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Bay of Plenty
- Brian in front of his garden.
Where there's a will, there's a way
By Stuart Greenshields
Brian was seriously disabled after an accident left him with head and spinal injuries, but this hasn't stopped Brian.
He still gets around in his mobility scooter and he's a keen gardener - but he can only stand for a couple of hours before he has to sit down.
Brian has entered the Housing New Zealand Garden Awards. Since taking over his tenancy, he has developed his garden from just grass.
Brian is very proud of his garden and continues to improve it with ornaments, mosaics and succulents. It's also a sanctuary for gnomes and other garden ornaments which Brian has collected. Mosaics are Brian's hobby and you can see many of them hanging on the fence or in his garden.
"I have also done all the kerbing round my garden," Brian says. He says that before he mows his lawn he takes pain killers so he can finish it.
"In all seasons my garden is a nice, sunny, pleasant place to sit in, but I am still improving it."
Winners of the 2008 Garden Awards will be announced in the June issue of Close to Home.
Partnership benefits Fordlands
By Michelle Tiriana
For over a year now, the Fordlands Community Renewal team have been working with the Corrections Department to arrange tasks and supervise community work in the Fordlands community. Around 90 percent of those doing community work are from right here in Fordlands.
Handyman Marnie Flavell is the Community Renewal contact person, and he works with Dee Tumata from Corrections. Marnie has also involved the local residents group and others to supply supervisors on a roster system every Saturday so workers can work each or any one of six days. The Community Renewal team organise tasks ranging from lawn mowing to fence painting to street cleaning. One task that everyone finds most rewarding is section maintenance for people who are over 65, or physically unable to do this work themselves. Residents can register at the Community Relations house for a regular visit from the community workers.
Resident Anne Scrivers is delighted with this service.
"It's awesome - and it's saving me money!" she says.
Marnie and Dee are very proud that the Fordlands group has the highest percentage of completed community hours in New Zealand.
"These workers take pride in their work because this is their home ground," says Marnie, "and there is very little interference with their completed work."
Fordlands, the pearl of Rotorua
By Stuart Greenshields
Fordlands a pearl, you might say...Yeah right.
Have you been there recently? Take a walk, have a look at what Housing New Zealand, Rotorua District Council and the local community have done.
Fordlands had the reputation of being a place to avoid, but here are some of the things being said by residents now:
- "I want to come back and live in Fordlands."
- "There is a great community spirit here now."
- "Fordlands has changed and looks nice and friendly."
Since the Housing New Zealand Community Renewal Project was set up at 46 Bellingham Crescent this has become a safer community. Many different groups are helping to make Fordlands a better place, including Fordlands Residents Group - Ko Te Tuara Totara o Fordlands, Fordlands Youth Group and Fordlands Youth Holiday Programme, and they can
all be contacted at the centre.
Work being done by the residents group includes painting the shops, painting boundary walls, painting out graffiti, and improving roadside verges.
Many of you in Fordlands will have met Community Development Coordinator Michelle Tiriana. Michelle is leading a neighbourhood improvement project with a focus on people rather than properties, and the community groups mentioned are part of this. Jennifer Mossman, Carl Halidone and Margaret Tamehana-Stedman are the tenancy managers for the Rotorua area, and you will also see many familiar faces at the centre like Marnie and John.
Michelle says she is looking forward to getting to know all the residents of Fordlands better and helping to continue to improve the image of the area. "I have met some really neat people who care about Fordlands," she says.
- Fordlands fun day.
Fun in Fordlands
Successful fun days in the Fordlands area see hundreds of people turning out to enjoy a day of food tasting, competitions, raffles, bargain hunting, music and entertainment.
"It's a chance for families to spend some time together doing something fun," says Michelle Tiriana, Community Development Coordinator. "Days like this just prove the talent and the passion the community has," she says.
Fun days are run by the Fordlands Neighborhood Improvement team and the Ko Te Tuara Totara o Fordlands (the Fordlands Residents Group), with the next one scheduled for later in March.
