Thursday 26 July 2012
Monday 28 May 2012
Creating your GoodNews story
I'm a bit of a 'glass half full' type of girl and always try to see the positive outcome of every situation.
While I'm superbly optimistic, I'm also realistic too. It's half-full now, but how do we keep on topping it up?
Unfortunately in our society, it's the story where the glass is half empty that sells. Folks love sensationalism. Folks love a good story about a building being burnt down, despite remembering vaguely that there was potentially a lot of controversy surrounding that building in the first place and the fact that in reality, now that ugly building is gone, we can have something newer, better, stronger and built with a purpose in mind in its place.
Despite my best efforts, not-so-good news stories keep escaping our village and the rest of the world's impression of How Life Is in Greater Brighton isn't always as great as our own.
So on Saturday morning I turned over a new leaf.
I'm going to seek out those GoodNews stories and if I can't find them, I'm going to create them!
Help us put Brighton in the media in a positive light- help us Brighton UP! take part, engage, be a part of something random and beautiful, make wee gifts for your neighbour, talk to people at bus-stops, come down and help us fill in those gaps , create a litter-picking or graffiti-painting-out brigade in your street, host a street party ~ whatever you do, do two things: tell us & tell the media:
While I'm superbly optimistic, I'm also realistic too. It's half-full now, but how do we keep on topping it up?
Unfortunately in our society, it's the story where the glass is half empty that sells. Folks love sensationalism. Folks love a good story about a building being burnt down, despite remembering vaguely that there was potentially a lot of controversy surrounding that building in the first place and the fact that in reality, now that ugly building is gone, we can have something newer, better, stronger and built with a purpose in mind in its place.
Despite my best efforts, not-so-good news stories keep escaping our village and the rest of the world's impression of How Life Is in Greater Brighton isn't always as great as our own.
So on Saturday morning I turned over a new leaf.
I'm going to seek out those GoodNews stories and if I can't find them, I'm going to create them!
What's your GoodNews story?
Help us put Brighton in the media in a positive light- help us Brighton UP! take part, engage, be a part of something random and beautiful, make wee gifts for your neighbour, talk to people at bus-stops, come down and help us fill in those gaps , create a litter-picking or graffiti-painting-out brigade in your street, host a street party ~ whatever you do, do two things: tell us & tell the media:
WE LOVE BRIGHTON!
Monday 14 May 2012
Places of Tranquility
Imagine the tranquility of a Japanese garden, a Buddhist fountain meditation area, a walking meditation circle or a Korean undulating park and playground. Or perhaps a green maze leading to area of contemplation, a place of tranquility and stillness amidst the chaos and impact of the disaster that has afflicted Christchurch.
Healthy Christchurch invites you to be involved in creating one of six gardens of beauty and peace to fill in some of the gray demolition sites across Christchurch.
Renew Brighton would like to bring one of the Places of Tranquility to our community. Do you know of a spare piece of land adjacent to the river where one of these gardens could be created?
This is an opportunity to join in with government organisations, community organisations and Lincoln University students to create at least six places that are influenced by your traditions, cultures and spiritual philosophies. This will ensure that your communities' voice and presence is more visible in the rebuild of our city.
Learn more and sign up to be involved in this exciting and innovative project.
Healthy Christchurch invites you to be involved in creating one of six gardens of beauty and peace to fill in some of the gray demolition sites across Christchurch.
Renew Brighton would like to bring one of the Places of Tranquility to our community. Do you know of a spare piece of land adjacent to the river where one of these gardens could be created?
This is an opportunity to join in with government organisations, community organisations and Lincoln University students to create at least six places that are influenced by your traditions, cultures and spiritual philosophies. This will ensure that your communities' voice and presence is more visible in the rebuild of our city.
Learn more and sign up to be involved in this exciting and innovative project.
Thursday 10 May 2012
Sunday 6 May 2012
It's all about Democracy
According to Wikipedia
Council engage the community in Direct Democracy by inviting folk to Have Your Say and currently we have the opportunity to let Council know what we think about the Draft Annual Plan.
Shortly, though, we will be given the opportunity to engage right at the beginning of the process of creating the New Brighton Masterplan at a series of workshops Council will be presenting. Coming up at the beginning of July, there'll be workshops for business owners, landowners and community groups along with some public drop-in sessions, too. This process, referred to as Enquiry by Design takes place in many disciplines, including land use planning, or urban planning, and has become a technique for consulting with all stakeholders. This typically involves intense and possibly multi-day meetings, involving municipal officials, developers, and residents. Successful Enquiry by Design promotes joint ownership of solutions and attempts to defuse typical confrontational attitudes between residents and developers. Residents who do participate get early input into the planning process. For developers and municipal officials these workshops achieve community involvement and may satisfy consultation criteria, with the objective of avoiding costly legal battles.
They hope to identify any problems or issues the community think there might be.
Once the workshops have taken place, a Draft Masterplan will be created followed by twelve weeks of consultation.
The New Brighton Masterplan will refer to the New Brighton Central Business District, or, The Mall.
Christchurch, currently, is all about democracy. It seems if you don't like something you can simply create a petition. A successful example of this might be the Avon Otakaro Network's Avon River Park petition, presented at parliament last week, but new petitions include the Petition for Affordable Social Housing , the Petition to extend the April 2013 Deadline in the Red Zone , and the Christchurch Rates Relief group who are petitioning Christchurch City Council for 100% rates relief for owners of uninhabitable homes due to earthquake damage.
But as Direct Democracy goes, you can't get any more direct. This is your chance to get involved. Put your thinking cap on and watch this space to find out more about how you can get involved in positive change in your community.
Direct democracy (or pure democracy) is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Depending on the particular system in use, it might entail passing executive decisions, making laws, directly electing or dismissing officials and conducting trials. Two leading forms of direct democracy are Participatory democracy and Deliberative democracy.
Council engage the community in Direct Democracy by inviting folk to Have Your Say and currently we have the opportunity to let Council know what we think about the Draft Annual Plan.
Shortly, though, we will be given the opportunity to engage right at the beginning of the process of creating the New Brighton Masterplan at a series of workshops Council will be presenting. Coming up at the beginning of July, there'll be workshops for business owners, landowners and community groups along with some public drop-in sessions, too. This process, referred to as Enquiry by Design takes place in many disciplines, including land use planning, or urban planning, and has become a technique for consulting with all stakeholders. This typically involves intense and possibly multi-day meetings, involving municipal officials, developers, and residents. Successful Enquiry by Design promotes joint ownership of solutions and attempts to defuse typical confrontational attitudes between residents and developers. Residents who do participate get early input into the planning process. For developers and municipal officials these workshops achieve community involvement and may satisfy consultation criteria, with the objective of avoiding costly legal battles.
They hope to identify any problems or issues the community think there might be.
Once the workshops have taken place, a Draft Masterplan will be created followed by twelve weeks of consultation.
The New Brighton Masterplan will refer to the New Brighton Central Business District, or, The Mall.
Christchurch, currently, is all about democracy. It seems if you don't like something you can simply create a petition. A successful example of this might be the Avon Otakaro Network's Avon River Park petition, presented at parliament last week, but new petitions include the Petition for Affordable Social Housing , the Petition to extend the April 2013 Deadline in the Red Zone , and the Christchurch Rates Relief group who are petitioning Christchurch City Council for 100% rates relief for owners of uninhabitable homes due to earthquake damage.
But as Direct Democracy goes, you can't get any more direct. This is your chance to get involved. Put your thinking cap on and watch this space to find out more about how you can get involved in positive change in your community.
Wednesday 2 May 2012
Greater Brighton? Count Me In!
Kia ora koutou,
Once again, it's been a busy few weeks in the media with decisions and announcements being made regularly.
As a community we had the opportunity to bid farewell, kia pai te haere and good luck to the Avon Otakaro petition as it made its voyage up the Avon and on to parliament where our MP Lianne Dalziel presented it. This incredible journey of community in action will bring us all one step closer to recovery. The number of signatures is testament to both the incredible amount of work that was put into this project and the value this park will bring to our community and our city.
It has been incredibly well supported, let's hope it is well received at parliament.
______________________________________________________________________________________
What have we been up to?
Greater Brighton? Count Me In!
Recently Renew Brighton held another Community Network Forum where a project group was formed by volunteers from many different community organisations to steer a Greater Brighton Community Research Project. In analysing our community's assets and needs we will be able to present this information to planners and investors to help create a successful community-led recovery plan and as a community, work in partnership with Council in the revitalisation of Greater Brighton.
Greater Brighton is not just a concept, it's an area, a village; it's our community and it reaches from Southshore to North Shore and is bound by the river, swamp and sea. Once the red-zone returns to green, Greater Brighton will be almost an island; a destination for many and a place for us to live, work, play and shop. It is hoped that the information gathered in this research project will help us walk towards our shared vision: Greater Brighton celebrated as a thriving, vibrant, self-reliant village.
Over the next month the team working will be working on developing the questionnaire; if you're interested in getting involved, we will be looking for other volunteers to help make this community-led project a success ~ Email me!
Brighton UP
There are many gaps opening up in the Mall as buildings are inspected and found unsafe or uneconomic to repair. This is progress. The buildings need demolishing before they can be replaced! In between times, though, it does mean there are a couple of ugly gaps that need some love! Renew Brighton member, Nikki Griffin was given permission to use vacant mall space (where Jackson's Bakery used to be), so last week, we arranged a meeting with the experts on temporary installations in urban spaces: Gap Filler along with Greening the Rubble and New Brighton Project to find out more about how we can Brighton UP! Both Gap Filler and Greening the Rubble gave us all sorts of tips as well as offering us their future support. What's next? Well: it's up to you! Come along to the Mall at 1030am Saturday 19th May and share your ideas for Brighton's very own gap filling project: Brighton UP.
If you're an artist or a crafter you'll probably be interested in this idea: Street Confetti ~ beautiful, temporary installations- a little bit whimsical and a lot of fun. Let's give this our support; As part of Renew Brighton's Brighton UP, we'd like to invite you to take part in an amazing opportunity to showcase your crafting and artistic talents. ~ Email me to get involved!
You probably remember over the summer months a hugely enthusiastic team of volunteers got together to get rid of the graffiti in our business district. We had so much fun, we're going to do it again. If you want to join Renew Brighton's Environmental Management Team and help us take care of our village you know what you have to do: ~ email me! If painting's not your thing, there'll also be the chance to help pick up litter and weed weedy plots. The great thing about volunteering in one of our projects is that you're guaranteed that while you're making a difference, you'll also be making some friends.
