Local Happenings

Huitānguru / February 22, 2025

Vote for your playground!

Submissions are due on the playground options by 5 pm on Monday 24 February. So if you haven’t voted yet please do!

Option 3 is the design that included ideas from the community. The limitations of budget did restrict what was achievable in the end, but elements we did manage included:

• Houghton Valley School children’s drawing’s etched onto wind-break panels;
• A representation of the buried waterways underneath the playground in the surface matting design;
• More natural timber and less plastic in the playground materials.

Of course we’d love you to vote for Option 3 after all our community effort, but it is up to you (or your children) to decide.

The WCC website has large rendered pictures to show the options, and some background to the process we have been through. The website renders for the third option don’t show the play value inside the central tower with interesting climbing opportunities, so we have shown an image from a slightly earlier version.

To make your choice, go to Let’s Talk Wellington before 5 pm Monday.

Seeds-to-Feeds Haewai Harvest Dinner

Saturday, March 8, 5.30 pm – 8.30 pm 

Have you got your tickets yet to our local food dinner at the Community Hall at 80 Houghton Bay Road? The meal will include locally grown and foraged ingredients as well as some from not far away. We have another delicious vegetarian menu with plant based and gluten free options, created by Leone and the Seeds-to-Feeds helpers, including:

• Foraged salad, homemade bread, preserves, dips;
• Roast tomato tarts and green vegetable and pesto pasta;
• Fruit and vegetable-based cakes and desserts;
• Drinks from the wild South Coast.

Please sign up now to secure your place! Bookings are koha based, with a recommended $20 for an adult and $10 for a child if you can afford it. Otherwise you can just pay what you can afford, or if you can’t afford anything we don’t mind, we’d love to see you anyway. Some proceeds go to help the Seeds-to-Feeds team do their magic, the rest goes towards community projects.

Get your tickets here.

Little Library

We finally have another Little Library nearly ready to be installed near the View Road bus stop. The cabinet has been made by local retired builder Barkie and painted by yours truly. It will start with some books from the Southern Landfill Recycle Centre, who we thank for a discount on their already low prices!

So hunt out some books you’d like to donate or swap and keep a look out for when it arrives. There is a focus on children’s books, but there is an upper shelf that can be for older readers. If you decide you want to keep a book, that’s no problem, but have a look out for something that you can put back in its place when you find the right thing. If you haven’t anything at home pick up something next time you are at a recycle centre or Op Shop.

The cabinet has been designed to keep the weather out, the latch is a little tight, but it is important to latch it when you are done: press the door firmly to make it easier to clip in place.

Community Gardens Open Days

Sunday, March 16, 10 am – 2 pm

Both our local community gardens are participating in the WCC Community Gardens Open Sundays as part of the eastern suburbs event. The gardening artists involved are making the day extra special.

Houghton Valley Gardens next to the school has common plots with vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers and you can meet the volunteer gardeners, help out for a bit, or just relax and observe the birds, bees, butterflies and insects. There will be a display of local summer and autumn plant dyes on cloth and you can enter a draw to win a mixed floral/herb/vegetable bouquet.

How to get to the Houghton Valley Gardens

Te Kawakawa Commons has a small vegetable garden, some fruit trees, shady seating spaces and beautiful regenerating bush to wander through. There will be an art trail for kids to explore, with little painted houses for them to view (and parents to purchase, with proceeds to buying more compost).

The entrance is up behind the bus stop near No. 44 Hornsey Road.

Events calendar

There are lots of things happening in the next few months both in Houghton Valley and round about.

• March 1 – 9: Local food Week organised by Wellington City Council. Check out the events on their website. They include our own Haewai Harvest Dinner.
• March 2: The annual Newtown Festival. Check out their programme.
• March 8: Seeds-to-Feeds Haewai Harvest Dinner at the Haewai Houghton Valley Community Hall. See above for details.
• March 9,16 and 30: Community gardens Open Sundays. Check out their programme.
• March 16: Houghton Valley Gardens and Te Kawakawa Commons Open Sunday. See above for details.
• April 5: Koha Coffee at the community hall (Saturday).
• May 3: Koha Coffee at the community hall (Sunday).
• May 25: Haewai Houghton Valley Community Association AGM at the community hall, starting 3pm. We have a speaker as well, save the date.
• June 7: Another Ceilidh at the community hall, save the date!

