275 Times March 2017

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REDUCING RUBBISH: IT’S A FAMILY THING With the era of black bags coming to an end, some of us have been wondering how we’ll fit all our rubbish into the new red-lidded bins. Waste-minimisation expert Justine Skilling talked to one family who have already made the switch. Ane Karika-Nuku is Kaitiaki Manuhiri at the Māngere Mountain Education Centre. Born and raised in Māngere, she moved to Ōtāhuhu eight months ago with her husband and six children, who range in age from 8 to 18. Because Ōtāhuhu was part of the old Auckland City Council, residents there have been using the 120-litre red-lidded wheelie bins for 15 years. Ane's family has adapted to the new system and now they barely manage to fill their 120-litre bin with rubbish each week. I asked her how her family organises their rubbish at home and how they manage to create such a small amount of waste. Lessons from the deep South “After I finished high school in Māngere, I moved to Invercargill. My family lived there for many years before moving back. Down there, we were used to recycling and cutting down our food waste. People used their own dinner sets when they had functions, instead of plastic plates. (That’s when having six children came in handy!) Invercargill is about the size of Māngere Bridge. As well as having a recycle centre, there were dropoff points around the town for glass, cardboard and other items. Houses have big sections, so everyone grows their own food. Our food scraps went to the dogs, the farms, or back in our garden. Staying on track When we moved up here again, our children were really “grossed out” to see the rubbish bags on Māngere streets. They wondered how such small houses could create so much rubbish. We got a bit lazy at first too, as it was cheaper to buy packaged food in the supermarket. We had eight people living in the main house and another family out the back, and each week we put out two or three black sacks. When we moved to Ōtāhuhu, we had to adjust again and remember how we used to do things in the South Island. Finding room to grow We live in a Housing NZ house, so we can’t have a garden, but we grow things in containers, and we have a plot at the Māngere Mountain Education Centre community garden. We collect our food scraps and bring them to our plot to compost. “IT’S POSSIBLE TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN SPACES TO PLAY AND SWIM IN, IF WE LOOK AFTER WHAT’S AROUND US.” Getting the kids involved Our kids bought pretty bins from the supermarket and labelled them for recycling, soft plastics, food scraps, etc. They squash down cardboard boxes and tie them together, and rinse and squash plastic bottles before putting them in the recycle bin. We’re not buying as much packaged food as we used to in Māngere. The kids prefer homecooked meals, so takeaways are an occasional treat. 4 Waste-reduction champs: Ane Karika-Nuku's family of eight barely fill their red-lidded rubbish bin each week.
I work long hours and my husband works nights, so we do big weekend cook-ups in hāngi pots and freeze them. The kids get meals out of the freezer in the morning to defrost and heat them up in the evening, so we can all eat together. Reducing & reusing Because we grow our own veges, we only need to go to the supermarket once a month. We buy in bulk, which also cuts down on packaging. We look out for notifications on Facebook or Neighbourly from local schools or kindys collecting packaging for craft, and make use of our networks in the community. Our family spends a lot of time at the Māngere Mountain Education Centre, and we have to practice reducing, reusing and recycling there as well. Healthy outcomes Our main motivation for living this way has been for personal health reasons. We have allergies, eczema, asthma, hay fever, lupus and lactose intolerance in our family, so we have to cook our own food to control what we’re eating. I’m also concerned about how we’re ruining our environment by burying our waste and dumping it. Having lived in the South Island, I’ve seen that it’s possible to have beautiful, clean spaces to play and swim in, if we look after what’s around us. My eldest daughter has really inspired our whole family to get on board with reducing waste, as a result of her experiences volunteering at the recycle centre in Invercargill. It’s a family thing. You need to start when your children are young so it’s normal for them, and make it fun!” ANE’S TOP TIPS HOW TO MAKE LESS RUBBISH AT HOME... 1. Cook 2. Recycle 3. Grow some of your own food 4. Use real dishes for functions 5. Have separate bins with labels 6. Get the whole family involved. FONUA: The climate can change – can we? A uniquely Polynesian call to action, Fonua is a largescale theatre production that addresses the challenge of climate change from the perspective of some of the world’s most affected nations. Using song, dance, chanting and physical performance, the one-hour show reminds us that a global crisis requires a shift from individualism to collective action. MARAMATAKA: March 2017 by Ayla Hoeta Can you believe it's March already? We’re now in the fifth phase of summer, which is called Matiti Raurehu. This is when you get a lot more moisture in the mornings. Sometimes it’s like a white dew that covers the ground – although this phenomenon has been almost absent for the last two years. The sixth phase, Matiti Rautapata, will start around the time of the full moon. During this phase the seed pods burst open and kauri trees drop their cones. At the end of summer, you’ll see the leaves dancing as they fall to the forest floor. This is called Matiti Rauangina. In March, Te Rakaunui, the highest energy day, falls on the 12th. This is a great day to get things done! The new tide brings new energy GET YOUR FREE TICKET FONUA: 8pm*, 11 & 12 March Māngere Arts Centre (corner Bader Drive and Orly Ave) Cost: FREE (Reserve your seats through Eventfinda) Fonua is co-produced by the Auckland Arts Festival, supported through the Auckland Diversity Project Fund and part of the Auckland Arts Festival Whānui programme. *Please arrive at 7:30pm for an 8pm start. and you’ll feel productive and ready to do it all on this day. Key planting and fishing days are 19–21 March. These days are Tangaroa a mua, Tangaroa a roto and Tangaroa kiokio. The Oike day, which is best for weeding and tidying the garden, is 15 March. To set your dial, check the date of the full moon (13 March). Then turn the small blue circle until the number ‘12’ lines up with ‘Rakaunui’ on the big orange circle. Next month we reach the last phases of summer – Matiti Rauangina – and move into the autumn months. I hope you are enjoying your maramataka read. If you would like a maramataka dial visit 275 Times on Facebook. And if you have any questions contact me ayla.hoeta@ aucklandcouncil.govt.nz 5
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Page 3: NEW LEADER FOR HISTORIC SCHOOL In F
Page 7 and 8: COMMUNITY GAME-CHANGER: Torranice C

275 Times March 2017

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