Neighbourhood Networks
The first time I met and communicated with many of my neighbours was on that sunny morning of 4th September. In our dressing gowns we shared coffee and offered each other support. I know, since then, that many folk have moved and so, once again the neighbourhood has changed. I still have many friends in my street and I feel good knowing that that they care for my wellbeing. How about you? How's life on your street? Renew Brighton would like to help you to strengthen relationships in your street. Help us to help you while helping others and become part of a community-wide neighbourhood network. Imagine if every street in Greater Brighton has someone who looks after the street's wellbeing~ someone who knows everyone, or who's not afraid to introduce themselves. Someone who would inspire street parties or picnics. Someone who'd welcome new arrivals and farewell the departures. We're looking for that someone- is that someone you? (Or maybe, if that someone lives next door to you you could print & pass this renewsletter on...)
There are many ways we can all help contribute to our community's recovery. If you've got any ideas, simple or wild, email me and we'll see what we can do to help you help us!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Recovery
Tsunami Sirens being installed
A series of five community meetings are being held next month for residents to learn more about the tsunami risk off coastal Christchurch and the new tsunami warning system.
These meetings will be held:
Wednesday 9 May at 7.30pm South Brighton Surf Club, Marine Parade (near Bridge Street) South Brighton
Thursday 10 May at 5.30pm and 7.30pm, North Beach Surf Club, 80 Marine Parade (near Leaver Terrace), North Beach
TC3 Land Announcements
A week of announcements for both TC3 and TC2 property owners, most of which is too technical for me, but very relevant to us all. I've made an exception and attached documents from CERA, DBH and EQC for TC3 landowners to print and share. Please, help us to help you by encouraging your neighbours and community groups to subscribe to this newsletter so we can share this information more readily.
Temporary Accommodation
This service is for Canterbury householders who need help finding temporary accommodation following the September 2010 / February and June 2011 earthquakes. The Temporary Accommodation Service provides:Temporary accommodation matching, Earthquake support coordination, Financial assistance
Householders who need help finding emergency accommodation are encouraged to contact us on 0800 67 32 27.
After reading this article on stuff.co.nz this week I realised that it's not just the humans that are having problems finding homes- pets are too. Is there anything you can do to help? Perhaps your home may not be big enough to house a whole family, but you might be able to temporarily accommodate someone's pet. Let us know, maybe we can set something up!
Feeling stressed??? Staff finding it tough going???
Thanks to a dollop of funding from the Ministry of Economic Development Recover Canterbury can now offer a free workplace support service for Canterbury businesses. You can use it for individual support for business owners or employees or support for your wider team. Find out more at the link or give them a calll on 0800 50 50 96.
Help Repair North New Brighton School
Their School pool is in need of major repairs after suffering damage in the February quake, please support us while we raise the funds needed for repair. Join their facebook page and get involved.
Revitalisation
Council's Draft Annual Plan is currently on tour. This afternoon you can see it at the North New Brighton Memorial Hall from 2-6pm, or, why not drop into one of the other centres. You can also Have Your Say, make a submission online- this is your chance to tell our Council that as a community we deserve to have QE2 rebuilt exactly where it is, amongst other things.
Want to Keep QEII in the East?
Join the facebook page that's the driving force behind this campaign and pop down to Candles of Hope, Thursday 10th May 5-7pm, QEII Village Green.
In our Backyard
Entré, SVA and VAF have combined to introduce a new and exciting competition: "In Our Backyard." Get involved in the rebuild of Christchurch!
They have six plots of land around Christchurch and they want you, the students, to use your creative and innovative talent to design a use for one of these plots of land. There will be six winners who will be given $500 and a team of volunteers to execute the design.
Applications open on Monday the 14th of May - come along to the Undercroft to hear how you can sweeten up Christchurch, and grab a free gelato while you're there! 5.30pm-6.30pm. Applications close Tuesday the 29th of May.
Got a project, need some volunteers?
Award winning volunteer co-ordinators, the Volunteer Army Foundation will soon be looking for projects to send their volunteers to. They've created The Concert, a gig where the only way you can get hold of a ticket is to volunteer. The website will go live in a few weeks and will be looking for projects all over the city to get their volunteers into, so get your thinking caps on! The good news is, if you want to go to the concert, you don't have to be a student! All you need to do is to volunteer 5 hours and that ticket will be yours...
That, folks, is another renewsletter wrapped up. I know this information will be relevant to every single member of our community. Please forward this email, or better yet, encourage your network to subscribe. Renew Brighton also has a facebook page where information and upbeat recovery news and insights are posted daily. Even if facebook isn't your thing, I know recovery and seeing your Brighton renewed is.
Nga mihi,
Rebecca May
Volunteer Community Co-ordinator
Once again, it's been a busy few weeks in the media with decisions and announcements being made regularly.
As a community we had the opportunity to bid farewell, kia pai te haere and good luck to the Avon Otakaro petition as it made its voyage up the Avon and on to parliament where our MP Lianne Dalziel presented it. This incredible journey of community in action will bring us all one step closer to recovery. The number of signatures is testament to both the incredible amount of work that was put into this project and the value this park will bring to our community and our city.
It has been incredibly well supported, let's hope it is well received at parliament.
______________________________________________________________________________________
What have we been up to?
Greater Brighton? Count Me In!
Recently Renew Brighton held another Community Network Forum where a project group was formed by volunteers from many different community organisations to steer a Greater Brighton Community Research Project. In analysing our community's assets and needs we will be able to present this information to planners and investors to help create a successful community-led recovery plan and as a community, work in partnership with Council in the revitalisation of Greater Brighton.
Greater Brighton is not just a concept, it's an area, a village; it's our community and it reaches from Southshore to North Shore and is bound by the river, swamp and sea. Once the red-zone returns to green, Greater Brighton will be almost an island; a destination for many and a place for us to live, work, play and shop. It is hoped that the information gathered in this research project will help us walk towards our shared vision: Greater Brighton celebrated as a thriving, vibrant, self-reliant village.
Over the next month the team working will be working on developing the questionnaire; if you're interested in getting involved, we will be looking for other volunteers to help make this community-led project a success ~ Email me!
Brighton UP
There are many gaps opening up in the Mall as buildings are inspected and found unsafe or uneconomic to repair. This is progress. The buildings need demolishing before they can be replaced! In between times, though, it does mean there are a couple of ugly gaps that need some love! Renew Brighton member, Nikki Griffin was given permission to use vacant mall space (where Jackson's Bakery used to be), so last week, we arranged a meeting with the experts on temporary installations in urban spaces: Gap Filler along with Greening the Rubble and New Brighton Project to find out more about how we can Brighton UP! Both Gap Filler and Greening the Rubble gave us all sorts of tips as well as offering us their future support. What's next? Well: it's up to you! Come along to the Mall at 1030am Saturday 19th May and share your ideas for Brighton's very own gap filling project: Brighton UP.
If you're an artist or a crafter you'll probably be interested in this idea: Street Confetti ~ beautiful, temporary installations- a little bit whimsical and a lot of fun. Let's give this our support; As part of Renew Brighton's Brighton UP, we'd like to invite you to take part in an amazing opportunity to showcase your crafting and artistic talents. ~ Email me to get involved!
You probably remember over the summer months a hugely enthusiastic team of volunteers got together to get rid of the graffiti in our business district. We had so much fun, we're going to do it again. If you want to join Renew Brighton's Environmental Management Team and help us take care of our village you know what you have to do: ~ email me! If painting's not your thing, there'll also be the chance to help pick up litter and weed weedy plots. The great thing about volunteering in one of our projects is that you're guaranteed that while you're making a difference, you'll also be making some friends.
Neighbourhood Networks
The first time I met and communicated with many of my neighbours was on that sunny morning of 4th September. In our dressing gowns we shared coffee and offered each other support. I know, since then, that many folk have moved and so, once again the neighbourhood has changed. I still have many friends in my street and I feel good knowing that that they care for my wellbeing. How about you? How's life on your street? Renew Brighton would like to help you to strengthen relationships in your street. Help us to help you while helping others and become part of a community-wide neighbourhood network. Imagine if every street in Greater Brighton has someone who looks after the street's wellbeing~ someone who knows everyone, or who's not afraid to introduce themselves. Someone who would inspire street parties or picnics. Someone who'd welcome new arrivals and farewell the departures. We're looking for that someone- is that someone you? (Or maybe, if that someone lives next door to you you could print & pass this renewsletter on...)
There are many ways we can all help contribute to our community's recovery. If you've got any ideas, simple or wild, email me and we'll see what we can do to help you help us!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Recovery
Tsunami Sirens being installed
A series of five community meetings are being held next month for residents to learn more about the tsunami risk off coastal Christchurch and the new tsunami warning system.
These meetings will be held:
Wednesday 9 May at 7.30pm South Brighton Surf Club, Marine Parade (near Bridge Street) South Brighton
Thursday 10 May at 5.30pm and 7.30pm, North Beach Surf Club, 80 Marine Parade (near Leaver Terrace), North Beach
TC3 Land Announcements
A week of announcements for both TC3 and TC2 property owners, most of which is too technical for me, but very relevant to us all. I've made an exception and attached documents from CERA, DBH and EQC for TC3 landowners to print and share. Please, help us to help you by encouraging your neighbours and community groups to subscribe to this newsletter so we can share this information more readily.
Temporary Accommodation
This service is for Canterbury householders who need help finding temporary accommodation following the September 2010 / February and June 2011 earthquakes. The Temporary Accommodation Service provides:Temporary accommodation matching, Earthquake support coordination, Financial assistance
Householders who need help finding emergency accommodation are encouraged to contact us on 0800 67 32 27.
After reading this article on stuff.co.nz this week I realised that it's not just the humans that are having problems finding homes- pets are too. Is there anything you can do to help? Perhaps your home may not be big enough to house a whole family, but you might be able to temporarily accommodate someone's pet. Let us know, maybe we can set something up!
Feeling stressed??? Staff finding it tough going???
Thanks to a dollop of funding from the Ministry of Economic Development Recover Canterbury can now offer a free workplace support service for Canterbury businesses. You can use it for individual support for business owners or employees or support for your wider team. Find out more at the link or give them a calll on 0800 50 50 96.
Help Repair North New Brighton School
Their School pool is in need of major repairs after suffering damage in the February quake, please support us while we raise the funds needed for repair. Join their facebook page and get involved.
