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.




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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!


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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