Kaicycle Hūrae Pānui | July Newsletter

Pānui Hūrae |
July Newsletter

Ngā kai a Matariki, nāna i ao ake ki runga

The food supplies of Matariki, scooped up

Kia ora koutou,

With the shortest day behind us, it’s almost time to start our spring and summer farm planning. It’s hard to imagine growing zucchini and tomatoes as the cold temperatures settle in properly, but it’s also a good reminder that hōtoke/winter will come to an end and spring will be upon us again in no time. In saying that, we have been really enjoying the slowing down that comes with the cold. It’s been a good feeling to get on top of our māra (as much as that is ever possible!) and tackle some of the projects we haven’t had the time to work on until now (watch this space…) But rest assured that we’re still keeping plenty busy! Volunteering and composting are carrying on as normal, we’re taking bookings for more school visits (read on…), and our Saturday community open days are carrying on through the winter months with the notable exception of July when we will be hosting our Kaicycle Matariki event (Saturday 18th July). Please join us to come together, share kai, and take a moment to pause and reflect.

With our bumper autumn harvests, our number crunching has revealed that so far this year we have donated 301kg of kai from our māra to our community partners feeding those in need, meaning we’ve already (nearly) surpassed our 2025 total of 307kg. It’s so great to be able to send a fresh harvest of kai each week to the Compassion Soup Kitchen, and the Newtown Community Centre.

We know we’ve been saying this a lot recently, but we really couldn’t do what we do without your continued support - in whatever form that takes! If you are in a position to support us financially, please consider becoming a regular donor and helping us ensure we can keep up our mahi well into the future. Or you could buy a Kaicycle tea towel - do the dishes in style and help Kaicycle too.

Ngā mihi maioha,
The Kaicycle team

HUIHUINGA | EVENTS

Matariki at Kaicycle

Nau mai haere mai - you are invited to join us in celebrating Matariki at Kaicycle on Rāhoroi / Saturday 18th Hūrae / July.

Join us from 11am for Matariki activities, including weaving whetū (stars) from harakeke, composting what you want to let go of, some prompts for personal reflection, harvesting and preparing kai for lunch, and hanging out around the brazier.

At 1pm we’ll have a shared lunch with soup cooked by the wonderful crew at Seeds to Feeds and we’ll warm ourselves at the brazier until closing at 2pm.

For full details check out our Facebook Event or visit our website.

MAHI AROHA | VOLUNTEER

It was National Volunteer Week last month so we shared a kai with our volunteers, absolute legends who turn up - rain or shine - every week. Whether it's for years or a few hours, these volunteers are making a difference - growing veggies and feeding people in the community, turning compost and being part of diverting foodscraps from landfill. At the māra we laugh, sometimes even cry, have deep talks, have silly chats, work together in peaceful silence, sing waiata together and put the world to rights. Our volunteers build a beautiful mycelium network of community that keeps us connected, resilient and just, like, happier! (and a special shout out to our volunteer Clarissa who puts together this very newsletter for us!) Keen to join the volunteer mycelium?

PĀNUI | NOTICES

Book your ākonga in for a Kaicycle visit next term!

We’re taking bookings for Kaicycle field trips for Term 3 and 4, and can offer 10 free educational experiences each term, so get in quick! To find out about what we can offer, and book a field trip for your ākonga, check out the Educational Experiences page on our website.

Crop Swap Te Whanganui-a-Tara seeks volunteers

Do you know what a Crop Swap is? Every month, growers and foragers from around Te Whanganui-a-Tara meet up to share what they've harvested and connect. In the summer months they usually meet at Kaicycle and in the colder periods (like now, brrrr), other venues around Newtown. Even if you're not a grower, you're more than welcome to go along. They're seeking more volunteers to keep this community running, so get in touch at their Facebook page if you're keen to be involved.

MAHI MĀRA | Crop talk - On the farm

Winter planting is done and growth has been slow in the māra around the shortest day last month. We managed to make the most of the March growth spurt for our brassicas, and the slower growth now is giving us a chance to get on top of our (always) flourishing weeds!