(170 recipients, 123 opens)

Huitānguru / February 3, 2025

Our community hall has been getting a new coat of paint this summer (when we have had summer that is), and now is refreshed with a delicate grey-green. In the photo the gable on the street side still shows the original colour, it will be tackled this week.

Koha Coffee

Sunday, February 9, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Our first Koha Coffee for the New Year is happening this Sunday morning. Come along to the community hall and catch up with local friends, check out the new paint job on the hall, and help with the all-important decision about what colour to paint the doors. Leone is hosting.

Playground renewal

You might have got a flyer in the post about the renewal of our playground near Hungerford Road. You may remember that this project was first put out for consultation over two years ago, but there was no clear winner between the two proposals, so a few members of the community asked to be able to have input into another option. Option 3 is the design that we ended up with after a rather long and winding journey. The limitations of budget did restrict what was achievable in the end, but elements we did manage included:

• Houghton Valley School children’s drawing’s etched onto wind-break panels;
• A representation of the buried waterways underneath the playground in the surface matting design;
• More natural timber and less plastic in the playground materials.

Much of what was important to the community focussed on the surrounding area, which was outside the scope of the playground design. Some of these we hope can be added through local input.

Of course we’d love you to vote for Option 3 after all our community effort, but it is up to you (or your children) to decide. The renders for the third option don’t show the play value inside the central tower with interesting climbing opportunities, so we have shown an image from a slightly earlier version here.

To make your choice, go to Let’s Talk Wellington before February 24.

Seeds-to-Feeds Haewai Harvest Dinner

Saturday, March 8, 5.30 pm – 8.30 pm 

Our Seeds-to-Feeds celebrations are now in their 6th year, they are pretty much an institution now. If you haven’t been to one yet, maybe it’s time! Once again it is being held at the Haewai Houghton Valley Community Hall at 80 Houghton Bay Road. The meal will include locally grown and foraged ingredients as well as some from not far away. We have another delicious vegetarian menu with plant based and gluten free options, created by Leone and the Seeds-to-Feeds helpers, including:

• Foraged salad, homemade bread, preserves, dips;
• Roast tomato tarts and green vegetable and pesto pasta;
• Fruit and vegetable-based cakes and desserts;
• Drinks from the wild South Coast.

Please sign up soon so that we have a good idea of numbers leading up to the event. Bookings are koha based, with a recommended $20 for an adult and $10 for a child. Get your tickets here.

(170 recipients, 122 opens)

Whiringa-ā-rangi / November 28, 2024

Koha Coffee

Sunday, December 1, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Come along to the community hall this Sunday morning and catch up with local friends before Christmas preparations take over. Leone is baking some gorgeous things once more, so you really only need to bring a koha.

Plenty of things going on in the community to talk about!

A great School Fair!

The Houghton Valley School Fair kicked off with a good old Southerly and some drizzle, but it soon cleared up and by the afternoon the numbers of people built up to rather more than this picture below records.

All in all a great time was had by everyone and certainly all the wonderful food  vanished!

Seeds-to-Feeds Wild Spring Lunch photos

We have our Wild Spring lunch photos and they look awesome! The photos were taken by Paddy Flanagan, a member of Wellington Timebank, and officially our Community Association’s first Timebank transaction.

To see more of Paddy’s photos watch our slideshow. If the food and the fun tempts you make sure you come next March!

(170 recipients, 128 opens)

Whiringa-ā-rangi / November 10, 2024

Houghton Valley School Fair

Saturday, November 16, 10 am – 2 pm

The fair is coming soon, and the fair drop zone is open! Please bring your pre-loved goods in GREAT condition including:

• Clothes;
• Books (especially children’s picture books and junior and young adult novels);
• Toys;
• Plates for the plate smash (in not so great condition);
• Lucky dip items i.e. small toys;
• Fabric remnants (1/2 m and longer for the craft stall).

The fair drop zone will be open Monday – Friday between 8.30 am and 3.00 pm at the Nikau Classroom against the back wall. Please separate your items into the various categories. Bring any plants on the day of the fair before it starts.

Otherwise, just come along on Saturday. It’s a fabulous day out for the whole family with something for everyone: bouncy castle, cute bunnies and lambs, candy floss, pre-loved clothes, toys, books, raffles and silent auction, plants and exquisite handmade crafts. Enjoy plenty of games, activities, face painting and live music for all – not to mention delicious food stalls, tea rooms and fresh coffee.

They are aiming for Zero Waste, so please support this by bringing your own bags, keep cups, plates.

Our Changing City Exhibition

WCC has created Our Changing City, an interactive pop-up exhibition designed to raise awareness about the impacts of climate disruption and explore how we can collaboratively prepare plan for a resilient future in Pōneke.

The exhibition will be on display from 30 October to 16 December at three local venues. It offers an engaging, hands-on way for the Motukairangi / Eastern Ward to learn about climate challenges such as floods, landslides, and sea-level rise. It also provides practical examples of what we can do to plan for these disruptions in our homes, workplaces, and communities.

Our Changing City focuses on the past, present, and future of the Ward, integrating scientific insights and mātauranga Māori. The exhibition will be available at the following locations:

• Motu-Kairangi Miramar Library: 30 October – 13 November
• Te Awa-a-Taia Kilbirnie Library: 15 November – 29 November
• Ākau Tangi Sports Centre: 2 December – 16 December

Seeds-to-Feeds Wild Spring Lunch

The lunch last Sunday went off splendidly, with nearly 40 people setting the hall humming. The food was excellent, the hall looked great, the guitar music was soothing, and we all had lots of good conversation and made some good connections between local stalwarts, new locals, and guests from elsewhere just coming to enjoy what we have to offer here in Houghton Valley.

This is just the start of our Seeds-to-Feeds season. We will be growing food over the summer towards an evening meal in March, just one of many put on by various suburbs around Wellington.

We will put together a slideshow of the photos taken by a Timebank photographer for the next newsletter.

Weeding Rhamnus on Te Raekaihau

On Saturday, the Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau group held a community weeding session and trialled a competition: The Rhamnus 1000. Evergreen buckthorn – or Rhamnus alaternus – is a big threat to Te Taiao on Te Raekaihau. It prevents native plants from establishing by forming dense stands of salt and wind tolerant bushes that grow on steep escarpments.

So the aim was to cut down, bag stumps, pull out seedlings or strip the regrowth of previously cut saplings of 1000 of these plants during one morning weeding session. Brian created a points schedule for motivation. Between nine of us we managed to amass 604 points. No mean feat considering the steep terrain, tangly undergrowth and older cut branches to work through, but a fun way to help get on top of a problem weed that fortunately hasn’t spread beyond this area yet.

The group will be holding another competition later. They need to work on the prizes though … 🙂

Funding for our hall and Community Association

In August we applied to the WLG Community and Environment Fund for $1,500 for 12 stacking chairs for the community hall, to make events and workshops more comfortable and seating arrangements more versatile. Our application was successful, so we will order the chairs shortly. We thank Wellington Airport and the Trustees of the fund for their support!

We also applied to Wellington City Council for $1,000 towards operational expenses for the Community Association, something they give every year to Residents’ Associations. This includes any expenses other than for the hall, such as food for events, photocopying etc. WCC have now granted this, we thank them for this financial boost!

Our Wee Free Library

Our Wee Free Library near the Playcentre and Community Hall has been succumbing to wind and rain damage since it was first installed in 2019. We’re not sure if the one remaining book was intentionally placed there, but it kind of says it all!

Is there anyone with time and a creative bent who would like to make another one for us? We can help with materials if needed.

Please contact admin@houghtonvalley.org.nz if you are interested.

(169 recipients, 132 opens)

Whiringa-ā-nuku / October 1, 2024

The Wellington South Coast Cleanup went ahead last Saturday, and they had a beautiful sunny morning for it. A variety of local groups headed to their respective beaches. Houghton Bay has been looked after by Houghton Valley School for many years now and there was a great turn out this year of children and their parents. The teacher organisers said that the amount of rubbish collected each year has reduced significantly, which is a great sign. Maybe others help collect rubbish during the year, or maybe there is generally less of it (well one can always hope …)

Koha Coffee

Saturday, October 5, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Houghton Valley Community Hall, 80 Houghton Bay Road

We didn’t have Koha Coffee last month as it would have been the day after the Ceilidh, which BTW was so much fun everyone asked for another! (In case you missed out we are planning the next one for April.) Next month we will be having a community lunch instead of Koha Coffee (see below), so make the most of this October one!

