Extra

Great year for education

As this crazy year comes to an end, it seems we are all learning to adapt to the challenges of covid. When 2021 began, with the risk of another year of covid restrictions, Aratoi wondered if schools would return to visit our museum. Our education programme relies heavily on teachers being able to take their students out of school to experience learning outside the classroom, something far less common in a covid world.

Instead, young visitor numbers to Aratoi have been wonderfully strong this year. A whopping 2500 students participated in our museum education programme. From creating crazy Rob McLeod body parts, making poi out of recycled materials, crafting treasured bracelets, tours of our collection store and printmaking. The educators have loved teaching and exploring new ways to create art with school children. We send a big thank you out to all the schools and preschools who visited us at Aratoi throughout 2021.

One of the highlights was our programme

Aratoi education programme. PHOTO/BEAU ELTON

for the exhibition Pūkana: Te Karu o te Ika - Moments in Māori performance. Students enjoyed sharing their stories and experiences of Māori performance and learning more about the instruments, traditions and performers who have made their mark locally, nationally, and internationally. The progamme provided students with the opportunity to connect the past, present and future together through stories, taonga and objects from our community and the wider world.

Planning has already begun for next year’s education programme. Aratoi educators are excited about venturing into virtual tours where we will Zoom into classrooms, taking Aratoi’s collection directly to the schools of Wairarapa. Our interactive gallery tours will continue to be a big part of the services we provide. We look forward to seeing you all again in February 2022.

Aratoi runs a free education programme Monday to Friday during term time. Each session runs for 70 minutes and always includes a making activity related to the tour. 2022 programmes will begin in mid-February, keep an eye out on our website for further details in the New Year.

Pukaha fundraiser reaches record sum

Sue Teodoro

sue.teodoro@age.co.nz

Despite ongoing uncertainty due to covid, a key event on Wairarapa’s spring calendar has been an outstanding success.

This year’s Pukaha National Wildlife Centre garden tour was one for the record books, attracting bumper crowds and raising thousands of dollars.

The annual fundraiser, held early last month, raised more than $72,000 in ticket sales and donations, the best result ever. In its eleventh year, the centre took a calculated risk of going ahead with the event, with many others cancelled.

Emily Court, general manager of Pukaha, was pleased with the outcome.

“We are so pleased we did it as it has really paid off . The funds raised will make a huge diff erence to the wildlife centre, which has in the past been so reliant on income from overseas visitors.”

Court said running one of Wairarapa’s biggest spring events during covid had not been easy, and the safety of all participants had been vital.

“Our event manager Rachael Dell did an incredible job and was well supported by an army of volunteers over the weekend,” she said. “The event was able to be run safely because it was outdoors, and visitors could scan in at each garden and also safely maintain physical distance from each other”.

Even though the pandemic prevented Northland, Auckland and Waikato ticketholders from attending, they had the option of a refund or donating their ticket price to the centre.

“Many of these wonderful people chose to donate their ticket to us, and their generosity has contributed to the record result. We are truly grateful for their kindness,” Court said.

The tour focused on thirteen private gardens near Masterton, eight of them new. Feedback from attendees was positive. The region benefi ted, with accommodation sold out and retail and hospitality businesses having a busy weekend. Caterers, plant sellers and others who operated the gardens were also kept busy.

“Each made a generous contribution to Pukaha to participate, which also contributed to the success. Some gardens helped to raise money through selling teas, coff ees, and sweet treats,” Court said.

She also acknowledged the generosity, skills and commitment of the gardeners themselves.

“There was so much variety on off er – I was truly inspired. Nothing was a problem either, neither the rain nor the muddy paddocks and, in some cases, rather trampled wet lawns. A huge thank you to everybody and the community that supported us.

“This is the biggest annual fundraiser for the National Wildlife Centre, and it makes a real diff erence to what we can do in the forest. Pukaha has always been a community project built on so much love and volunteer time. All of the gardeners over the last 11 years are part of this important conservation story.”

Pukaha National Wildlife Centre is a wildlife reserve and captive breeding facility managed by the Pukaha Mount Bruce board in partnership with Rangitane o Wairarapa and the Department of Conservation.

Through captive breeding, the centre has successfully reintroduced North Island kaka, North Island brown kiwi, and North Island kokako into their forest reserve.

Pukaha expects to hold next year’s garden tour in November in South Wairarapa.

People who are keen to open their gardens or who know about a possible garden contender should contact Pukaha. More information about the centre, including how to get in touch, is at pukaha. org.nz/

We are so pleased we did it as it has really paid off.

DON’T LEAVE YOUR PET WITH THE HOLIDAY BLUES

Leaving town for the holidays? Make sure you have proper plans in place if your pet is staying home. Ideally, a trusted friend or relative should be in the house with them – with your contact details handy in case of emergency. A brief visit from a human once a day for feeding is not a pet’s idea of festive fun. If the worst happens, and your pet is lost, use social media, contact vets and the SPCA, and report the dog lost with Masterton District Council.