Revitalisation
Council's Draft Annual Plan is currently on tour. This afternoon you can see it at the North New Brighton Memorial Hall from 2-6pm, or, why not drop into one of the other centres. You can also Have Your Say, make a submission online- this is your chance to tell our Council that as a community we deserve to have QE2 rebuilt exactly where it is, amongst other things.
Want to Keep QEII in the East?
Join the facebook page that's the driving force behind this campaign and pop down to Candles of Hope, Thursday 10th May 5-7pm, QEII Village Green.
In our Backyard
Entré, SVA and VAF have combined to introduce a new and exciting competition: "In Our Backyard." Get involved in the rebuild of Christchurch!
They have six plots of land around Christchurch and they want you, the students, to use your creative and innovative talent to design a use for one of these plots of land. There will be six winners who will be given $500 and a team of volunteers to execute the design.
Applications open on Monday the 14th of May - come along to the Undercroft to hear how you can sweeten up Christchurch, and grab a free gelato while you're there! 5.30pm-6.30pm. Applications close Tuesday the 29th of May.
Got a project, need some volunteers?
Award winning volunteer co-ordinators, the Volunteer Army Foundation will soon be looking for projects to send their volunteers to. They've created The Concert, a gig where the only way you can get hold of a ticket is to volunteer. The website will go live in a few weeks and will be looking for projects all over the city to get their volunteers into, so get your thinking caps on! The good news is, if you want to go to the concert, you don't have to be a student! All you need to do is to volunteer 5 hours and that ticket will be yours...
That, folks, is another renewsletter wrapped up. I know this information will be relevant to every single member of our community. Please forward this email, or better yet, encourage your network to subscribe. Renew Brighton also has a facebook page where information and upbeat recovery news and insights are posted daily. Even if facebook isn't your thing, I know recovery and seeing your Brighton renewed is.
Nga mihi,
Rebecca May
Volunteer Community Co-ordinator
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Give me: 50 Things we LOVE about New Brighton!
This week I've arranged a meeting with some inspirational folk from GapFiller to help us Brighton UP! There're a few spaces opening up in the mall that could do with being Renewed... I saw this picture on Keep QEII in the East's facebook page and thought that's exactly the kind of thought-provoking inspirational stuff we need right here in Brightown.
What do you love about your New Brighton?
Thursday 19 April 2012
Had my Say
Comment for Draft Annual Plan: Rebuilding QE2
Kia ora koutou,
Renew Brighton, an organisation that's committed to community-led recovery, would like to propose that all monies from the insurance payout for QE2 as a result of the earthquake damage suffered in the 2010-2012 period are reinvested in rebuilding QE2 in its existing site.
At the I Love New Brighton community event held in Rawhiti Domain in February, Renew Brighton asked the question Ă¢?oWhat would you like in your reNewed Brighton?Ă¢? . The answers were collected as 'wishes' and placed on the wishing tree. Of the 189 wishes placed on the tree, 69 referred to swimming pools and an astounding 44% of those specifically wished for QE2 to be rebuilt where it currently stands.
These wishes weren't prompted. It was a very natural, organic way of gauging what the community felt was important.
QE2 is an asset not only to the Greater Brighton community, but to the entire city of Christchurch. However, while many other communities have their own recreation and aquatic centres none had the history and significance of this.
Rebuilding QE2 in its current location would replace its historical significance with one of future significance. By Council rebuilding QE2 in its current location it proves that it is safe to rebuild on land that is zoned TC3. It would indicate to local residents, business and investors that Council is prepared to reinvest in and make a commitment to our community's future.
This simple decision- to rebuild QE2 in its current location, would contribute greatly to our recovery.
Nga mihi,
Rebecca May
Community Co-ordinator
Renew Brighton
What have you got to say- make your submission on the Draft Annual Plan ~ it's your city! Have your Say
Kia ora koutou,
Renew Brighton, an organisation that's committed to community-led recovery, would like to propose that all monies from the insurance payout for QE2 as a result of the earthquake damage suffered in the 2010-2012 period are reinvested in rebuilding QE2 in its existing site.
At the I Love New Brighton community event held in Rawhiti Domain in February, Renew Brighton asked the question Ă¢?oWhat would you like in your reNewed Brighton?Ă¢? . The answers were collected as 'wishes' and placed on the wishing tree. Of the 189 wishes placed on the tree, 69 referred to swimming pools and an astounding 44% of those specifically wished for QE2 to be rebuilt where it currently stands.
These wishes weren't prompted. It was a very natural, organic way of gauging what the community felt was important.
QE2 is an asset not only to the Greater Brighton community, but to the entire city of Christchurch. However, while many other communities have their own recreation and aquatic centres none had the history and significance of this.
Rebuilding QE2 in its current location would replace its historical significance with one of future significance. By Council rebuilding QE2 in its current location it proves that it is safe to rebuild on land that is zoned TC3. It would indicate to local residents, business and investors that Council is prepared to reinvest in and make a commitment to our community's future.
This simple decision- to rebuild QE2 in its current location, would contribute greatly to our recovery.
Nga mihi,
Rebecca May
Community Co-ordinator
Renew Brighton
What have you got to say- make your submission on the Draft Annual Plan ~ it's your city! Have your Say
Helping others to Help yourself: an Invitation to attend a Community Network Forum
Kia ora koutou,
Renew Brighton would like to invite you to attend a Community Network Forum at 430pm on Tuesday 24th April at St Faith's Lounge. Please come along, share a cup of tea and take part in planning a community-led Needs Analysis for Greater Brighton.
You'll also have the opportunity to meet and network with others within the community who are playing a part in planning for its recovery.
The agenda for the meeting will be:
Welcome
Update on progress (Planning, methodology etc)
Discussion: What do we want to learn? What do we need to learn?
Renewsletter:
This week there's so much information to share regarding our recovery, revitalisation and renewal that I'm obliged to use as many links as possible, sending you to other informative websites. Tragically, if you're printing this, the information will no longer be there. The internet is our friend, though, so forward this email to others, or simply encourage folks to subscribe themselves. I'll be breaking the information into three categories: Recovery, Revitalisation and Renewal.
Recovery:
Your home:
News has been grim regarding the shortage of rental accommodation in Christchurch. Two organisation's names have crossed my path in the past weeks,
Hotel Homes and Contract Accomodation, both providing opportunities to rent single rooms. Perhaps you could consider hosting a builder who's in town helping out on the rebuild- it may take the pressure off the system!
There's also the new temporary village that will be built in Rawhiti Domain. Temporary villages are a Government supported temporary accommodation option. This option is to assist householders (both homeowners and people in rented accommodation) whose homes are uninhabitable and need suitable rental accommodation while their house or land is repaired or rebuilt. To register please fill in an assessment form online.
Also in the news this week is talk about the possibility of a Rates Rebate. The Christchurch Rates Relief Group is petitioning Christchurch City Council for 100% rates relief for Christchurch citizens who are, for various reasons, unable to occupy their own homes as a result of the earthquakes. Visit their website to find out more, or go directly to their online petition.
Community Energy Action
Located on Beresford St, they can help you with
Insulation and your EQC claim/repairs
Taking advantage of earthquake repairs to make your home warmer
Staying warm in a quake damaged house or temporary rental property
How to get more information
Insulation and your EQC claim/repairs
If you have roof damage
If your property was flooded or affected by liquefaction
If you have floor, piles or foundation damage
If external walls were damaged
Your Environment:
Travelling
If you're anything like me, chances are you don't often leave the village, but when you do you find you're really unfamiliar with the roads with all the repairs under way. I counted six detours on a simple journey to the city the other week. If I have any chance of getting anywhere on time it would surely come as a result of visiting this great website first. Due to the ongoing changes to our city’s roads, Transport for Christchurch will be providing regular transport related news stories to ensure road users are well informed. This will provide road users with some of the information they need to help navigate around Christchurch. The website’s key feature is an interactive map which is updated with real time travel speed information and road closures.
Keyes Road wastewater project, one side of road closed
This is a major project of wastewater mains replacement, likely to take six months to complete, starting on Monday, April 2 on Keyes Road, New Brighton. Fulton Hogan, as part of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is re-laying the main gravity pipe and laterals (side pipes) to property boundaries.
The existing wastewater pipe suffered multiple breaks in the earthquakes. It will be replaced with a more resilient plastic PVC pipe, more than a kilometre long, along Keyes Road to Bowhill Road. The wastewater mains on Gresham Terrace as well as parts of Dennitt, Sinclair and Rawson Streets will also be replaced following the Keyes Road work. Residents are urged to keep children and pets a safe distance away from the work. Traffic will also be affected as the southbound lane of Keyes Road from Bowhill Road to Rawhiti Domain will be closed. Access to streets off Keyes Road will be from Baker Street and New Brighton Road.
Traffic management will be in place on Keyes Road and drivers are urged to stick to the 30kph speed limit for the safety of workers and other road users. The Metrostar bus will run down Baker Street instead of Keyes Road.
If you have any questions about this work, contact Fulton Hogan on 0800 277 3434 (Monday to Friday) or email rebuildinfo@fultonhogan.com. Fulton Hogan and SCIRT understand this is a significant disruption for many people and appreciate everyone's patience while this important piece of work is done.
Public seminar on the Earthquake effects on rivers and the estuary in Christchurch
Learn what research has been done, what are we finding out and what happens next. This seminar will feature presentations from a number of entities including: Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management (University of Canterbury and Lincoln University), Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council.
Thursday 26 April 2012 from 9.00am - 5.00pm. Lincoln Events Centre, Meijer Drive, Lincoln.
Free. Sponsored by ESR. RSVP to: wendy.donald@ecan.govt.nz by 18 April.
Your Wellbeing:
Next De-Stress Course 19 - 22 April -Two evenings and the weekend)
Registrations essential - Free call: 0508 Artofliving 0508 2786 354 canterbury@artoflioving.org.nz www.artofliving.org
Revitalisation
Draft Annual Plan 2012/13
The Council's Draft Annual Plan for 2012/13 and proposals for 10 Major Community Facilities will be released for public consultation for four weeks, from 20 April 2012 to 21 May 2012. You can read the media release about the Draft Annual Plan being adopted on 11 April 2012 here.
This is particularly important to us as they're discussing QE II and Centennial Pool – developing the first stage of a multi-sport hub in the Central City and building a community leisure facility and athletic track on the QE II site or another site in the east.