Andrew is hosting, so come along and add your opinion to whether jam on cream or cream on jam is the better way to eat a scone. You can bring something nice to eat as well, or a koha.

There have been several special awareness weeks recently, which we can acknowledge while we chat together. For Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori we can learn / practice some morning tea kupu and korero; for Mental Health Awareness Week we have printed off some quiz questions; and for Seniors’ Week … well there are always a few seniors there as well as younger folk!

Seeds-to-Feeds Wild Spring Lunch

Sunday, 3 November, 12 pm – 2.30 pm

Houghton Valley Community Hall, 80 Houghton Bay Road

We are kicking off this year’s Seeds-to-Feeds local food festival with a lunch that celebrates the fresh kai that is springing up wild in our gardens and on the hillsides. Come and enjoy a delicious vegetarian meal (vegan and gluten free available too). The menu includes:

• Local bread;
• Pickles, relishes and hummus;
• Vegetable savouries;
• Root vegetable pies;
• Our signature foraged salad;
• Cakes, tarts and biscuits;
• Tea and coffee.

The event is koha, but we recommend $15. The first $5 will go towards the wonderful work that the Seeds-to-Feeds team continues to do for us. The $10 plus any more you wish to donate on top of that will go towards Haewai Houghton Valley community projects. Book your tickets here!

There will be some vegetable seedlings available for a cash Koha, that you can take away to plant in your garden or a community garden.

Houghton Valley School Fair

Saturday, November 16, 10 am – 2 pm

Save the date for our School Fair, it is coming up soon!

It’s a fabulous day out for the whole family with something for everyone: bouncy castle, cute bunnies and lambs, candy floss, pre-loved clothes, toys, books, raffles and silent auction, plants and exquisite handmade crafts. Enjoy plenty of games, activities, face painting and live music for all – not to mention delicious food stalls, tea rooms and fresh coffee.

They are aiming for Zero Waste, so please support this by bringing your own bags, keep cups, plates.

Have a bit of a sort at home to see if you have anything to donate to the Fair (see stall categories above). Donations will open on 21 October, and instructions for bringing them will be posted on the Fair’s Facebook Page. If you have any plants that you would like to donate, you can bring them along just before the Fair starts. Make sure they are weeded and watered. Please no weed-tendency plants like karo or purple tradescantia (wandering willy)!

Buckley Road Reserve Tracks

The tracks in the Buckley Road reserve have been getting a bit of an upgrade, with a digger smoothing them out, and creating channels to allow water to drain off the track rather than along the middle of them. The track up from the playground has been done, work is still progressing along the upper track.

Locals have been putting in a few plants and plan to do more next winter. As you can see from the track descriptions, it is time they got some names so that we know which one is which. Have a think of ideas for names when you are next walking that way and we will organise a way to gather them together and decide on names.

(168 recipients, 125 opens)

Hereturikōkā / August 27, 2024

Saturday August 31, 7 – 11 pm 

Ticket sales are going well, if you are still intending to get yours do so ASAP. It’s going to be a great evening! Tickets are $25 per person, with children under 10 free. You can get your tickets from Humanitix.

Houghton Valley School quiz night

Wednesday September 4, from 6.30 pm

It’s quiz-ness time! Come and test your random general knowledge and have a blast at the annual HVS Quiz Night at The Pines. Whether you’ve got a team of 6-8 or want to join a lucky dip table, everyone’s welcome!

Te Raekaihau happenings

The top banner this month shows some of what has been happening on our local headland reserve. Over 2,500 plants have been planted by the community and a Corporate group with one more Corporate group to come. Weeding sessions have begun, tackling tradescantia, common ivy and tidying up some of the sets of steps. There is plenty more weeding to do over the next few months, but don’t be fooled into thinking that only planting trees is fun. It’s all great, not least just being on the reserve!

