All locals are welcome to the next Community Tea and Talk, coming up on Sunday 28th June, 2-4 pm at Matuku Link.

Please bring an afternoon tea snack to share! 

It’s been a bit of a while since the last one, as efforts have been concentrated on getting THINC up and running, but now that’s done and dusted, we can get back to focusing on what’s happening right here in Te Henga! 

In these globally unstable times, with high living costs etc, it seems more important than ever that we pull together as best we can as a community, and work out how we can support ourselves and each other as much as possible.

If you have an idea, or feel you could make a contribution of your time or ideas, however big or small, please get in touch.  Our community is only as exciting, resilient and sustainable as each of us make it!  

If you are not sure what the Hub is about, or if our work aligns with you, come along and see for yourself. The meetings have a friendly and inclusive atmosphere, and new people are always welcome.  We need a variety of ‘voices’ and perspectives (respectfully expressed) to ensure we are complete.

Come to the meeting, or drop us a line beforehand if you have any ideas or thoughts you would like included in the discussion. 

Agenda items so far include:

  • Priorities for our community in the light of the 'cost of living' crisis and fuel issues.
  • Hub logo creation
  • Food resilience- community pantry location, seed swap, building relationships with local farmers.
  • Next steps in general - see below

Read on for more details below of the Hub’s progress so far, and potential next steps…

The Hub has had many successes so far in terms of meeting initial needs identified by the community at previous Tea and Talks:

Projects completed/in progress

  • formation of THINC (Incorporated Society) to act as funding ‘umbrella group.’
  • creation of interactive online platform
  • regular seasonal/nature based community events, with the annual Matariki and Hokinga mai ā te tuna.
  • liftshare scheme up and running with over 60 members
  • supporting/collaborating with other community groups, such as the upcoming tree planting kindly hosted by Beachcare. 

Massive thanks to all the volunteers involved in all these things – none of it would happen without you!! 

However, there are still some significant gaps we need to fill. Areas identified previously by the community that still need work are:

  • Food resilience and sharing
  • Rangatahi (youth) engagement and co-design
  • Tamariki (childrens) activities
  • Wellbeing
  • More extensive ecological restoration
  • Repair and recycling
  • Workshops/knowledge sharing/local history. 
     

If you have an idea, or would like to contribute anything in any of these areas, please do let us know! Don’t forget there is now also capacity to potentially apply for funding for your project via THINC. So, if you have any idea that you think the Hub might be able to support, whether through funding, people power or spreading the word, don’t hesitate to come along to upcoming the Tea and Talk, or simply drop us a line at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.