Residents will be able to find out more about what’s in the plan during April and May. A summary booklet will be sent to all homes on the opening weekend of consultation and it will also be available online. Open Days will also be held over the weekend of 28, 29 and 30 April so residents can come along, talk to senior Council staff and find out more about the plan. Community Drop-in Sessions will be held in May in all of the city’s eight Community Board wards.
Council says
The Christchurch City Council has also approved the development of master plans to support the recovery and rebuild of New Brighton and Edgeware’s suburban shopping centres. The process will be a collaborative effort involving the Council, Community Boards, local residents and stakeholders for each centre. Stakeholders include business operators, building and land owners, central and regional government agencies, residents, community groups and any other organisations that have a stake in the local community for each centre. Rest assured that Renew Brighton is very interested in this process and, as per our goal, we will continue to be instrumental in leading the development of a community led recovery and revitalisation plan for Greater Brighton.
Renewal:
Design
If you're a fan of design, planning or development why not sign up to The City 2.0 The City 2.0 is a unique platform created by the TED Prize to allow citizens anywhere to participate in the creation of their City 2.0.
South Brighton trees:
The felling of the trees has stalled and has not progressed as quickly as first envisaged, for a number of reasons. The area south of the motor camp, adjacent to Jellicoe Marsh, was felled last year and is the only area ready for restoration planting. Council have some funding from Auckland Council to do this and are organising a community planting day for 10 June, 10am-1pm, followed by a sausage sizzle. Further information will be circulated about this soon. The proposed planting is consistent with the existing management plan which was developed in consultation with the community.
Future planting of the remainder of the reserves is unknown at this stage. Conditions throughout the reserves have changed with different land, water and saline levels to what was there pre-earthquake. The restoration planting south of the motor camp will provide a good opportunity to test which plants do well in the new conditions. Meantime, there are a number of other issues that we are working through regarding flood protection, drainage etc that will impact on the reserves.
The June planting day will be a very positive step towards restoration of the reserves in the short term. Recovery of the remainder of the reserves will be a long term project and subject to funding approval through Council's Long Term Plan.
I look forward to meeting you and chatting over a cuppa on Tuesday the 24th, 430pm @ St Faiths (Hawke St, New Brighton).
Nga mihi,
Rebecca May
Renew Brighton would like to invite you to attend a Community Network Forum at 430pm on Tuesday 24th April at St Faith's Lounge. Please come along, share a cup of tea and take part in planning a community-led Needs Analysis for Greater Brighton.
You'll also have the opportunity to meet and network with others within the community who are playing a part in planning for its recovery.
The agenda for the meeting will be:
Welcome
Update on progress (Planning, methodology etc)
Discussion: What do we want to learn? What do we need to learn?
Renewsletter:
This week there's so much information to share regarding our recovery, revitalisation and renewal that I'm obliged to use as many links as possible, sending you to other informative websites. Tragically, if you're printing this, the information will no longer be there. The internet is our friend, though, so forward this email to others, or simply encourage folks to subscribe themselves. I'll be breaking the information into three categories: Recovery, Revitalisation and Renewal.
Recovery:
Your home:
News has been grim regarding the shortage of rental accommodation in Christchurch. Two organisation's names have crossed my path in the past weeks,
Hotel Homes and Contract Accomodation, both providing opportunities to rent single rooms. Perhaps you could consider hosting a builder who's in town helping out on the rebuild- it may take the pressure off the system!
There's also the new temporary village that will be built in Rawhiti Domain. Temporary villages are a Government supported temporary accommodation option. This option is to assist householders (both homeowners and people in rented accommodation) whose homes are uninhabitable and need suitable rental accommodation while their house or land is repaired or rebuilt. To register please fill in an assessment form online.
Also in the news this week is talk about the possibility of a Rates Rebate. The Christchurch Rates Relief Group is petitioning Christchurch City Council for 100% rates relief for Christchurch citizens who are, for various reasons, unable to occupy their own homes as a result of the earthquakes. Visit their website to find out more, or go directly to their online petition.
Community Energy Action
Located on Beresford St, they can help you with
Insulation and your EQC claim/repairs
Taking advantage of earthquake repairs to make your home warmer
Staying warm in a quake damaged house or temporary rental property
How to get more information
Insulation and your EQC claim/repairs
If you have roof damage
If your property was flooded or affected by liquefaction
If you have floor, piles or foundation damage
If external walls were damaged
Your Environment:
Travelling
If you're anything like me, chances are you don't often leave the village, but when you do you find you're really unfamiliar with the roads with all the repairs under way. I counted six detours on a simple journey to the city the other week. If I have any chance of getting anywhere on time it would surely come as a result of visiting this great website first. Due to the ongoing changes to our city’s roads, Transport for Christchurch will be providing regular transport related news stories to ensure road users are well informed. This will provide road users with some of the information they need to help navigate around Christchurch. The website’s key feature is an interactive map which is updated with real time travel speed information and road closures.
Keyes Road wastewater project, one side of road closed
This is a major project of wastewater mains replacement, likely to take six months to complete, starting on Monday, April 2 on Keyes Road, New Brighton. Fulton Hogan, as part of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is re-laying the main gravity pipe and laterals (side pipes) to property boundaries.
The existing wastewater pipe suffered multiple breaks in the earthquakes. It will be replaced with a more resilient plastic PVC pipe, more than a kilometre long, along Keyes Road to Bowhill Road. The wastewater mains on Gresham Terrace as well as parts of Dennitt, Sinclair and Rawson Streets will also be replaced following the Keyes Road work. Residents are urged to keep children and pets a safe distance away from the work. Traffic will also be affected as the southbound lane of Keyes Road from Bowhill Road to Rawhiti Domain will be closed. Access to streets off Keyes Road will be from Baker Street and New Brighton Road.
Traffic management will be in place on Keyes Road and drivers are urged to stick to the 30kph speed limit for the safety of workers and other road users. The Metrostar bus will run down Baker Street instead of Keyes Road.
If you have any questions about this work, contact Fulton Hogan on 0800 277 3434 (Monday to Friday) or email rebuildinfo@fultonhogan.com. Fulton Hogan and SCIRT understand this is a significant disruption for many people and appreciate everyone's patience while this important piece of work is done.
Public seminar on the Earthquake effects on rivers and the estuary in Christchurch
Learn what research has been done, what are we finding out and what happens next. This seminar will feature presentations from a number of entities including: Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management (University of Canterbury and Lincoln University), Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council.
Thursday 26 April 2012 from 9.00am - 5.00pm. Lincoln Events Centre, Meijer Drive, Lincoln.
Free. Sponsored by ESR. RSVP to: wendy.donald@ecan.govt.nz by 18 April.
Your Wellbeing:
Next De-Stress Course 19 - 22 April -Two evenings and the weekend)
Registrations essential - Free call: 0508 Artofliving 0508 2786 354 canterbury@artoflioving.org.nz www.artofliving.org
Revitalisation
Draft Annual Plan 2012/13
The Council's Draft Annual Plan for 2012/13 and proposals for 10 Major Community Facilities will be released for public consultation for four weeks, from 20 April 2012 to 21 May 2012. You can read the media release about the Draft Annual Plan being adopted on 11 April 2012 here.
This is particularly important to us as they're discussing QE II and Centennial Pool – developing the first stage of a multi-sport hub in the Central City and building a community leisure facility and athletic track on the QE II site or another site in the east.
Residents will be able to find out more about what’s in the plan during April and May. A summary booklet will be sent to all homes on the opening weekend of consultation and it will also be available online. Open Days will also be held over the weekend of 28, 29 and 30 April so residents can come along, talk to senior Council staff and find out more about the plan. Community Drop-in Sessions will be held in May in all of the city’s eight Community Board wards.
Council says
“The best thing we can do now is listen. I urge our residents to look at this draft set of accounts and write to us with their thoughts. So, Christchurch, it’s now in your hands – we are laying the framework for the future of this city and we want to hear from you.”Folks: I'm going to introduce you to the idea of Having your Say. In this instance, write to the council: info@ccc.govt.nz let them know how important QE2 is to us as a community, that we need it rebuilt right where it is. We live in a democracy and this is your opportunity to exercise your democratic right.
The Christchurch City Council has also approved the development of master plans to support the recovery and rebuild of New Brighton and Edgeware’s suburban shopping centres. The process will be a collaborative effort involving the Council, Community Boards, local residents and stakeholders for each centre. Stakeholders include business operators, building and land owners, central and regional government agencies, residents, community groups and any other organisations that have a stake in the local community for each centre. Rest assured that Renew Brighton is very interested in this process and, as per our goal, we will continue to be instrumental in leading the development of a community led recovery and revitalisation plan for Greater Brighton.
Renewal:
Design
If you're a fan of design, planning or development why not sign up to The City 2.0 The City 2.0 is a unique platform created by the TED Prize to allow citizens anywhere to participate in the creation of their City 2.0.
South Brighton trees:
The felling of the trees has stalled and has not progressed as quickly as first envisaged, for a number of reasons. The area south of the motor camp, adjacent to Jellicoe Marsh, was felled last year and is the only area ready for restoration planting. Council have some funding from Auckland Council to do this and are organising a community planting day for 10 June, 10am-1pm, followed by a sausage sizzle. Further information will be circulated about this soon. The proposed planting is consistent with the existing management plan which was developed in consultation with the community.
Future planting of the remainder of the reserves is unknown at this stage. Conditions throughout the reserves have changed with different land, water and saline levels to what was there pre-earthquake. The restoration planting south of the motor camp will provide a good opportunity to test which plants do well in the new conditions. Meantime, there are a number of other issues that we are working through regarding flood protection, drainage etc that will impact on the reserves.
The June planting day will be a very positive step towards restoration of the reserves in the short term. Recovery of the remainder of the reserves will be a long term project and subject to funding approval through Council's Long Term Plan.
I look forward to meeting you and chatting over a cuppa on Tuesday the 24th, 430pm @ St Faiths (Hawke St, New Brighton).
Nga mihi,
Rebecca May
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Tuesday 10 April 2012
Howey's Hydro Baths
Yes, I would like Saltwater Pools in Brighton. Oh yes. But, before we jump in that deep end, what we really need is to assess what the community's needs are. For example, is it a hot saltwater pool that we're after? Covered? 25-30m? And where do we position that kind of complex? Logically, to support the local business district we'd put it nearby; there appears to be ample land available. But why not consider Rawhiti Domain? Zoned for sport and recreation with a building housing many sporting groups already planned, perhaps a small alteration could be made to accommodate this new concept.
