Pānui Hune | June newsletter

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari taku toa he toa takitini.

My strength is not that of one, but of many.

Kia ora koutou,

The season of Hōtoke is here and with it a chance to pause, take stock, rest, and plan for the coming seasons. We’re looking forward to taking a moment to do this with our community at our Matariki event on Sunday 22nd June. We’ll be recreating our ‘compost what you want to let go of’ activity that was so succesful last year.

It’s been such a mild autumn and it feels like the weather (and the news) is giving us daily reminders about how our weather patterns and climate are changing. Our farm was hit pretty hard by the big southerly storm a few weeks back and sadly one of our tunnel houses was blown over, and many of our crops were burned and blackened. City living can make us so detached from how weather events, and ultimately climate change, drastically affect our food supplies… not to mention the livelihoods, stress and mental health of our food growers. The tenuousness of our current food system in the face of climate change is an uncomfortable reality to hold, but one we need to face up to and advocate to change. A good place to start is by submitting on the Regulatory Standards Bill which poses yet another threat to Māori rights and environmental protections in Aotearoa. If you're looking for a dose of hope in how to reimagine the way we produce food and create a better world while you’re at it, check out anything made by the incredible Happen Films. I’ve been having some great chats with my mum recently about eco literacy and how growing food is a way of cultivating moderate and realistic hope, particularly for our tamariki. We can’t help but hope that our seed will germinate and that our plant will grow.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Rose, Community Farm Manager

Matariki Event

You're warmly invited to join in celebrating Matariki with Kaicycle on Sunday 22nd June. This event will take place at Kaicycle Urban Farm, 5 Hospital Road, Newtown, and will be weather dependent.

Join us from 11am to harvest from the māra and prepare kai for our community lunch.

Join us at 1pm for our community lunch. Kai will be provided but please bring some to share if you have the capacity. We'll share food together, reflect on the year, farewell those we have lost since last Matariki, and look forward to what we want to bring into the new year. We'd love for you to join us and help us celebrate this important time of reflection, community, and looking to the future. Click 'going' on our Facebook event to get weather updates as this event is weather dependent.

PĀNUI | NOTICES

CoShop - co-op buying that supports local producers!

We’re really excited to be selling some of our organically produced, Newtown grown kai through CoShop, a super cool co-op bringing the buying power to the people and supporting small scale local producers like us! CoShop connects communities to local food producers – shortening supply chains to provide cheaper, fresher food and reduce climate emissions.

The Local Harvest project is a 3 month trial by Coshop, Kaibosh and the Hauora Kai food coop network to both support local producers in the Wellington region and also take ordering online. 

The online shop at coshop.nz is open for ordering between Saturday and Monday 8pm - with pickup locations between Ōtaki and Miramar. Our veggies will be available at the Newtown and Central Park pick up locations.

MAHI PU WAIRAKAU | Composting

It's such a cool place and collective of projects to work with, and comes with very affordable shared office and warehouse space. Please pass on the opportunity to whoever you think might be interested: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/property/commercial/lease/wellington/wellington/rongotai/listing/5203427028

As always, we welcome all to join us for our regular composting working bee at the farm every Thursday from 3-5pm. There's nothing like turning compost to get your blood pumping and to warm you up as the days get colder and shorter!

ĒTAHI KAWE PŪRONGO | Other news

Submit on the Regulatory Standards Bill - submissions close 1pm June 23rd!

The Regulatory Standards Bill is this Government’s next attempt at making sure corporate profits are put before Te Tiriti o Waitangi, public good, and environmental protections. Like with the Treaty Principles Bill, this is a critical moment for us to make ourselves heard and back the rights of tangata whenua. We’d really encourage you to do some research and make a submission. E-Tangata has a great article explaining the impacts of the Bill. Greenpeace has a useful submissions guide and there are some excellent and informative webinars coming up to help you understand the Bill - check out this one organized by Tiriti Action Group Poneke tonight 5th June at 7:30pm.

School Up on Aotearoa’s Food System with this free Winter Webinar Series

Kore Hiakai, the Zero Hunger Collective, are hosting a free series of interactive and thought-provoking webinars this winter about Aotearoa’s food system.

Join their supportive online learning space featuring wisdom from across the motu to listen and collectively share ideas about food systems, food security, food strategies, Kai Motuhake, and the equitable change needed to move us closer towards a food secure Aotearoa. Register for one or more of the Winter Webinar Series.

Climate Health and Sustainable Healthcare Conference

Join the 2025 Climate Health and Sustainable Healthcare Conference in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington on 28 - 29 July 2025. The two-day conference will be based at the University of Otago (Wellington), with hub spaces for a limited number of participants available in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Ōtautahi Christchurch and Ōtepoti Dunedin, and an option to attend online. The conference will be an action-oriented sharing of diverse research and practice knowledge about climate change, health and sustainable healthcare in Aotearoa and beyond, centralising mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledges. Participants joining us in person in Wellington will also engage in hands-on workshops with Kaicycle!!

Get in quick to register (early bird registrations close at 11:59pm on 30 June 2025) - https://events.otago.ac.nz/chsh2025/register

Areas of relevance to the conference include:

• 🏥Effects of climate change on health and healthcare

• 🌊Healthy, equitable, Tiriti-based climate change adaptation

• 🌏Delivering high quality sustainable and equitable healthcare within planetary boundaries

• 👉🏽Climate policy grounded in mātauranga Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and health equity

• 👩‍🦽Climate change and disabled people

• 🧘🏻Climate change and mental health and wellbeing

• 👩🏽‍⚕️Health-sector and health professional action in the current context

A reminder that we are a registered charity!

This means that when you donate $5 or more to support us, you can claim tax credentials.