Forest of Peace, Remembrance & Community at Plimmerton Domain/Taupo Swamp
Planting Celebration – Forest of Peace, Remembrance & Community at Plimmerton Domain/Taupo Swamp – 10,700 plants and counting.
On a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon, 26 June, we had a wonderful celebration of the first two years of planting of the “Forest of Peace, Remembrance and Community Forests” at Plimmerton Domain and alongside Taupo Swamp. Project co-organiser, Bill McAulay welcomed all and pointed out that we had representatives from Porirua City Council, local Rotary clubs, Rotary District and Rotary International.
We proceeded with a karakia from club kaumatua, Dexter Trail. This was a very timely connection with Matariki, planting and commencement of a new year. Unfortunately, Ngati Toa Rangitira Callum Katene was a last minute withdrawal due to Covid.
PCC Councillor (and club member), Euon Murrell talked about the connections between these plantings and the long-term riparian planting work being carried out by PCC, Sustainable Coastlines and Ngati Toa for the improvement of Porirua Harbour.
Club President, Kay Phillips acknowledged the many dignitaries attending the event and pointed out that we have planted 10,700 stems (trees, flaxes, toitoi, Carexes) since commencing in 2020 and expressed her appreciation of the amount of volunteer work done by Rotarians from the Plimmerton and Porirua Clubs.
She said “There is a strong environmental connection between the Taupo Swamp which bounds this Domain, the Taupo Stream beside us and the Porirua Harbour (Te Awarua-o-Porirua) – which are supported by Porirua City Council, Ngati Toa, our local iwi or tangatawhenua, Friends of the Taupo Swamp and the two Rotary Clubs in Porirua. Recently the Government committed $3m over 5 years to The Porirua Harbour Riparian Management Programme, to complement the $4.8 m already voted by PCC. This will be run jointly by Porirua City Council, Sustainable Coastlines and Ngāti Toa Rangatira over the next 16 years. As, Ngati Toa CE, Helmut Modlik says “Toitū te Marae o Tāne, Toitū te Marae o Tangaroa, Toitū te Iwi - protect and strengthen the realms of the Land and Sea, and they will protect and strengthen the people”.
Kay then introduced Dr Russ Ballard as chair of the Rotary Forests of Peace, Remembrance & Community Trust.
Russ traced the background to the formation of the Trust as a 2021 Rotary Centenary Project, the Trust’s wrangling of government financial support, the support role of Conservation Volunteers NZ, negotiations with local councils and described how the planting of this forest at Taupo Swamp fits with other planting projects around Aotearoa/NZ.
The next speaker was Dr Jessie Harman who is a member of the Rotary Club of Wendouree Breakfast, Victoria and the first female Director to represent Zone 8 (Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea). Jessie talked about how many Rotary clubs have been involved in community planting projects and the recent changes with Rotary International having just set ‘Environment’ as another Rotary pillar. She then unveiled a commemorative plaque.
The next task was for six trees to be planted by Jessie, Russ, Kay, Denise (President-Elect), Kath Beattie (Area Governor) and Euon.
Finally, Mark Wheeler (District Governor) made a surprise Paul Harris Fellowship Award to Russ Ballard in acknowledgement of his contribution to the Rotary Centenary Forests Project.
⚠️ 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 ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.9% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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