You can really make the most of the variety in weather when it comes to weed management. Our top priority has been to get to our weeds before they start seeding, even if this means quickly chopping off seed heads if we don’t have time to do a proper weed. When the soil is damp, get in there with your weed fork or weeding hook to gently lift out weed roots without breaking them - they come out so much more easily when the soil is damp and it’s very satisfying to chase down a long grass root from stem to tip. The best time to do this is in between planting so you don’t disturb the roots of your veggies.

After that, chop and drop weeds (chop at the root and drop around the plants as ground cover) while your veggie plants are growing and get in there with another thorough weed once the veggies have done their dash. Dry sunny days are great for hoeing around your new seedlings. It’s good to catch the baby weeds as they first come up - often about two weeks after you’ve last weeded. Use a hoe (or a knife) to scrape the baby weeds up before they can become established. If you do this on a sunny day the sun will dry out the roots of the weeds you’ve hoed up and they will be less likely to re-root and start growing again.

ĒTAHI KAWE PŪRONGO | OTHER NEWS

Making submissions on parliamentary bills just got easier!

Want to have your say on the many bills currently going through parliament? Yeah, Nah is a new online tool that helps you write your submissions, making it really easy to craft a unique response that includes the research of relevant experts alongside your personal whakaaro. This is an awesome tool to maximise our push back against the numerous damaging bills currently going through parliament, in a moment where it’s really important to make our voices heard yeahnahbills.org.

Submissions on the Conservation Amendment Bill, Definitions of a Man and Woman Bill, and the Move-On Orders Bill, all close at 5pm on July 2nd!

Vote for Kai!

Kaicycle have signed this open letter because we think kai should be an election issue. This Vote for Kai letter calls on all political parties seeking election to take urgent action to improve our kai systems - making them more equitable, protecting te taiao and standing up for Te Tiriti. You can sign on to the open letter as an individual or organisation here.

TŪTAKI AI I TE TĪMA | Meet the Team

Kristina (she/her) is an awesome Newtown local who volunteers as the Secretary of our governance group - wrangling everything to keep Kaicycle running smoothly (so necessary!!) She is a lawyer, has just finished studying her masters and is passionate about climate justice.

1.⁠ ⁠Something about Kaicycle that brings you joy or you are excited about

Kaicycle's commitment to local futures and healing the relationship between people and the land is incredibly exciting. Urban environments are being reimagined. In addition to multi-modal transportation and the daylighting of streams and rivers flowing under our streets out to the sea, our city can be home to more and more community gardens that not only grow delish kai but also operate as localised composting sites that recycle the nutrients from leftover kai into nourishing, mauri rich soil. Kaicycle gives me hope for a city where people and the land thrive together.

2.⁠ ⁠What sound or noise do you love?

Thunder, without a doubt! Witnessing a big storm roll through is one of the most awesome experiences. With climate change and increasing adverse weather events, however, I can feel my fear increasing. I no longer take for granted that I'll be excited by the next approaching storm. Will the thunder stay musical or become a siren? For now, I'll cherish the love and excitement I have when I hear the thunder in the distance.

3.⁠ ⁠What is your favorite word?

When I was little, I lived in Japan and learned Japanese. My favorite word is 木漏れ日- komorebi, which roughly translates to dappled light, or the light and shadows from the sun filtering through the trees.

We need your support to continue our climate justice mahi & vision to regenerate Wellington!

Ways you can support us:

Make a one-off or monthly donation
Buy our organic veggies or our biologically active compost
Sign up your office in Wellington to our weekly food scrap collection service
Bequest a parting gift to Kaicycle in your will or trust (see Go With Grace for support)
Sponsor one of our programmes - get in touch to explore this!

Kaicycle is a registered New Zealand charity (CC58759) which means your donation is eligible for claiming 1/3rd of the value through tax credits.

DONATE

With thanks to our supporters.

Pānui Hūrae | July Newsletter