But, it's not new though, it it? Howey's Hydro Baths, both hot and cold, claimed curative powers and hope for the hopeless. Perhaps the very idea that New Brighton Spells New Health (as claimed in a footnote in New Brighton, Canterbury's Playground) may restore hope to a community that many have previously dubbed hopeless and health to a city with a broken heart.
And as much as I really fancy a swim, is this a priority?
Regardless, a rather generous local business person has offered to contribute $100,000 towards building a saltwater pool in New Brighton!
Anna Price, writer at Christchurch Mail, wants to hear what you've got to say about it~ email her anna.price@themail.com and tell her what you think in 200 words or less.
But, it's not new though, it it? Howey's Hydro Baths, both hot and cold, claimed curative powers and hope for the hopeless. Perhaps the very idea that New Brighton Spells New Health (as claimed in a footnote in New Brighton, Canterbury's Playground) may restore hope to a community that many have previously dubbed hopeless and health to a city with a broken heart.
Salt Water Works Wonders
And as much as I really fancy a swim, is this a priority?
Regardless, a rather generous local business person has offered to contribute $100,000 towards building a saltwater pool in New Brighton!
Anna Price, writer at Christchurch Mail, wants to hear what you've got to say about it~ email her anna.price@themail.com and tell her what you think in 200 words or less.
Monday 9 April 2012
Being Part of the Planning Process
We live in a democracy; some might doubt whether or not it's a good example of one, but one it is. Our governments, local and central, are elected by us and represent us. Nationally we have the right of referendum: a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy.
Locally decisions are made at Council but are usually after a consultation period. Are you familiar with the Council's Have Your Say ? The Have Your Say web site shows you up to date information about what the Council is consulting on. Each project listed has an online form for people to use to let the Council know what you think about a proposal. Is this another example of direct democracy?
This week Council will be holding public meetings where we'll have the right to comment on the Draft Annual Plan. Indeed, the document recommends by way of Legal Requirement
Do you know what to do? Write. Pick up a pen and paper and write to your Councillors. Their addresses are easy- name.surname@ccc.govt.nz
So, there's the Draft Annual Plan, but recently (5th April) Council approved master plans for New Brighton and Edgeware.
This, folks, is where we stand up, united and say: We're happy you've approved the development of a Master Plan. As a community we require a lengthy consultation period: in order for this recovery and revitalisation plan to be a success it must be community driven.
E raka te maui, e raka te katau.
A community can use all the skills of its people.
Let's work together to Renew Brighton
Locally decisions are made at Council but are usually after a consultation period. Are you familiar with the Council's Have Your Say ? The Have Your Say web site shows you up to date information about what the Council is consulting on. Each project listed has an online form for people to use to let the Council know what you think about a proposal. Is this another example of direct democracy?
This week Council will be holding public meetings where we'll have the right to comment on the Draft Annual Plan. Indeed, the document recommends by way of Legal Requirement
12. It is recommended that the Council consult with its community in respect of decisions about a number of Council-owned facilities that have suffered extensive earthquake damage. Included in the documents attached to this report are Statements of Proposal for distribution and consultation by way of a special consultative procedure.
Do you know what to do? Write. Pick up a pen and paper and write to your Councillors. Their addresses are easy- name.surname@ccc.govt.nz
So, there's the Draft Annual Plan, but recently (5th April) Council approved master plans for New Brighton and Edgeware.
The Christchurch City Council has approved the development of master plans to support the recovery and rebuild of New Brighton and Edgeware’s suburban shopping centres.
This, folks, is where we stand up, united and say: We're happy you've approved the development of a Master Plan. As a community we require a lengthy consultation period: in order for this recovery and revitalisation plan to be a success it must be community driven.
E raka te maui, e raka te katau.
A community can use all the skills of its people.
Let's work together to Renew Brighton
Monday 2 April 2012
The Value of a Volunteer
Today was my first day back in school for a long time. A very long time.
You know in maths or economics class way back when we were in school when we were supposed to be paying attention rather than steering out the window? The teacher was talking about fractions or GDP and on both days I was wondering 'What's the point of this lesson?'.
Today I realised the point.
GDP stands for Gross Domestic Profit and New Zealand's Not For Profit sector contributes $7billion dollars towards it annually. Once volunteer labour is added this represents about 5%of GDP and volunteers themselves make up two thirds of the workforce.
Underestimated? I think so.
While it's often easy to underappreciate the contributions a volunteer can make towards the value of a not-for-profit organisation, it seems I've been underestimating their value in the dollar sense as well. When only 10% of NFP organisations actually have paid staff this is of huge significance to not just our industry, but to Aotearoa, New Zealand.
New Zealand is obviously a very kind hearted nation, as studies have shown that this trend is not repeated world wide. In comparison with the international NGO Sector, New Zealand has proportionally the seventh largest nonprofit sector workforce in the world ahead of the United States and Australia in terms of relative size. And, something else to be proud of is that there is significantly more funding coming from private philanthropy than in other industrialised countries.
Kiwis, eh? You can all pat yourselves on the back for being such a lovely lot. Ka pai.
Saturday 31 March 2012
On Being a Pacific Island
Way back when I was a traveller I was often confused and mildly insulted by being called a 'Westerner' as I felt that, in reality, I came from the East. Confused, folks in Asia would then ask me 'But you're European, aren't you?'.
As lessons in childhood geography taught me, my island, Te Wai Pounamu, was (and still is!) exactly opposite to Europe: if we dug and dug and dug we'd arrive in Spain. That, as far as I was concerned, was about as close as we got to being European. On arriving in Europe I was further convinced.
Europeans have a particular way about them. Their culture, celebrated for its generation upon generation of rich histories, obliged them to be a certain way. We can, and often do, imagine clichés of the French man and his beret, an Italian woman serving delicious pasta and a Scots in a kilt. But, be that as it may, I met a Scot in a kilt on Christmas day on the beach facing the cold North Sea, busy being Scottish. I think he greeted me, although I'm not sure. I replied with as cheery a 'Kia ora' as I could muster, given the circumstance.
One thing that my travels taught me was that despite my heritage, I am not a European. I'm a Kiwi and I live on a Pacific Island. While I may not be exactly opposite to being European, I feel I'm a lot closer to my Pacific island neighbours in cultural identity.
I look at my community: the thing I love the most about New Brighton is its evolution. Like many New Zealand towns and villages, what life was 50 years ago doesn't reflect where we are now. Things have changed, we continue to evolve; with each generation, what it means to be Kiwi develops further into its unique identity.
Where are we now? Folk talk about globalisation constantly but I'm not convinced it's a good thing. Being able to change and adapt is good; change is good! But losing one's identity? Brighton is unique- it always has been. It's long been the city's playground and for a while it was the Saturday morning mecca, but what about now? What would you consider are Brighton's assets? The beach at the beginning of the world? Our Pacific views? We're on the cusp of a new beginning; it's not often we're given the chance to reinvent ourselves like this. If we join in sharing the vision Greater Brighton celebrated as a thriving, vibrant, self-reliant village then, together we can create something that folk, (not just Brighton folk, either) can identify with.
As lessons in childhood geography taught me, my island, Te Wai Pounamu, was (and still is!) exactly opposite to Europe: if we dug and dug and dug we'd arrive in Spain. That, as far as I was concerned, was about as close as we got to being European. On arriving in Europe I was further convinced.
Europeans have a particular way about them. Their culture, celebrated for its generation upon generation of rich histories, obliged them to be a certain way. We can, and often do, imagine clichés of the French man and his beret, an Italian woman serving delicious pasta and a Scots in a kilt. But, be that as it may, I met a Scot in a kilt on Christmas day on the beach facing the cold North Sea, busy being Scottish. I think he greeted me, although I'm not sure. I replied with as cheery a 'Kia ora' as I could muster, given the circumstance.
One thing that my travels taught me was that despite my heritage, I am not a European. I'm a Kiwi and I live on a Pacific Island. While I may not be exactly opposite to being European, I feel I'm a lot closer to my Pacific island neighbours in cultural identity.
I look at my community: the thing I love the most about New Brighton is its evolution. Like many New Zealand towns and villages, what life was 50 years ago doesn't reflect where we are now. Things have changed, we continue to evolve; with each generation, what it means to be Kiwi develops further into its unique identity.
Where are we now? Folk talk about globalisation constantly but I'm not convinced it's a good thing. Being able to change and adapt is good; change is good! But losing one's identity? Brighton is unique- it always has been. It's long been the city's playground and for a while it was the Saturday morning mecca, but what about now? What would you consider are Brighton's assets? The beach at the beginning of the world? Our Pacific views? We're on the cusp of a new beginning; it's not often we're given the chance to reinvent ourselves like this. If we join in sharing the vision Greater Brighton celebrated as a thriving, vibrant, self-reliant village then, together we can create something that folk, (not just Brighton folk, either) can identify with.
Monday 26 March 2012
Recovery in Your Community
Kia ora koutou,
CERA's latest announcement hasn't made life any easier for our Southshore friends; kia kaha. I hope when April arrives that you hear the results you need.
Many others are confronted with terminology that we've never had the need to know, until recently. My background in landscaping has meant I understand how contracts need to be managed, but it doesn't make me an engineer! I've learnt to live with liquefaction (and have found it to be a rather reasonable growing medium) but understanding the implications of living in an area that is prone to it? Luckily, I'm not afraid to admit when I don't know something and am quite adept at seeking advice from those who do.
Despite often being portrayed as the villain in the media, CERA are making a substantial effort to look after Community Wellbeing as well as sharing the information they have in a way that we can understand. Their website contains many invaluable sources of information. This program, aired on Maori TV, discusses the health issues we are all facing in our communities.
As we've all discovered living in the rainbow that is green-blue, green-yellow, orange and red, technical categories are a many faceted thing.
Land in the green zone has been divided into three technical categories. These categories describe how the land in expected to perform in future earthquakes.
The technical categories – TC1 (grey), TC2 (yellow) and TC3 (blue) describe the foundation systems most likely to be required in the corresponding areas on the maps. As this is an area wide classification site specific geotech work will be required to determine the actual foundations required for each house in TC3 areas. In some cases this will mean TC2 level foundations will be enough in TC3 areas based on actual ground tests. This approach is common throughout New Zealand.