Sign up for notifications of the next activities of Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau via Facebook or their Newsletter.

Houghton Valley Community Garden update

Our community garden is in need of some more tools. If you have any that are not being used please consider donating them to a worthy cause. Tools needed include a fork, draw hoe, rake, grubber and shears.

There is a worm farm at the gardens and a minder is needed for September and October. If you’d like to learn a simple care-for-the soil activity please contact the gardeners.

The WCC Stone Soup Fund helped fund an upgrade to the garden water supply, including fixing the leaky tap by the compost bins. The next project is to install the large rainwater tank from Khandallah community garden for some water resilience. It is large and requires securing before it can be filled.

Contact communitygarden@houghtonvalley.org.nz if you can help in any way.

(166 recipients, 116 opens)

July 25, 2024

Community Planting and Kae Miller Trust Founder’s Day

Sunday July 28, 10 am – 1 pm

Planters have been racing through the stock of 2,000+ trees ordered this year and this will be the final community planting session. After 2 hours planting out the remaining light wells at numerous sites across the reserve we will also celebrate Founder’s Day at the Alice Kreb’s Lodge.

Founder’s Day celebrates Kae Miller, who built the lodge on the headland to honour her friend Alice Krebs. Their amazing story is here. You can come up just before midday if you prefer, the lodge will be open for visitors.

Planters will meet at the Alice Krebs lodge at 10 am and return there afterwards for tea and biscuits. Digging tools and gloves are provided but  bring your own if you can. In the event of bad weather forecast, the day will be brought forward to Saturday.

For more information about Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau and weather postponements, go to their Facebook Group. To find out about their off season weeding programme sign up for their Newsletter.

Koha Coffee

Saturday August 3, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm Andrew is hosting Koha Coffee this month. Come to the Houghton Valley Hall (80 Houghton Bay Road). Bring some kai or a koha and chat with neighbours. Winter may not be over yet, but there is plenty in the pipeline for spring and early summer. Come and find out what will be happening!

Celebrating a new name

The Houghton Valley Progressive Association voted in a new Constitution at their last AGM, and with that a name change. Whilst the word “Progressive” was apt for the time nearly 100 years ago, we felt that it didn’t fit in with today’s aspirations. So our new name is Haewai Houghton Valley Community Association. Whilst the new Constitution is not yet officially ratified, we have approval for use of the word Haewai, so we have decided to start using the new name around the community to tie in with our plans to increase the Association’s profile, boost its membership and promote the use of the hall. Once the Constitution is approved, then we will change all the formal parts.

Ceilidh at the Community Hall

Saturday August 31, 7 – 11 pm  Dust off your dancing shoes, we are having  a ceilidh at the Community Hall to shake off the winter and welcome in the spring! A ceilidh (kay-lee) is a fun family Scottish dance evening. We will have a  live band – Schiehallion – who will call the dances, and an awesome supper to keep you going strong. This is the sort of event the hall hosted for the community when it was first built, 95 years ago. It’s time to bring back the fun again! It’s an event for everyone, young and old, and open to friends and people outside our community as well. Only 60 tickets available. Tickets are $25 per person, with children under 10 free. Save the date and lock in your booking now. You can get your tickets from Humanitix.

Hiring the community hall

Did you know that you can hire our community hall? It is mainly used as a Dance Studio, but it is available at other times for hire, including Saturdays after 10 am, Sunday afternoons, and weekdays until 3 pm. Sunday mornings are available by special arrangement and weekday evenings during school holiday periods. The hall can be used for recreation classes, workshops, rehearsals, recitals, talks, exhibitions and meetings, or even if you just need a large indoor space for a bit. It can also be used for community or fundraising events and quiet private events. We have a no-alcohol policy, so you need to factor that in! Our hall hire rates are:

• Community / Non-profit users: $15 per hour
• Private event / Commercial users: $25 per hour

We have a new  hall bookings officer, Mary O’Keefe, so please contact her with any enquiries or booking requests. hallbookings@houghtonvalley.org.nz Here is more information about the hall.

