

• Public talk: 2009 Macmillan Brown Lecture Series:
  Integrating and incorporating DNA information with Matauranga Maori and Pacific Knowledge.

  The potential for studies and partnerships of benefit to both scientific and indigenous communities and their knowledge systems.
  Speaker: Lisa Matisoo-Smith, Professor of Biological Anthropology, University of Auckland.
  When: 6.30 - 7.30 pm Wednesday, 23 September.
  Where: Central lecture theatre C3, University of Canterbury. (map here).
  More info: here (www.canterbury.ac.nz).
  All welcome.
  
  

• Movie NZ premiere: Soldiers For Peace

  The good news is peace is breaking out.
  Documentary narrated by Michael Douglas,
  showing inspiring, every day people around the globe who are proving that peace is a more viable alternative to war.
  When: 8.00 pm Wednesday, 23 September & 2.00 pm Sunday, 27 September.
  Where:  Regent on Worcester. Two times only.
  Tickets: $15.00 through The Yak - ph 385 9590  or 021 062 1092
  All profits to 'World March for Peace & Non-violence Aotearoa-NZ'.
  More/trailer: www.soldiersofpeacemovie.com.
  
  

• Green Drinks: an invitation to any professional, activist or thinker of a green hue.

  Find friends, contacts, contracts, jobs, and... maybe even love. 
  Speaker of the month: Eugenie Sage, ECan councillor: Is collaboration the answer to Canterbury's water woes? - the draft Canterbury Water Management Strategy and its proposed new approach to the region's water management challenges. 
  When: 5.30 pm Thursday, 24 September.
  Where: Bismarck Bar, Poplar Lane (between Lichfield & Tuam Streets).
  
  

• Event: Recreation! The NZ Outdoor Adventure Expo.

  NZ's largest display of outdoors adventure products & services.
  When: 25 - 27 September.
  Where: Pioneer Leisure Centre, 75 Lyttelton St, Somerfield.
  Visit: The DOC stand, 5 South Island conservancies represented - see here (& also to print out your half price entry vouchers).
  More info: 360degevents.co.nz
  
  

• Weekend field trip: with Forest & Bird to Korowai/Torlesse Tussockland Park. (near Porters Pass/Lake Lyndon).

  When: Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 Sept. (Sat. explore the park, Sun. work party on wilding pines).
  Cost: (accommodation): $20 per person, $15 per child.
  Contact/more info: Lesley 379 0316 or Andrew ajsimpsonz@hotmail.com.
  
  

• Community planting day: Tarndale Reserve, Hanmer Springs. 

  As part of the development of the new Tarndale Reserve, in conjunction with the Hanmer Heritage Forest Trust Spring Festival. Plants provided by the Hurunui District Council.
  When: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm Sunday, 27 September.
  Where: Tarndale Reserve, access from the end of Tarndale Place or through Brooke Dawson Park (Spring Festival location).
  Contact: Dale 03 3140059, 027 733 2109, or dale.mcentee@hurunui.govt.nz
  
  

• Vegetarian  Food And Lifestyle Expo:

  NZ's biggest vegetarian event.
  When: 10.00 - 4.30 pm Sunday, 27 Sept.
  Where: Horticultural Centre, Riccarton Ave.
  Cost: $5.00 entry, children free.  
  More info: www.vegetarianexpo.org.nz
  or Christchurch Vegetarian Centre 940 9483.
  
  

• Concert: Earthdance.
  

  Bands include The Eastern, Minisnap, The Unfaithful Ways, Steve Gainsford, The South Tonight ... & more.
  When: 12.00 pm till sunset Sunday, 27 September.
  Where: Manaia Native Habitat, Okuti Valley, Little River. (The old Birdland's Sanctuary).
  Cost: $5 on the gate - proceeds to Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust.
  Also to celebrate re-opening of Little River campground.
  Contact: Marcus, Little River campground, 021 611820 or marcus@cpsa.org.nz
  More info: www.earthdance.org. & Here
  

• EARTHWISE, Plains FM 96.9

  Each Monday & Wednesday at 9.00 pm.
  Conservation, environment and peace with justice.
  This week: Dr Sharon Beder, Professor of Science, Society and Technology,
  Wollongong University, NSW talking about Emissions Trading Schemes, what are they about, what can they achieve?
  Presenters: Martin and Lois Griffiths.
  NB: Listen again to Earthwise programmes on archive.
  
  

• Wellington event: Conservation Day at the Zoo.

  When: Sunday, 20 September.
  Info & the day's programme: Here. (www.wellingtonzoo.com).
  

Coming up:

• Free workshop: Enhancing Banks Peninsula's biodiversity .

  When: 9.00 am - 7.00 pm, 8 October.
  Where: Gaiety Theatre, Akaroa.
  More info/contact: http://ecolinknz.blogspot.com.
  
  

• Wellington event: Camp for climate action:

  Team up, get trained, take action.
  Seeks to address the real causes of climate change & build a people's movement that can and will stop disastrous climate change.
  When: 16 - 21 December, 2009.
  Where: Wellington.
  More info/contact: www.climatecamp.org.nz.
  

Reminders:

• 350.org: Global Day of Action, 24 October.

  Choir update - Join 349 other singers at Victoria Square (in front of the Plaza Hotel) 2.00 pm, for 2.30 start, 24 October, to sing a set of easy to learn songs (with an opportunity to practice before going 'live').
  Contact: Jocelyn jyc497@gmail.com so you
  can be kept informed of arrangements. Thanks to those who have already
  been in contact.
  Also:
  
• Ideas, volunteers, and donations needed for the Global day of Action on the 24th October (and plenty of action building up to it!)
  If you are concerned about Climate Change, now is the time to do something.
  Want to join in?  Already being planned - Dawn celebration, massed choir, massive bike cavalcade, & more - see: www.350.org.nz
  or contact: Torfrida 382-0580 or 021-107-3937 or torfrida@snap.net.nz.
  
  

• Free home composting workshops:

  Hot composting of kitchen scraps & garden waste, Bokashi and worm farms. All methods demonstrated.
  At several sites:
  1. Seven Oaks Education Centre, 35 Hassals Lane. 1.00 - 2.30 pm each Saturday.
  2. Okeover Community Garden - University of Canterbury, Engineering Road. (Map here). 12.00 - 1.30 pm each Wednesday.
  3. Lyttelton Community Garden, 54A Oxford Street, 10.30 – 12.00 pm each Saturday.
  More info/contact: Annmarie 021 190 4559 or 942 7190 (evenings).
  Supported by CCC.
  
  

• Gardening courses: starting a garden, seed saving, composting, pickling & preserving, etc.

  Where: Strickland Street Community Garden, 188 Strickland Street, Spreydon. 
  When: for times & dates see their website www.sscommunitygarden.net.nz.
  Further info/contact: 942 6630.
  Supported by CCC.
  
  

• Volunteers wanted: weed control in Mackenzie Basin - in November.

  Help protect the biodiversity of this striking landscape together with rangers from the Department of Conservation (DOC).
  When: 23 - 27 November.
  More info: Here (www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/...).