View all Posts from Grafton
1580 days ago

If the council is just going to let these trees come down...

Andrea from Eden Terrace

A West Auckland man was nearly seriously injured this morning during a protest to protect dozens of mature native trees from development as one came crashing down right above him.
The dramatic scenes took place on Canal Rd, Avondale, where several sections originally home to 46 native trees, believed to be about 100 years old, have been on the market.
Nearly two weeks ago arborists started their work to clear the site before protesters turned up, and managed to stall the chainsaws after about 10 trees were felled.
Abel, a veteran environmental activist and now Green Party candidate for New Lynn, has returned the past 12 days and managed to keep the chainsaws at bay by scaling various trees, earning a trespass notice in the process.
"It is an aggregious blot on the council that they have not done anything."
A report this month, and presented today to the council's Environment and Climate Change Committee, showed some parts of Auckland had lost nearly 10 per cent of their canopy cover in only a few years, largely due to development.

More messages from your neighbours
5 days ago

What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.

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6 days ago

Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.

This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.

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Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
  • 85.1% Yes
    85.1% Complete
  • 13.8% No
    13.8% Complete
  • 1% Other - I'll share below
    1% Complete
2383 votes
13 hours ago

The Ant, Bird & Hunter (Day - 1)

Kiran Reddy from Mount Eden

Dear Neighbors,

I’ve come across something I truly believe can make a positive impact, and I’m excited to share it with you! Over the next 54 days, I will be sharing a series of 54 moral stories (one a day) that encourage children to think deeply and adopt valuable life lessons. These stories are designed to instill ethics, values, and morals that will help shape a better future for our kids.

I’d love to hear your feedback along the way so we can evaluate the outcomes together and make sure this effort benefits our community in the best possible way.

Please note, this is a non-religious, non-cultural initiative. If any names (People, places etc...) in the stories seem tied to a particular belief system, feel free to adjust them to better align with your own, as the core focus is on values and positive character-building.

Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback!

The Ant, Bird & Hunter

There was an ant which fell into a river accidentally and the river was flowing rapidly.The ant would have died after getting drowned in the river, but luckily for the ant there was a bird sitting on a tree above that saw the ant. The bird plucked out a leaf from the tree, flew a short distance, and put it into the river just in time for the ant to climb onto the leaf. The ant floated on the leaf for a while and finally when the river was calm it reached land.

After it reached land, the ant dismounted the leaf, felt thankful that its life had been saved by the bird and headed off to thank the bird which saved its life. In a few hours, it reached the place where the bird was seated on the tree. The ant was about to climb the tree to thank the bird but it observed a hunter was about to shoot down the bird on the tree. The bird had not noticed the hunter.

The ant decided to take action immediately, and thereby help its friend, the bird. The ant went and began biting the feet of the hunter. The irritated hunter could not aim carefully and missed shooting his prey, the bird, as his feet had been bitten by the ant.

The moral of the story is that we may all be very small persons but we must try our best to help our friends under all circumstances. Returning a favor is as important as accepting a favor.