Stone Soup funding for our community gardens

Both our community gardens applied for some bonus funding from the WCC Stone Soup Fund. The HV Community gardens received $250 for an upgrade to their water supply system, and Te Kawakawa Commons also received $250 towards putting in more steps up their main path to make access easier for everyone. Many thanks to Wellington City Council for the grant.

(165 recipients, 119 opens)

July 2, 2024

Kia ora koutou,

The weather is wintry, the days are short and the rain has finally started soaking the ground. If you are starting to suffer from Cabin Fever, how about getting out and doing some local tree planting?

Throughout June, our local group, Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau, has been working on weeding and planting up some sites in our wonderful headland reserve. The photo above shows the work done at the track entrance opposite Princess Bay. The track, affectionally known as Piebe’s Track, honours the local who made many of the tracks on the headland before the Council started taking an active interest. In this session steps and weeds were cleared and a range of interesting coastal plants were planted. The regular rain will get them well established.

Planting will continue weekly throughout July, alternating Saturdays and Sundays. The next session is Saturday 6 July. For more details go to their Facebook Group or sign up for their Newsletter.

Koha Coffee

Sunday July 7, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Leone is hosting Koha Coffee this month. We will be alternating Saturdays and Sundays now – finally back to our pre-Covid routine. Come to the Houghton Valley Hall (80 Houghton Bay Road). Bring some kai or a koha and chat with neighbours.

Also, for a bit of fun and hall promotion, we will be setting things up nicely to take some photos of the hall “in action”, that is, furniture, food, fairy lights and folks enjoying themselves. If you like taking photos, come along and show us your skills. If you are camera shy, we can make sure you don’t feature – we’d still love to see you!

Good news!

The Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Long Term Plan has included $50,000:

“To support a Houghton Valley / Haewai Catchment co-design process with Mana Whenua, the community, Wellington City Council and Wellington Water Limited, to remediate issues with the stream through a former landfill.”

Hurrah! Many thanks to Yadana Saw for prodding and guiding us through this process. We are still not sure about Wellington City Council’s position, but the funding will be contingent on it being a co-design process, which was one of our primary aims. The next steps will unfold in due course.

About the Houghton Valley Progressive Association

Houghton Valley Progressive Association is your local Residents’ Association. The HVPA committee members are involved in many of the activities around the community such as the Seeds-to-Feeds dinners, Koha Coffee, workshops, the playground design, the Lifting the Creek project, the website and this newsletter. We also support local groups such as the local community gardens and tree planting groups. And of course we look after our nearly 95-year-old community hall.

So yes we support the community, and would love you to show your support for what is happening around the community by becoming a member. We have some great events and activities planned, and our Centenary is coming onto the radar, so things are getting exciting!

Membership is $10 per person. Please make your payment online to: Houghton Valley Progressive Association 38-9024-0613101-00 with your name and 2024-25 Sub in the payment details. Then send your name, street address, phone number and email address to admin@houghtonvalley.org.nz so we can add you to our membership register.

Funding Opportunity

Do you belong to a local group that needs funds? The WLG Community & Environment Fund provides grants to organisations and community groups located within Motukairangi / Eastern Ward for the promotion of education, community, environment, arts and culture, health and sport. The Trust has a total of $75,000 to allocate in 2024 with grants between $1000 and $10,000 considered. The 2024 funding round is open between the 1st – 31st August 2024. More information

(166 recipients, 114 opens)

May 22, 2024

Kia ora koutou,

If you need a beautiful and serene little spot to discover on a local walk, how about visiting one of our special little community gardens – Te Kawakawa Commons. It is up behind the bus stop near No 44 Hornsey Road, on land that is part of the Mt. Albert Reserve. (Go round the back of the right hand garage). Local residents cleared the gully of blackberry and have planted fruit and native trees and made several tracks to wander round on, and seats to sit on.

Weeding on Te Raekaihau

Saturday 25 May, 10 am – 12 midday

You thought Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau had finished the weeding season … well so did they, but an opportunity came up that couldn’t be missed. Have you ever been curious about what the view is like from up that driveway by the Te Awaawa entrance to the reserve near Princess Bay? Now is your chance!

In line with the group’s no-sprays policy, they are walking the talk with Tom the WCC Ranger. There is a small area of planted reserve land next to the house at No. 44 The Esplanade that was going to be sprayed by Council contractors. The group has negotiated to help with manual weeding instead. The young plants need releasing and a few other weeds probably also need to be dispatched. The owners have kindly let us use their right-of-way.

