Playground!!!We are so exited to have our new playground structure installed at the Community House. This project has spanned 3 years, multiple fundraising channels and fundraising events which has resulted in a fantastic new addition to our facility for the whole community to enjoy. Lots of planning and consideration went into the design, so that it was suitable for toddlers to tweens, as we cater to a wide variety of tamariki throughout our activations. From paygroups, holiday programmes, churches, educational classes, after school activities, birthday party hire and a multitude of community events. The community has been involved right from the start, with our playgroup and holiday programme whānau giving input to the design. We had a working bee to demolish the old structure, with the help of Viatris NZ who came along for the day and smashed out the work. Once the playground was installed we celebrated the opening with a free family afternoon including sausage sizzle, iceblocks, bubbles and a special visit from Spiderman! We are ecstatic with the new playground and can’t wait to share our new equipment with the wider Green Bay community. This new focal point of our centre will make special memories for years to come. A huge thanks to our funders including Trusts West Auckland, MOE and all of the community donations. This project would not have happened without your support. Halloween 2022Ghosts and Witches and Creatures of Fright Don’t miss the call of Halloween Night Something spooky happened in Green Bay on the 31st October and the community house was transformed into a Haunted house. Giant spiders moved into the corners and skeletons and ghosts appeared. The wicked witch handed out hundreds of lollies to the pirates, monsters and creatures. We had a scavenger hunt, amazing hand painted hidden rocks, colouring and crafts for the tamariki to enjoy. The support for the event was incredible, and it was great to see our community getting into the fun with such creative costumes . keep an eye out next year, as rumour has is it, there may be bigger and better Halloween surprises coming our way. Massive thanks to the Whau Local Board for supporting our event. We’re all about sustainability, supporting local charities and community, so we recently did our part for sustainable, and affordable fashion, by holding a clothing swap on the 14th October 2020. The event kicked off at 7pm, with queues of ‘swappers’ waiting at the door. Each ‘swapper’ had previously dropped off a minimum of five good quality clothing items, and in return received 5 swap tokens. On entry they were asked to donate a sanitary item for ‘One for Her’ a period poverty charity, and a gold coin donation was collected for Plunket. The clothing was sorted into size and type by our helpful volunteers earlier in the day. Then from 7pm when the doors opened, it was all on!! ‘Swappers’ rummaged to find the goodies and try on their favourite pieces. We had 45 attendees and 38 of these swapped until they dropped. Additional items, above the five swap tokens, could be purchased for $1 each. This all helped to raise $148 raised for Plunket. We received 30 sanitary items for one for her , which were greatly received This was such an outstanding event, and thoroughly enjoyed by the community. The delicious grazing platter and 'mocktails' provided added to the ambiance, and encouraged everyone to relax, hang around and enjoy some timeout of their busy lives. The feedback was amazing, with everyone wanting to know when the next event is running! We’re hoping to run another swap in April /May in partnership with Sustinnoworx.co.nz, a West Auckland Women's charity. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more info. Thanks to The Whau local board for funding to make this event possible. On the 1st August 2020 we held our incredibly successful Neighbours Day working bee event at the Green bay Community House. This event was originally scheduled for 18th April 2020, however this was postponed due to Covid-19. We were absolutely blown away with the community support we received for this event. With around 30 adults and 20 children turning up to help out with the gardening projects we had scheduled. We were lucky enough to receive neighbours day funding, and we used towards supplying our wonderful helpers with morning tea and lunch on the day. These treats were well received and gave the crew much needed energy to continue smashing through the jobs. All the attendees mentioned the huge numbers of helpers, and how wonderful it was to see such great community spirit. We all left the event will full hearts and full bellies thanks to Neighbours Day! Blue Borage’s Katrina Wolff’s passion is compost. Apart from running the five-week ‘Growing Our Gardens’ workshop, she goes into workplaces, communities and schools, tailoring training sessions to individual needs. Her motto is ‘Soil with Soul’. It all started when Katrina started experimenting with creating her own seed raising mix, questioning whether it was necessary to buy soil from a shop. As it turns out, composting garden and household waste is a fundamental part of the process. Katrina strongly advocates a drastic reduction of waste; even the namesake flower blue borage is edible. She encourages people to plant bee-friendly gardens and to establish their own edible gardens even in the tiniest of spaces. Microgreens anyone? Katrina is also involved with the Kai Whau project which is all about better access to good kai and encourages