It is important to note that property owners only need to replace their foundations if their house needs to be rebuilt, or requires repairs to the foundations. Otherwise, no further action is needed (until you undertake major renovations that affect your foundations).
A very useful booklet has been developed by CERA and other agencies entitled Technical Categories and Your Property , follow the link to download the .pdf
While some of us make progress with our homes it can still feel like the recovery focus is on the Central Business District and folk, quite rightly, have been asking "What about us? What's happening in New Brighton?".
I've some good news. I've the pleasure of announcing that a motion has been carried to create the new organisation:
Renew Brighton.
Our Vision:
New Brighton is celebrated as a thriving, vibrant, self reliant village.
Our Mission:
Renew Brighton will be the catalyst, platform and inspiration for community-led ideas and initiatives. We will encourage collaboration between community groups and act as a conduit for communications.
Founding Members
Nikki Griffin (Local Business Owner), Jolene Parker (Artist), Pascal Bouffandeau (Teacher), Corinne Bolstad (Recovery), Kent Roper (Architectural Designer), Louise Wedlake (Businesswoman and advocate for keeping QE2 in the East), Donald Pettitt (Social Worker) and Rebecca May (not-for-profit Manager).
Background
Following February 2011's devastating earthquake, the Recovery of Community (ROC) group formed in New Brighton. While it was established at its final meeting in August 2011 that there was the need for a community-driven recovery plan it was decided that ROC wasn't the group to lead this process. After considerable consultation within the community it was decided to create a new organisation: Renew Brighton, that would encourage inter-agency collaboration, act as the conduit for communication between the community and other recovery agencies and that, as an organisation, we will provide the cohesion needed to create a community-led recovery plan.
Our Goals:
To be instrumental in leading the development of a community led recovery and revitalisation plan for Greater Brighton.
To take part in the plan's implementation
To contribute to the ongoing development of our community.
It is Renew Brighton's intention to engage with the community, through both its leaders and through a well planned consultation period. We have already conducted considerable research in determining the need and efficiency of creating this organisation and have garnered the support of many, including our local Councillors and MP.
I was wondering about the word 'village'. Like many of you, I tend to think of 'town' as being the city of Christchurch and of (Greater) Brighton as being a separate village. I've never been sure whether or not villages are defined geographically or demographically so, with the internet at my fingertips, I googled it:
vil·lage/ˈvilij/
Noun:
That sounds like a very apt description of Greater Brighton, especially as the green belt that are the red zones of Bexley, and Burwood develop. Perhaps I could venture so far as to write the definition folk will find when they google Greater Brighton in the future:
Greater Brighton
And if it's inspiration you need, look no further than our iconic Pier. New Brighton has an incredible history of community led development, think of what the Pier and Foreshore Society achieved!
Ka kite ano,
Rebecca May
CERA's latest announcement hasn't made life any easier for our Southshore friends; kia kaha. I hope when April arrives that you hear the results you need.
Many others are confronted with terminology that we've never had the need to know, until recently. My background in landscaping has meant I understand how contracts need to be managed, but it doesn't make me an engineer! I've learnt to live with liquefaction (and have found it to be a rather reasonable growing medium) but understanding the implications of living in an area that is prone to it? Luckily, I'm not afraid to admit when I don't know something and am quite adept at seeking advice from those who do.
Despite often being portrayed as the villain in the media, CERA are making a substantial effort to look after Community Wellbeing as well as sharing the information they have in a way that we can understand. Their website contains many invaluable sources of information. This program, aired on Maori TV, discusses the health issues we are all facing in our communities.
As we've all discovered living in the rainbow that is green-blue, green-yellow, orange and red, technical categories are a many faceted thing.
Land in the green zone has been divided into three technical categories. These categories describe how the land in expected to perform in future earthquakes.
The technical categories – TC1 (grey), TC2 (yellow) and TC3 (blue) describe the foundation systems most likely to be required in the corresponding areas on the maps. As this is an area wide classification site specific geotech work will be required to determine the actual foundations required for each house in TC3 areas. In some cases this will mean TC2 level foundations will be enough in TC3 areas based on actual ground tests. This approach is common throughout New Zealand.
It is important to note that property owners only need to replace their foundations if their house needs to be rebuilt, or requires repairs to the foundations. Otherwise, no further action is needed (until you undertake major renovations that affect your foundations).
A very useful booklet has been developed by CERA and other agencies entitled Technical Categories and Your Property , follow the link to download the .pdf
While some of us make progress with our homes it can still feel like the recovery focus is on the Central Business District and folk, quite rightly, have been asking "What about us? What's happening in New Brighton?".
I've some good news. I've the pleasure of announcing that a motion has been carried to create the new organisation:
Renew Brighton.
Our Vision:
New Brighton is celebrated as a thriving, vibrant, self reliant village.
Our Mission:
Renew Brighton will be the catalyst, platform and inspiration for community-led ideas and initiatives. We will encourage collaboration between community groups and act as a conduit for communications.
Founding Members
Nikki Griffin (Local Business Owner), Jolene Parker (Artist), Pascal Bouffandeau (Teacher), Corinne Bolstad (Recovery), Kent Roper (Architectural Designer), Louise Wedlake (Businesswoman and advocate for keeping QE2 in the East), Donald Pettitt (Social Worker) and Rebecca May (not-for-profit Manager).
Background
Following February 2011's devastating earthquake, the Recovery of Community (ROC) group formed in New Brighton. While it was established at its final meeting in August 2011 that there was the need for a community-driven recovery plan it was decided that ROC wasn't the group to lead this process. After considerable consultation within the community it was decided to create a new organisation: Renew Brighton, that would encourage inter-agency collaboration, act as the conduit for communication between the community and other recovery agencies and that, as an organisation, we will provide the cohesion needed to create a community-led recovery plan.
Our Goals:
To be instrumental in leading the development of a community led recovery and revitalisation plan for Greater Brighton.
To take part in the plan's implementation
To contribute to the ongoing development of our community.
It is Renew Brighton's intention to engage with the community, through both its leaders and through a well planned consultation period. We have already conducted considerable research in determining the need and efficiency of creating this organisation and have garnered the support of many, including our local Councillors and MP.
I was wondering about the word 'village'. Like many of you, I tend to think of 'town' as being the city of Christchurch and of (Greater) Brighton as being a separate village. I've never been sure whether or not villages are defined geographically or demographically so, with the internet at my fingertips, I googled it:
vil·lage/ˈvilij/
Noun:
A group of houses and associated buildings, larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, situated in a rural area.
A self-contained district or community within a town or city, regarded as having features characteristic of village life.
That sounds like a very apt description of Greater Brighton, especially as the green belt that are the red zones of Bexley, and Burwood develop. Perhaps I could venture so far as to write the definition folk will find when they google Greater Brighton in the future:
Greater Brighton
A seaside village that reaches from Southshore Spit to Bottle Lake Forest and is bound by the aquatic areas of the Pacific Ocean, the Avon-Otakaro River and Travis Wetland.
A thriving, vibrant, self-reliant village by the sea.
A place where people live, work, play and shop.
And if it's inspiration you need, look no further than our iconic Pier. New Brighton has an incredible history of community led development, think of what the Pier and Foreshore Society achieved!
Ka kite ano,
Rebecca May
Sunday 18 March 2012
Whakaora. Whakahaumanu. Whakahou.
I am fascinated by language and culture, by origins and development. My own origin and development plagued me: for some time I was often ashamed of my English heritage but proud of being Made in New Zealand. This is all a recent development of course because at school I was bored by history.
*Yawn* who really wants to learn about the names of ships and when they arrived?
My adult self became fascinated by our earlier settlers simply because there seemed to be so little information about them. Their stories, our history, was woven into their elaborate carvings and tales of the beginnings of our world. My first overseas voyage made me lonely in the sense that I felt far away from my culture and my community. I realised then the importance of language.
To me, language is like portable culture. You may not be able to surround yourself with 'home' despite carrying it in your heart, but you can keep it alive through story telling and those stories are often enriched by the language used. My shame had changed tack- it was no longer my English heritage but the ignorance of my country's language. Sure, I could say Kia ora as well as the next person, but could I introduce myself?
Sadly, two languages later, my ignorance remains. While I can stumble my way though a simple mihi, I'd be unable to take part in a simple conversation. Which is a shame- such richness yet undiscovered!
This tangent was hopped upon while I was looking up 'Recovery' in the Maori dictionary.
"Whakaora" a beautiful word. But as usual, it meant so much more:
(noun) healing, rescue, revival, cure, recovery, resuscitation, restoration.
Fascinated, I continued to 'Revitalisation'
"Whakahaumanu" (verb) (-tia) to revive, restore to health, revitalize, rejuvenate.
and then finally, 'Renew':
"Whakahou" (verb) (-ngia,-tia) to revise, renew, rebuild, renovate, update, restore.
How beautiful this language that can teach us that Recovery is so much more significant, that in order to revitalise our community we need to restore it to health and of course, that renewal means revision- looking backwards to look forwards.
Kia ora.
*Yawn* who really wants to learn about the names of ships and when they arrived?
My adult self became fascinated by our earlier settlers simply because there seemed to be so little information about them. Their stories, our history, was woven into their elaborate carvings and tales of the beginnings of our world. My first overseas voyage made me lonely in the sense that I felt far away from my culture and my community. I realised then the importance of language.
To me, language is like portable culture. You may not be able to surround yourself with 'home' despite carrying it in your heart, but you can keep it alive through story telling and those stories are often enriched by the language used. My shame had changed tack- it was no longer my English heritage but the ignorance of my country's language. Sure, I could say Kia ora as well as the next person, but could I introduce myself?
Sadly, two languages later, my ignorance remains. While I can stumble my way though a simple mihi, I'd be unable to take part in a simple conversation. Which is a shame- such richness yet undiscovered!
This tangent was hopped upon while I was looking up 'Recovery' in the Maori dictionary.
"Whakaora" a beautiful word. But as usual, it meant so much more:
(noun) healing, rescue, revival, cure, recovery, resuscitation, restoration.
Fascinated, I continued to 'Revitalisation'
"Whakahaumanu" (verb) (-tia) to revive, restore to health, revitalize, rejuvenate.
and then finally, 'Renew':
"Whakahou" (verb) (-ngia,-tia) to revise, renew, rebuild, renovate, update, restore.
How beautiful this language that can teach us that Recovery is so much more significant, that in order to revitalise our community we need to restore it to health and of course, that renewal means revision- looking backwards to look forwards.