Meet at the Te Awaawa track entrance which is by 44 The Esplanade at 10am, Saturday 25 May. If you are late, just walk up. They will provide tools and gloves but please bring your own if you can. In the event of bad weather we will postpone to Sunday.

Koha Coffee

Saturday June 1, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Andrew is back hosting a few Saturday Koha Coffees for those that can’t make Sundays. This one is on King’s Birthday Weekend, so if you are staying local, take a visit to our very own local at the Houghton Valley Hall (80 Houghton Bay Road). Bring some kai or a koha and chat with neighbours and get to know about what’s going down round this neck of the woods.

Report on the Lifting the Creek submissions

A few community members made an oral submission to the Wellington City Council’s Long Term Plan and the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Long Term Plan – both on the same day. The Regional Council is very positive about the project. The City Council is stuck in a holding pattern waiting for an engineering report, which is due to come out soon. We won’t really know what they think until then, but we will keep trying.

In a newly surfaced box of archive material we found a picture of residents showing Councillor John Gilberthorpe the leachate problem back in 1989. Accompanying correspondence indicates that residents have been trying to get the issue fixed since the early 1970s. It seems that a proper solution has always been deemed too expensive for something that is more an aesthetic issue than a health one, when there are alway higher priorities. The situation has been improved over the years, but then standards have gone up at the same time. The problem isn’t fixed yet.

Houghton Valley Progressive Association report

The AGM last Sunday was attended by 15 people, a good proportion of the membership. Thank you all for coming! After a report on what had been achieved over the last year, there was a good discussion on what can be done next. The new committee is now up to 5 members, which is a heartening trend.

The new Constitution was voted in, which will see some more exciting changes, including a change of name. More on that later!

(163 recipients, 104 opens)

May 1, 2024

And some more action required for our Lifting the Creek Project!

Submissions to the Long Term Plan for Wellington City Council are open until 12 May, so again we ask you for a prompt response. To help you with what to say, here are some points:

• The closed landfill in Haewai / Houghton Valley / Houghton Bay is causing leachate to contaminate Houghton Bay Beach and the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, hydrocarbon odours pollute the school and residential areas, and fresh water is being needlessly contaminated.
• We believe some funding has been allocated towards this problem. We want it to be used towards a solution that is holistic, effective, lasting, creates better amenity and helps regenerate the environment.
• Lifting the Creek is a community led project and we want the process to be collaborative. Residents and recreational users, Mana Whenua, Wellington City Council Wellington Water, Greater Wellington Regional Council and environmental engineers all have complementary visionary thinking and technical expertise to ensure the best possible solution to a problem that crosses everyone’s boundaries.

To make a submission go to the WCC 2024-34 Long Term Plan site.

Tai Chi at the hall

On Monday mornings there are Tai Chi classes being offered at the Community Hall until August. You are welcome to come along and “have a go,” there is no charge for your first session. If you wish to continue you need to join up to the the Taoist Tai Chi Society. Subs are $35.00 per month, or discounts are available for six month and annual payments. A one time join fee of $25.00 includes a membership pack and T-shirt. Membership subscription includes attending as many sessions as you like in all locations.

Visit their website for more information about the Society and locations of sessions to attend in the Wellington Region.

Houghton Valley Progressive Association AGM

Sunday, May 19, 3.00 – 4.30 pm

The HVPA has their AGM is coming up on 19 May. This organisation looks after the Community Hall and supports the great stuff that is going on in Houghton Bay. As well as the AGM, we are having another go at voting in our new Constitution, which has undergone a few more modifications since February.

We would love some people to put their hand up for a role on the committee, as we are getting a little low in numbers. In particular we are looking for a new Treasurer and someone to do hall bookings, but there are other roles such as: membership, fundraising, history research for our centenary, or whatever interests you that we haven’t mentioned. If you are interested, or needing some more information, please contact Jenny at admin@houghtonvalley.org.nz.

And a reminder that it is also a good time to join up. Membership is $10 per person per year, from 1 April to 31 March. Can you support us to support the community? How to join

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