If your pet goes missing, fill out our online form and upload a photo at: www.mstn.govt.nz/ report-a-lost-dog or call 06 370 6300.

december UPDATE

Christmas is upon us, far too quickly, and summer holidays, which will be a great respite for many from another unusual year. It looks like a long hot summer may be coming, and certainly the number of fire callouts by the Fire Brigade are a cause of concern. Please ensure you follow the rules on permits and restricted seasons. This Christmas will be different as a number of facilities, both in the Wairarapa and around New Zealand, will require vaccine passes at many facilities, including at our libraries and pools for those 12 years and three months or older. Vaccine passes have been a polarising issue throughout the country and we at the Council have taken a course which many other councils have also landed at, to best reduce the risk of Covid-19. Not everyone will agree, but we ask that everyone respect that and the staff who work for these facilities. As you may know, we had a public meeting on rates, where we outlined the issues and invited a discussion on solutions. In general, there was good and thoughtful feedback on the impact of higher rates and the options we face to reduce the impact. The Council has undertaken to look closer at costs when it looks at the annual plan next year, with the aim of avoiding major expense, which would defeat the purpose. Whether it will reduce rates next year still depends on a number of long-standing commitments, but the intention is certainly to provide some relief. In the meantime, there are several options for rates relief available to ratepayers including spreading the payments over a longer period, or setting up fortnightly or monthly direct debits to lessen the impact. We encourage people to make contact with us to discuss their individual circumstances. A special vote of thanks to the hard work our planners have been doing on the first stage of our 30-year Spatial Plan. South Wairarapa is growing at a fast clip and the Plan will serve as important guidance for the direction in which we wish to head. Finally, we have a number of events scheduled for the summer period, all of which may be affected by Covid. Let’s cross our fingers that they can proceed as planned – I for one would hate to have the Martinborough Fair cancelled! Have a good break over Christmas, I wish you all well. Alex Beijen MAYOR

Covid Passes – common questions

A major change for the Council this month was its decision to require Vaccine Passes for entry to some venues to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. The change was in response to the Government’s traffic light system which came in on December 3. Since then, South Wairarapa and many other councils, have restricted entry to pools, libraries and event centres to those with Covid vaccine passes if they are 12 years and three months or older. Our libraries have also been inundated with enquiries from those needing assistance to download or print the pass. This work is now being done by Digital Seniors, which has been holding hubs within the libraries and elsewhere. If you are having trouble getting your pass, you can contact them for assistance at 0800 373 646, or contact Age Concern at 06 377 0066. Passes are also being printed at Lamb-Peters in Greytown, PrintSpace and Lang’s Pharmacy in Featherston, and Carterton Pharmacy. Charges apply. For those who do not have a pass, the libraries are working hard to provide other means of access. Through the Wairarapa Library Service website, people can already access hundreds of e-books and electronic magazines. Please check the library service’s website for updates. Council meetings will be via Zoom until Christmas.

Vaccine passes are not required at:

• Parks, transfer stations and cemeteries • Council’s freedom campgrounds, although DOC huts do require them • Our Council offices.

Spatial Plan

After much consultation, the Council has just published the first stage of its Spatial Plan. This document sets out what we believe should be the areas of growth for our district over the next 30 years. It is a broad approach, with finer details to be worked out in the master plan. The community asked us to focus firstly on residential housing. Rural, commercial and industrial planning will be addressed by the Wairarapa Combined District Plan which is under review by all three of the region’s councils. The challenge for planners was to design a Plan that balanced the development and growth needs of the district, with the need to enhance the environment, support sustainability, foster connections and protect the district’s heritage and character. For more details about how the Spatial Plan aims to achieve this, please go to our website under the projects and consultations page, https://swdc.govt.nz/spatial-plan

Swimming’s back!

Our three pools are back in action, and much improved after some important maintenance work. Retiling work at Martinborough and Featherston pools removed some safety issues, and a new BBQ has been installed at Martinborough. Pool hours are the same as last year and entry is free. Please note: Children under 12 years 3 months can access the pools without restriction, but anyone older needs a Covid vaccine pass. Children under 8 need to be with a person over 16, and that person will need a pass.

Hinekura

A meeting was recently held with residents along Hinekura Road to discuss a plan for remediating slippage on the road. The Council, in conjunction with the Martinborough Community Board and Greater Wellington, outlined the work plan and listened to residents, who provided useful feedback on managing the project. It is hoped to have the work done by March/April 2022. Residents will be updated on progress via monthly email.

Pack the Bus

“Pack the Bus” had another successful year picking up gifts and non-perishables for those in need at Christmas. The annual operation stopped at schools and supermarkets throughout the region and was greeted with huge generosity. Schools were particularly on board with the plan, helped along by a huge 800-gift donation by Craggy Range winery in Martinborough. Over 700 local families will receive the gifts, which are being distributed by social agencies and foodbanks.

New Councillor

Colin Olds will fill a vacancy on the South Wairarapa District Council until the next election. The vacancy arose in the Featherston ward after Councillor Ross Vickery resigned in October. Mr Olds is a familiar face at the Council, having been a Councillor from 2013 to 2019. The Council chose to appoint a councillor rather than leave the position vacant for the remaining 11 months of the council term.

Camping and heavy swells

Summer means camping for many, with a Covid twist. Vaccine passes are not required at the Council’s freedom campsites, although we are asking people to scan. However, operators leasing campgrounds from the Council may require a pass and DOC is requiring them for their huts and campgrounds. Campers on our rugged coastline may also like to know that Metservice has just extended its heavy swell warnings service. In the Wairarapa, coverage stretches from Turakirae Head to Mataikona. Those visiting or living on the coast are encouraged to sign up to receive severe weather email alerts when swell thresholds are met by visiting www.metservice.com/warnings MetService hopes to introduce a national wave warning service by late 2022.

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