LIVE DAY | Flora & Fauna
It's springtime at Howick Historical Village and the gardens are full of life! Come along this Live Day to learn more about the natural world - plants, insects and our feathered friends.
Explore the heritage gardens on a nature trail created by our Heritage Gardener, Luke Southern. Learn all about Aotearoa’s unique native flora and introduced species as well as animals and our agricultural past.
Meet the Village beekeeper Sara Russ (a.k.a The Bee Lady) and get up close & personal with our buzzy garden pollinators in an observational hive at 1 pm. Feed the chooks, make a wildflower seed bomb or pot a sunflower from seed to enjoy its bright blooms this summer!
Step back in time - churn butter, make a beeswax candle, or try hand-crank sewing or rag rugging. Discover the art of bookbinding with members of the Association of Book Crafts. See the blacksmith at work in the forge and taste fresh baking, hot from the coal range in Puhi Nui Homestead. Visit the sweet shop filled with old-fashioned lollies and fudge!
With craft activities, outdoor games and performances - Morris dancing at 10:30 am & 11:30 am and bagpipe band at noon - there will be lots of fun for everyone! Have brunch or lunch at Homestead Café and make a day of it.
Admission: adult $18, student/senior $14, child $10, family $46. Children under 5, members & annual pass holders - free entry.
Would you like a free copy of our February 2025 issue?
Kia ora neighbours. We give away free copies to readers whose recipes are used in our magazine. We're still on the hunt for tomato recipes, so send your family's favourite way to use up your homegrown harvest, to: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. If we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of the mag
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Special Children's Christmas Parties in Auckland
Special Children's Christmas Parties held their Auckland event at
the Auckland Showgrounds recently inviting thousands of special needs children and their caregivers to a fun day of free entertainment, food and also took home three quality toys to call their own.
Special Children's Christmas Parties have been organising these events for over 25 years across a number of main centres throughout New Zealand.
Now, every year in New Zealand, nearly 10,000 Kiwi children with special needs, challenging life or health circumstances are invited to a party like no other.
The annual event is made possible by many local businesses supporting this event including Neighbourly.co.nz.
To be a part of this special event next year, please contact Aidan Belsham - Aidan@scevents.co.nz