Kia ora.
Wednesday 14 March 2012
New Brighton Pier
The first New Brighton pier was built in a traditional British style in 1894 by a privately owned company. There were penny arcades and even a nightclub to entertain visitors who came on holiday from the city. There it remained for 70 years, until Council ordered its demolition in 1965 due to its deterioration.
The Pier and Foreshore Society, founded by residents to try and save the pier, continued to campaign for a new pier. Thirty years of lobbying and fundraising in the community raised almost $2million which the Council matched dollar for dollar.
The new pier, some might say the finest in the world, is the largest ocean pier in Australisia. It was officially opened in November 1997 on the site of the original New brighton pier.
It enjoyed its tenth anniversay celebrations and the Burwood-Pegasus Community Board commissioned a spectacular permanent installation of red, blue and green lights.
Leading the Way
Despite for the most part falling off the news radar quake news still makes headlines. Today in The Press they were discussing how
In rebuilding Christchurch we have the chance to showcase our city to the world because, as the papers say, the numbers of buildings being demolished was just not acceptable in modern times. Architects and Engineers working together would then integrate modern earthquake technology into sustainable design.
Likewise, we have a similar opportunity in our New Brighton.
With the right leadership, we can develop a recovery and revitalisation plan that will enable New Brighton to demonstrate to the city (and indeed, the world) what community led recovery looks like: successful.
New Zealand should show ''international leadership'' by implementing earthquake technology in new buildings, an inquiry has heard.
In rebuilding Christchurch we have the chance to showcase our city to the world because, as the papers say, the numbers of buildings being demolished was just not acceptable in modern times. Architects and Engineers working together would then integrate modern earthquake technology into sustainable design.
Likewise, we have a similar opportunity in our New Brighton.
With the right leadership, we can develop a recovery and revitalisation plan that will enable New Brighton to demonstrate to the city (and indeed, the world) what community led recovery looks like: successful.
Saturday 10 March 2012
Creating Cohesion
The ball's rolling.
Thursday night several community leaders gathered at the New Brighton Community Gardens where the primary topic for discussion was the recovery of our community: New Brighton.
Research undertaken world wide has shown that community led recovery initiatives appear to be particularly successful and often contribute to the wider recovery. Superb examples of this would include Broadmoor in New Orleans (following Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures in 2005), Canberra in Australia (following the Bushfires in 2003) and more locally, Matata in the Bay of Plenty (after extreme flooding in 2005).
If there was one wish that was made that I may have the power to grant it was to get "more community groups working together".
Our community needs cohesion and with that cohesion will come the strength to rebuild.
Can you imagine a community with an organisation that has a single vision- to see it renewed?
The proposal was made that a new organisation is created charged with the role of co-ordinating our recovery, revitalisation and renewal. But of course, this organisation won't work without you.
There will come a time, very shortly, when we will ask you more than just what you want in your New Brighton; there'll be the opportunity to share your ideas and really make a contribution to the revitalisation of greater Brighton.
Community is all about common unity, and in this case our common unity is a reNewed Brighton.
Thursday night several community leaders gathered at the New Brighton Community Gardens where the primary topic for discussion was the recovery of our community: New Brighton.
Research undertaken world wide has shown that community led recovery initiatives appear to be particularly successful and often contribute to the wider recovery. Superb examples of this would include Broadmoor in New Orleans (following Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures in 2005), Canberra in Australia (following the Bushfires in 2003) and more locally, Matata in the Bay of Plenty (after extreme flooding in 2005).
If there was one wish that was made that I may have the power to grant it was to get "more community groups working together".
Our community needs cohesion and with that cohesion will come the strength to rebuild.
Can you imagine a community with an organisation that has a single vision- to see it renewed?
The proposal was made that a new organisation is created charged with the role of co-ordinating our recovery, revitalisation and renewal. But of course, this organisation won't work without you.
There will come a time, very shortly, when we will ask you more than just what you want in your New Brighton; there'll be the opportunity to share your ideas and really make a contribution to the revitalisation of greater Brighton.
Community is all about common unity, and in this case our common unity is a reNewed Brighton.
Monday 5 March 2012
Late Summer Update (Renewsletter)
Kia ora folks,
I'd like to start by saying a special hello to all the new subscribers- thanks for coming along.
This newsletter's primary focus is to talk about our recovery and to pass on information I have received that I think you might find useful. Please, print this, pass it on and forward it- this is all information to be shared. This eNewsletter will be distributed fortnightly, but I will post daily on the facebook page and inbetween times on the blog. Follow the link- do you want to see a renewed Brighton? 'Like' Renew Brighton!
In case you accidentally delete this email, I will be posting it to the blog, too.
Since I last wrote we went and stood under the beautiful wishing tree at the I Love New brighton event in Rawhiti Domain. A typically beautiful Brighton day, over 2500 people visited the park, many of whom left wishes on the tree. The wishes were all carefully collated and handed to a faerie to take care of~ no, seriously, the information gathered has been taken very seriously and you can all be quite proud for taking part in such an incredibly positive event. Have a look at the blog to see a tag-cloud I created with all the wishes you made.
The first piece of information I am going to share with you is possibly the most well compiled list of contacts that you might ever need. Print this page and put it on your fridge. In fact, be a good neighbour and print one for them too.
SCIRT
The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is charged with repairing the city’s roads and underground pipes. This is a massive task – it’s one of the largest and most complex civil engineering programmes of work ever undertaken in New Zealand. It’s estimated to take about five years to complete. Because this task is so large, some work is taking priority over others. Determining what comes first is complex and it is important that there is a well thought out planning process in place to drive the work programme. SCIRT’s prioritisation process considers the following factors:
Operational prioritisation e.g. reducing wastewater flows to rivers Interdependencies e.g. repairing downstream wastewater lines before upstream ones
Key services e.g. maintaining access to medical, emergency, education facilities and major transport routes External factors e.g. plans of power companies
Constraints e.g. availability of resources and materials
Sense check e.g. review the decision and consider whether it makes common sense
So what does this mean for you? You will probably be keen to know when your street will be repaired. SCIRT is currently preparing a schedule of work, which will outline the order of work. The schedule is still under development and will be approved by the Christchurch City Council and CERA before being made available in the near future.
Locally this week, they'll be working on Bridge St Bridge in South New Brighton where they'll be carrying out bridge investigations; work should be completed by mid March. Telephone 941 8999 for more information
CanCERN Surveys / Data Collection
CanCERN are collecting information to provide evidence for claims we are making about insurance and EQC related issues. If you relate to one of the following statements, please click the link and spend a few minutes filling in our survey. All identifying information remains confidential to the CanCERN staff.
EQC and my insurer don't agree on the total cost of the damage to my house.
I have a report from a professional that suggests the EQC/insurance assessment is incorrect.
My insurer initially told me that my house was a 'total loss' (rebuild) but now they have said I am a repair.
Individual Grants & Hardship
CLICK HERE for application information for the Mayors Welfare Earthquake Relief Fund if your hardship is related to the earthquakes and you live in Christchurch city.
CLICK HERE for application information for the Mayors Welfare Fund if your hardship is not directly earthquake related and you live in Christchurch City.
CLICK HERE for application information for the Waimakariri Earthquake Relief Fund if your hardship is related to the earthquakes and you live in Waimakariri.
CLICK HERE for application information about the Waimakariri Relief Fund if your hardship is not directly earthquake related and you live in Waimakariri.
CLICK HERE for eligibility information about the Selwyn Earthquake Relief Fund and
HERE for an application form if your hardship is earthquake related and you live in Selwyn.
The New Zealand Red Cross have announced two new grants:
Storage Grant The storage grant is: "To assist homeowners who have had to vacate their damaged property and pay for storage for their belongings anytime since 4 September 2010 and have exhausted other financial assistance to pay for storage." The value of the grant will be up to $500 per household. More information is available
here, along with a downloadable application form.
Winter Assistance Grant The aim of this grant is to assist vulnerable households who are living in homes significantly damaged by the earthquakes, or who have had to move into damp or hard to heat accommodation. The significant damage must include serious compromise to the heating and/or insulation of the home. This grant assists households with their electricity bills over the months of June, July, August and September 2012. Up to $400 per household will be paid over four months to assist with electricity bills.
Earthquake Support Coordinators: Call 0800 777 846 to be connected to a coordinator who can help navigate your way through earthquake issues.
Earthquake Counseling: Call 0800 777 846 for information and access to free earthquake counseling.
Some important Links
EQC – addition to FAQ on deciding how to settle a claim.
Vero insurance – changes to their temporary accommodation policy
Village people – a report from Linwood Park Temporary Earthquake Village
Release of cabinet papers
Inside information on EQC’s practices
CERA video – property demolitions in the residential Red Zone
Free financial advice for Canterbury red zone residents
Apportionment – is EQC now your insurance company?
If you're anything like me you're quite possibly cringing about the amount of recyclable materials that are being dumped. Fear not, there's somebody who is on the case. I met a lovely lady under the wishing tree last week who told me that she and some associates are 'recycling to order'. If you, or your community group, can think of a building material that you might need, or even a piece of office furniture (think of anything that can be removed from some of the buildings that are being knocked over in town: insulation, furniture, light fittings...) make yourself a 'wish list' and email it to the lovely people at recover-earth@live.com - you can very simply help saving the planet while saving your pocket.
Next newsletter, because you know I'm always up to something, I'll be able to bring you some fabulous news about some meetings I've been attending in New Brighton where folk will be discussing our community's needs...
As always, I welcome your contributions and advice if you have any.
Nga mihi,
Rebecca
I'd like to start by saying a special hello to all the new subscribers- thanks for coming along.
This newsletter's primary focus is to talk about our recovery and to pass on information I have received that I think you might find useful. Please, print this, pass it on and forward it- this is all information to be shared. This eNewsletter will be distributed fortnightly, but I will post daily on the facebook page and inbetween times on the blog. Follow the link- do you want to see a renewed Brighton? 'Like' Renew Brighton!
In case you accidentally delete this email, I will be posting it to the blog, too.
Since I last wrote we went and stood under the beautiful wishing tree at the I Love New brighton event in Rawhiti Domain. A typically beautiful Brighton day, over 2500 people visited the park, many of whom left wishes on the tree. The wishes were all carefully collated and handed to a faerie to take care of~ no, seriously, the information gathered has been taken very seriously and you can all be quite proud for taking part in such an incredibly positive event. Have a look at the blog to see a tag-cloud I created with all the wishes you made.