the sharing of knowledge and resources in the community. Both projects are supported by the Whau Local Board. Katrina has been teaching this workshop at the Green Bay Community House for almost a year now. What was a casual drop-in session in 2019 became a structured five-week course this year, and the feedback about this change has been positive. When you enter the Green Bay Community House’s main hall, where the workshop is held, you hear lively chatter, soil is being mixed, seedlings re-potted, while a bucket with aerating worm tea solution is bubbling away in the corner. The table is laden with mint cuttings, apples, figs, chillies, kaffir lime leaves as well as cuttings of Peruvian lily, aloe vera and even a strawberry plant in early March. Everybody is enthusiastically telling the group what bounty they have brought from their own garden to share. Gardening tips are exchanged; everybody’s input is valuable and welcome. The passion for gardening of presenter and participants alike is palpable. There are calls for Katrina to bring her workshops to the wider community. Katrina states that the inspiration for sharing cuttings and produce came from the movement Crop Swap Aotearoa. In March 2020, it feels like community crop swaps could be a useful way for people to share resources in the coming months when we may be faced with economic hardships, many people staying home, many more working remotely, and most of us probably trying to save money on our food costs wherever possible. Joan, who is attending her second round of workshops, travels from Epsom to attend. What Joan likes about the ‘Growing our gardens’ workshops is that “we learn from each other. We exchange knowledge, seeds and cuttings. I have been to many gardening related events. Usually, someone talks to the class from the front and there is little interaction between the participants. Here, we share, we talk to each other and learn. This is the best gardening course I’ve ever done.” The participants range from gardening novices to lifelong gardeners. There are young couples, families with small children and mature and seasoned gardeners. Listening in, it seems the gardening expertise within the group is already high. Everybody is encouraged to share their knowledge and does so freely. Katrina’s role in Kai Whau and also the Urban Farmers’ Alliance means she is on the lookout for the next generation of urban farmers and working out what they need in order to help localise our food system. The community spirit is especially evident at the end of the class. Everybody is mucking in when it is time to pack up the room. In the sudden downpour that coincides with the end of class, most welcome for any gardener, people help each other carry their bounty to their cars. Participants say they can’t wait to get stuck into their garden. There’s new gardening knowledge to apply, seeds to plant and cuttings to nurture. The participants not only take home the plants and seeds they have swapped, composting tips, a bottle of worm tea, but also an increased confidence in their gardening ability. Green Bay Unicycle Club - A Special Visit
When Audrie Lee took retirement 30 years ago, she decided it was time she pursued her interest in painting. Born in downtown Auckland, Audrie and her husband decided to move to Huia upon retirement, after having spent much of their married life in Sandringham. Shortly after moving out West, in 1989, she chanced across Sam Mayo and joined him at art classes held at the aquarium that was then located amidst the Green Bay block of shops. Later, the Art Group moved to the Green Bay Community House and has been there ever since. Although she is humble about it, Audrie attended art school in her youth. For 30 years now, she has been the tutor and mentor for a small dedicated number of aspiring artists. One member of the group told us that Audrie has been like a mother to them. Audrie has been a pillar of the Green Bay Art Community and a friend to the Community House. When Twinkle Toes, the Community House cat, sadly passed away a couple of years ago, Audrie gifted a painting of Twinkle to the House: Audrie refers to herself as a messy painter. She paints with water colour and acrylics, but stays well clear of oil paintings, for the aforementioned reason. She has painted hundreds of paintings, some on postcards, which she has been giving away at Christmas. Audrie has also sold a number of her paintings and had an art display in Oratia. Here are some of her paintings: Audrie’s husband has sadly passed away. But they had been fortunate enough to be able to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary, together with the Art Group, of course.
Now, at the age of 90, Audrie has decided to move in with her daughter in New South Wales. She is in the process of moving out of her home in Henderson to embark on her overseas adventure. She will take most of her paintings with her, as well as Millie, the dog. Basil, the swearing budgie, has found a new home with a member of the Art Group. Last month, a morning tea was held in honour of Audrie. It was also attended by members of other Green Bay groups, such as the knitting and crochet group, and Community House staff. It’s a tight-knit bunch in Green Bay. Audrie’s departure will be a great loss for the Art Group, as it practically leaves them without a tutor. Audrie will be sorely missed, as she sets sail for new shores across the Ditch. Written by Melanie Wittwer and Doris Evans, Green Bay Writers, July 2019 |