You are most welcome to join in the Planting Day at Apirana Reserve on Sat. 22 July, 10am for 2-3 hours.
Additionally, 1 or 2 people are needed next weekend (Sat. 15 or Sun. 16 July) to assist with using an auger to prepare holes for the planting.
Details follow:
Saturday 15th or Sunday 16th: Auger Assistance
Using the augers kindly supplied by the Stihl Shop, the need is for 1 or 2 fit people each day of next weekend to join Rotaracters and others for 3 hours during the morning, starting around 09:30 on Saturday and/or 09:00 on Sunday. Please advise Peter (email link here) by Wed. 12th July if you are able to offer your time. The work is anticipated to take 2 mornings, but volunteering for 1 morning is the request.
Saturday 22nd: Apirana Reserve Planting Day
You are invited to join in helping with this year's Planting Day on Saturday 22nd July 2023 at 10 am for 2-3 hours. at Apirana Reserve.
A few important points to note.
- Directions: If coming from the St Heliers / Kohimarama end, the entrance to the reserve is by the pedestrian crossing and opposite the Seventh Day Adventist church on the corner of Apirana Avenue and Eastview Road. If coming from the other way, it is 100 metres past, but on the same side of the road as the Chemist Warehouse. Parking around the area shouldn't be too bad on a Saturday morning.
- What to bring and to wear:
- gardening gloves
- a water bottle
- old clothes
- wet weather gear (just in case)
- sturdy shoes/gumboots as the ground is wet
- a sense of humour
Optional items are:
- a small trowel - most holes will have been pre-dug, but if needed we will have spades on site so no need for you to bring one, but maybe a trowel would be handy.
- a coffee keep cup
We have more plants than last year to put into the ground, but the day should not be too energetic, and we anticipate that all 1400 plants will be tucked away into their new homes by lunchtime.
- It will be a casual and fun day, but we would like everyone to be conscious of Health and Safety. The ground will be wet and there are areas that could cause people to slip and conceivably hurt themselves. We will give a H & S briefing together with a planting demo at the start of the day.
- We will make an early decision if the weather is total rubbish, and will make email contact by 7.30 a.m. on the morning of the 22nd if we need to cancel, so please check your email devices at that time. I will be the cancellation contact in the unlikely event that this occurs, but we have ordered a sunny day, as last year, so it shouldn't be a problem.
- Please feel free to bring friends, family, and acquaintances as the more the merrier, but Please give a response to this email by Wed. 12th July to confirm approx. how many will be coming. Even though trains are not currently running please understand that we are adjacent to the train tracks with some very obvious holes in the fence, so if you bring children they will need to be carefully monitored.
- We will be endeavouring to provide a limp biscuit and a glass of tepid water (Ken's appealing description) on site, but for those who need a coffee fix at any stage we have a great cafe very close by - Merchants Cafe 50 metres from the Reserve entrance.
- As always if there are any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Really looking forward to seeing you all.
Thanks to significant help from Kiwi Rail (using heavy machinery) the ground is mulched and in great condition for our planting:
