community

20
Apr
2017

Fab Feathy: April Update

A Fantastic response!

Have you done the Fab Feathy 5-minute survey yet? The Fab Feathy 5-minute Survey can be done right here, right now - or you can grab a paper copy from the Featherston Library or the Featherston Community Centre.

This morning we reached 193 survey responses!!! Kara Pennington is ecstatic about the number of responses: "Yay - Go Featherston!" She explains that the participation percentage of the Featherston community is well above the average compared to other communities.

She says: "We want at minimum of 200 responses; 250 would be great; 300 would be excellent. We can do it!" If you have already done the survey, please encourage more people to have their say. The survey runs until the end of April.

Community + Potluck = Great ideas & Fun Times!

When there is a good thing happening, our community turns up! And the Featherston community turned up in  large numbers for the Fab Feathy Community Potluck Dinner last Sunday 2 April - we reckon there were well over 200 people, from ages 0 to 90 and from all walks of life. We had the most amazing time - and we hope you did too.

Thank you to everyone who attended, brought yum food, shared your ideas, played music, took photos, set up, cleaned up, and who contributed and supported the event in a myriad of amazing ways! Check out the THANK YOU list here; if you think someone's been missed out, please contact us on fabfeathy@outlook.co.nz.

What happens next?

We are still buzzing from everyone's generosity of ideas and contributions. Please keep in touch and join us again at the next community event Sunday 28 May!

At this meeting we plan to use the feedback we have gathered from the community as a basis from which to develop a set of community goals and to identify what priority projects might help us achieve those goals. We really hope to see you there.

Why Fab Feathy? Why Community-led Development?

In the April Phoenix article we heard from Mark Shepherd, one of the Fab Feathy members, about why Mark chose this particular group to be involved with.

"I am involved with the Fab Feathy project because I have a real passion for the success and growth of our awesome town."

The Fab Feathy Community-Led Development project is building on what is happening now, and working together as a community to create the future that our community wants. Mark explains: "But we can only do it with the backing of our community. That is why we are asking for your suggestions and ideas."

It is important to us that everyone has an opportunity to have a say

Mark also reiterated that we want to hear from as many Featherston people as possible about what they want to see for our great community. "You may have seen our noticeboards and suggestion boxes around town. A big thanks to everyone who has kindly hosted the noticeboards/boxes and to all of you who have shared ideas. We are pleased to say there is no shortage of great ideas in the community - keep them coming!"

 

Posted by Paul Mason in Fab Feathy, Local Events
26
Mar
2017

Fab Feathy: March Update

Update for March

Have your say with the Fab Feathy 5-minute Survey

Our survey is a really quick and easy way to give us your feedback. For those of you that aren’t connected or don’t like to use the internet, a copy of the survey is published in this edition of the Phoenix. Just fill it out and drop into one of our collection boxes (see survey for more detail).

All completed surveys will go in the draw for coffee vouchers. We have heaps to give away thanks to Loco, Gusto Cafe, and ESCVelocity.

Community Potluck Dinner Sunday 2 April, 5 pm, Anzac Hall.

Come along and share some kai, share your ideas and find out what others have told us they want for Featherston. Hope to see you there!

Community-led Development in Featherston

Community-led development is based on the notion that local ideas, wisdom and locals working together is the best way to bring about the change we want as a community.

We have a wonderful tradition of community-led development in Featherston. The Fab Feathy project is about continuing this tradition, building on what is happening now and working together to create the future that the Featherston community wants.

The first task Fab Feathy have set ourselves is to hear from as many Featherston people as possible, from all walks of life. We need input from the whole community to identify Featherston’s collective aspirations and come up with a plan to achieve those aspirations together.

Thanks for the support and input so far

To collect your ideas, we have had noticeboards and suggestion boxes at several places around town:
• Loco Cafe
• Supervalue
• Featherston Library
• Featherston Medical Centre
• Featherston Train Station
• Featherston Community Centre
• Town and Country Café

Massive thanks to those who have kindly hosted the noticeboards and to all who have shared ideas via the noticeboards.

Posted by Paul Mason in Fab Feathy, Local Events
25
Nov
2016

Fab Feathy: November Update

What future do you want for Featherston?

Fab Feathy has been beavering away planning opportunities to get your feedback.

We kicked off the process to get your ideas for Featherston’s future with an “ideas noticeboard” at Loco and we can tell you this much, there is no shortage of great ideas in our community! If this is a taster of what is to come; bring it on! To enable more feedback, we are installing more noticeboards around town (e.g. at Supervalue, Featherston Community Centre, Featherston Library, and more) - for all those great ideas that pop up in your head when you are browsing the shelves looking for the next page-turner or getting your lotto ticket! Make sure you seek out these places and give us your two cents.

If you are more of an online creature, we are developing an online survey to seek your feedback. Once we have the survey up and running we will publicise it here, and in the Phoenix.

A quick snapshot of ideas so far includes: community events, walking and cycle trails, improved communication, community orchard and foodshare, developing Wairarapa Moana, safer footpaths, more jobs/training for young people, afterschool care, an integrated town. While we are seeing diversity in suggestions, it is pleasing to see much community agreement on aspirations for Featherston’s future.

Community-Led Development is about our community working together to generate our own locally-led future. This is why is it great to see some of the ideas the community is wanting already underway with locals taking the initiative; especially in the community events and culture space. If you didn’t check out the First Friday Extravaganza in November, then give it a shot this month – this is a vibrant, fun for all ages community event with great tunes!

Last but not least, big ups to all the people who responded to our shout out for help in the November Phoenix article.

Posted by Paul Mason in Fab Feathy, Local Events
22
Aug
2016

‘Have a Go Week’ in Featherston!

Between 5-11 September people in Featherston are invited to Have a Go at trying or learning something new. The Featherston Community Centre has joined forces with Wairarapa REAP, Literacy Wairarapa, and an amazing range of adult learning providers and volunteer groups who already offer opportunities to learn something new - right here in Featherston.

On Tuesday 6th & Thursday 8th September you can pop by the Menz Shed in Featherston on Fox Street for a look-see, or have a go at a small project. On Monday 5th you can pop by the Centre to join the Monday Drop-In Knitting & Crafts Group working on their projects, and also find out more about the Featherston Footprints. On Tuesday, you can have a go at doing some art with Juesday Art, on Wednesday 7th, you can join Literacy Wairarapa and check out Pathways Ararua - a great tool for literacy, numeracy and learning the Road Code! Later, you can try out the Ukulele with the Ukulele group. And finally, on Friday 9th September, you can pop by the Needlework and Craft Drop-In - for a little taster session in knitting or a look-see of their many wonderful projects. It's all for free - and it often comes with a nice hot cuppa.

Check out the local timetable so you can get planning! Make sure you email the Centre or call 06 308 8239 to let us know that you might be coming. And check out the Wairarapa-wide Have a Go timetable - lots more things to try out!

The Have a Go Week is part of a nationwide campaign called ‘Learning Nation’, and a focus for this year’s celebration of Adult Learning. It acknowledges that lifelong learning is vital for a rich, rewarding life and worthy of a conversation. Adult Learners’ Week/He Tangata Mātauranga, celebrates all adult learning, whether it’s up skilling for a better job, preparing for further study, improving life skills or having fun. Every year thousands of ACE providers, educators, learners and supporters organise a huge range of events to highlight the value of adult learning.

One of the highlights of the week is the presentation of a range of awards. The awards - including Outstanding Adult Learner and Exceptional Adult Educator Award - recognise and celebrate the full variety of contributors to adult learning; the learners, educators and providers.

If you know someone in your local community that deserves this award; someone who is really trying hard to pick up new skills that can help them progress and reach their goals, even turn their lives around - or someone who is an exceptional educator, please take the opportunity to nominate. The deadline for nominations of local awards for learners and educators closes 29 August.