The first piece of information I am going to share with you is possibly the most well compiled list of contacts that you might ever need. Print this page and put it on your fridge. In fact, be a good neighbour and print one for them too.
SCIRT
The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is charged with repairing the city’s roads and underground pipes. This is a massive task – it’s one of the largest and most complex civil engineering programmes of work ever undertaken in New Zealand. It’s estimated to take about five years to complete. Because this task is so large, some work is taking priority over others. Determining what comes first is complex and it is important that there is a well thought out planning process in place to drive the work programme. SCIRT’s prioritisation process considers the following factors:
Operational prioritisation e.g. reducing wastewater flows to rivers Interdependencies e.g. repairing downstream wastewater lines before upstream ones
Key services e.g. maintaining access to medical, emergency, education facilities and major transport routes External factors e.g. plans of power companies
Constraints e.g. availability of resources and materials
Sense check e.g. review the decision and consider whether it makes common sense
So what does this mean for you? You will probably be keen to know when your street will be repaired. SCIRT is currently preparing a schedule of work, which will outline the order of work. The schedule is still under development and will be approved by the Christchurch City Council and CERA before being made available in the near future.
Locally this week, they'll be working on Bridge St Bridge in South New Brighton where they'll be carrying out bridge investigations; work should be completed by mid March. Telephone 941 8999 for more information
CanCERN Surveys / Data Collection
CanCERN are collecting information to provide evidence for claims we are making about insurance and EQC related issues. If you relate to one of the following statements, please click the link and spend a few minutes filling in our survey. All identifying information remains confidential to the CanCERN staff.
EQC and my insurer don't agree on the total cost of the damage to my house.
I have a report from a professional that suggests the EQC/insurance assessment is incorrect.
My insurer initially told me that my house was a 'total loss' (rebuild) but now they have said I am a repair.
Individual Grants & Hardship
CLICK HERE for application information for the Mayors Welfare Earthquake Relief Fund if your hardship is related to the earthquakes and you live in Christchurch city.
CLICK HERE for application information for the Mayors Welfare Fund if your hardship is not directly earthquake related and you live in Christchurch City.
CLICK HERE for application information for the Waimakariri Earthquake Relief Fund if your hardship is related to the earthquakes and you live in Waimakariri.
CLICK HERE for application information about the Waimakariri Relief Fund if your hardship is not directly earthquake related and you live in Waimakariri.
CLICK HERE for eligibility information about the Selwyn Earthquake Relief Fund and
HERE for an application form if your hardship is earthquake related and you live in Selwyn.
The New Zealand Red Cross have announced two new grants:
Storage Grant The storage grant is: "To assist homeowners who have had to vacate their damaged property and pay for storage for their belongings anytime since 4 September 2010 and have exhausted other financial assistance to pay for storage." The value of the grant will be up to $500 per household. More information is available
here, along with a downloadable application form.
Winter Assistance Grant The aim of this grant is to assist vulnerable households who are living in homes significantly damaged by the earthquakes, or who have had to move into damp or hard to heat accommodation. The significant damage must include serious compromise to the heating and/or insulation of the home. This grant assists households with their electricity bills over the months of June, July, August and September 2012. Up to $400 per household will be paid over four months to assist with electricity bills.
Earthquake Support Coordinators: Call 0800 777 846 to be connected to a coordinator who can help navigate your way through earthquake issues.
Earthquake Counseling: Call 0800 777 846 for information and access to free earthquake counseling.
Some important Links
EQC – addition to FAQ on deciding how to settle a claim.
Vero insurance – changes to their temporary accommodation policy
Village people – a report from Linwood Park Temporary Earthquake Village
Release of cabinet papers
Inside information on EQC’s practices
CERA video – property demolitions in the residential Red Zone
Free financial advice for Canterbury red zone residents
Apportionment – is EQC now your insurance company?
If you're anything like me you're quite possibly cringing about the amount of recyclable materials that are being dumped. Fear not, there's somebody who is on the case. I met a lovely lady under the wishing tree last week who told me that she and some associates are 'recycling to order'. If you, or your community group, can think of a building material that you might need, or even a piece of office furniture (think of anything that can be removed from some of the buildings that are being knocked over in town: insulation, furniture, light fittings...) make yourself a 'wish list' and email it to the lovely people at recover-earth@live.com - you can very simply help saving the planet while saving your pocket.
Next newsletter, because you know I'm always up to something, I'll be able to bring you some fabulous news about some meetings I've been attending in New Brighton where folk will be discussing our community's needs...
As always, I welcome your contributions and advice if you have any.
Nga mihi,
Rebecca
New Brighton: Canterbury's Playground
the smoothness and fineness of the sand, the great length of uninterrupted promenadeIf you browse further there are photos of The Stadium (which we now refer to as either the Sound Shell, or amphitheatre) and of course, the original pier. There were two New Brighton tram services, the number 5 -direct route, and the number 10 -Burwood route. I'd love to see better transport options for Brighton folk- wouldn't the old cinema site be ideal for a bus exchange? Shelter from the elements for both drivers and passengers, safety for late night travellers... Why not dream a little further and imagine it as en electric bus exchange ~ the technology's there! I love reminiscing, I often feel it lets me dream in both directions- possibilities for the future, too.
Wednesday 29 February 2012
wishes in a cloud
alcohol free club aquarium arts avon river park brighton business cafes centre cinema clean clean environment community community centre community groups working together culture cycle cycle bridge to sumner dance education centre events families free bikes investment kids kids climbing wall local food mall mens shed music venue no graffiti organic supermarket playgroun pool potential qe2 rebuild safer salt water pool saltwater pool shelter shops surf reef swim theatre unique united vibrant warmth water park whalepool
created at TagCrowd.com
Monday 27 February 2012
The Bright(on) Side of Life
"Always look on the bright(on) side of life" (queue whistling Ă¡ la Monty Python).
There's always something to look forward to, if you look hard enough.
For example, The Press reports that more than 2500 people attended the I Love New Brighton event at the weekend. Some turn out! One of the key organisers, Youth Alive Trust's James Ridpath, said organisers looked forward to building on the event, "keeping community spirits high and celebrating everything positive that's still happening in New Brighton". See, not just me.
The good thing about our community is celebrating the things we have in common, the things that bring us together. I look forward to and welcome opportunities to collaborate as it not only creates cohesion but also strengthens relationships and builds community. I can only achieve so much alone.
One thing I've given a lot of thought about lately, inspired by the obvious building debris washing up on the beach, is the crying shame that adds insult to injury that many perfectly good (and often beautiful) building materials are being dumped in the name of demolition.
And when I read stories in the Press like today's
There's always something to look forward to, if you look hard enough.
For example, The Press reports that more than 2500 people attended the I Love New Brighton event at the weekend. Some turn out! One of the key organisers, Youth Alive Trust's James Ridpath, said organisers looked forward to building on the event, "keeping community spirits high and celebrating everything positive that's still happening in New Brighton". See, not just me.
The good thing about our community is celebrating the things we have in common, the things that bring us together. I look forward to and welcome opportunities to collaborate as it not only creates cohesion but also strengthens relationships and builds community. I can only achieve so much alone.
One thing I've given a lot of thought about lately, inspired by the obvious building debris washing up on the beach, is the crying shame that adds insult to injury that many perfectly good (and often beautiful) building materials are being dumped in the name of demolition.
Red-zoned homes could've been saved
it almost makes me cry! How do you think it makes our Bexley, Burwood and New Brighton Rd neighbours feel? Reading the readers' comments reminded me that, although published by the Press, doesn't make it any more credible than, say, something you might read here.
One thing you can take seriously, though, is how I feel about my Brighton community and my work and contribution towards its recovery. Yes, in this case, the Press was right- I am a Brighton advocate! And I consider myself very lucky to be in this position as I'm often given the chance to make a difference. One such difference I can make refers to my earlier thought: recycling building materials.
I bumped into a lovely lady at I Love New Brighton on the weekend; she had been sent my way. She and her acquaintances have formed a group of volunteers who go into buildings in town that are in the process of being demolished, after they have been made safe, and remove re-usable materials. For example, there are literally thousands of office chairs and desks going to waste. There are carpets being ripped up by the hectare. Insulation, lighting, door-handles- you name it, it's going into a hole in the ground unless these good people get to it first! These incredible folk are recuperating building materials to order and donating them to folk who need them. That's right: giving them away. This is definitely the bright side of life.
If you, or someone you can think of (your playcentre, church, club, school, kindy, organisation...) has a need for almost anything that can be recuperated and carried safely out of a building then the people to get in touch with are: recover-earth@live.com . If you send them your wish list, tell them I sent them to you!
Saturday 25 February 2012
Wish: Made
The citizens of New Brighton gathered at Rawhiti Domain to celebrate: the sun was out, the music was fine; we were among friends, we all Love New Brighton
I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in creating a wishing tree.
Wishes numbered in their hundreds with many reccurring aquatic themes~ swimming pools, surf reefs among them; all of the wishes were positive.
Now they've been entrusted to a good faerie who will collate them, catalogue them and pass them on to the good folk who grant wishes...
Now all we've got to do is wait for the post that reads- Wish:Granted...
Did you make a wish?
Now all we've got to do is wait for the post that reads- Wish:Granted...
Did you make a wish?
Friday 24 February 2012
I ❤ New Brighton
There won't be many there among us tomorrow who don't sincerely love New Brighton. This is one of the most beautiful examples of community that I've ever encountered. Brightonites are a proud, passionate lot, who often think as their peninsula as a village apart from the rest of the city. We love the beach, the river and the forests on our doorsteps; we defend ourselves against the city-dwellers' opinions of the easterly and our mall. And, despite recent events, I doubt there are many folk who would ever leave, given the choice.
The original I ❤ New Brighton was created by a collaboration of community leaders with the idea of simply cheering everybody up - no need to mention the 'E' word. It was a hugely popular success.
This year is no different. I ❤ New Brighton gives us all a chance to celebrate living by the sea in our beautiful New Brighton.
The original I ❤ New Brighton was created by a collaboration of community leaders with the idea of simply cheering everybody up - no need to mention the 'E' word. It was a hugely popular success.
This year is no different. I ❤ New Brighton gives us all a chance to celebrate living by the sea in our beautiful New Brighton.
I'll be there, up the front, under the Wishing Tree- come over, introduce yourself and make a wish for what you'd like to see in your New Brighton.
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