If you would like to nominate someone, to find more information about making a nomination, or find more information on Adult Learners Week, go to www.aceaotearoa.org.nz/events/adult-learners-week-0

Alternatively, download the nominations forms and awards information and guide to nominating. Please email your nominations to jude.mcneur@waireap.org.nz by 29 August 2016.

Posted by Paul Mason in Local Events
01
Feb
2016

Featherston Community Garden Group

The Featherston Community Garden group is a group of volunteer 'Gardeners' who have come together to grow, build and educate a community in producing their own food. The Featherston Community Centre is very excited to have this group at the Centre, and we can't wait to see the results!

Meeting times

At the moment the Featherston Community Garden group mets regularly on an informally basis for weeding, digging and cleaning up the Community Centre grounds. If you want to be included in the next clean up, please email Elsa at kellyelsam@gmail.com so you can be added to our email list. The next 'sit down' meeting is penciled in for the 9th February at the Community Centre at 7.30pm.

Contact: Elsa Kelly, kellyelsam@gmail.com, 021 263 9403 or join Featherston Community Garden on Facebook.

Posted by Paul Mason in Centre News
10
Jan
2014

Your Centre Needs You!

Ask not: ‘what can your community centre do for you?’, but rather ‘what can you do for your community centre?’. Are you a dab hand with a hammer and would be keen to help on one of our biannual working bees? Do you have green thumbs and could help out with our flourishing garden? Are you a computer whizz and able to lend your expertise to maintaining our IT infrastructure or working on our website? Do you have a few free hours to help run the Centre’s front desk and extend the hours that it can be kept open? Do you have skills in marketing, communications, property maintenance or finance that you could lend to one of the Centre’s sub-committees or would you be interested in becoming a Board member? If you do think you might be able to help the Centre in any way (no matter how small) and were interested in doing so, please contact the Centre’s Manager.

Posted by Paul Mason in Centre News
04
Jan
2014

Centre Makeover 2014

Thanks to some generous funding grants from our major supporters, we will be able to go ahead with a few renovations at the Centre this year. In particular, our bathroom and the main entrance require some immediate work so that they can be brought inline with the latest Council access and fire safety standards. In addition to those alterations, we’ll be improving the entrance to the Kauri room (aka the ‘Lounge’) as well as creating a brand new office space in place of the underutilised ‘waiting area’. We’ll keep you posted on progress.

Posted by Paul Mason in Centre News
28
Dec
2013

Veggie Patch Thriving

Last year, the Centre received the very generous donation of eight kit-set, raised garden beds and a load of topsoil. They were cleaned, assembled and made ready for planting with the help of a few local lads. The community then rallied to provide seeds and seedlings and now the boxes sport a wonderful array of vegetables, herbs and flowers that would make even Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall proud. We have potatoes, silverbeet, beetroot, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, tomatoes, parsley, radishes, celery, zucchini and peas interspersed with marigolds and wildflowers. Not only is at a very attractive feature to have as part of the Community Centre grounds, it is also a way we can supply fresh produce to those in the community that need it most.

Posted by Paul Mason in Centre News
25
Nov
2013

Spring Clean for Featherston

'Keep New Zealand Beautiful Week' is a nationwide initiative involving towns and communities throughout the country taking the time to stop and clean up their patch. The Centre is now the co-ordinator of Featherston's Community clean up effort. During the official week in 2013, we focussed on removing the litter alongside the railway tracks, along the main road and the block containing the petrol station. The turn-out wasn't quite as strong as in previous years – although suspicions were voiced that thumping rain and a strong southerly might have had something to do with it. Furthermore, there was the distraction of a certain international sailing event being televised at exactly the same time which may not have helped either. Next year we'll be looking to recruit more Featherstonians for Clean Up day by publicising the event more widely, avoiding major sportscasts and praying to the weather gods well in advance.

Posted by Paul Mason in Local Events