Eden Terrace: A light touch – firm results

From the side-lines we watched a piece of unused council land in Central Auckland transform into a garden that would encourage pollinators like butterflies and bees. One woman with a small idea working alone – until the neighbours noticed and got involved
While tending the garden they began to talk about the wall and tunnel opposite which were tagged and a magnet for dubious activity.

A small group decided to organise a competition to put a mural up on the wall. A local artist was announced the winner. But then funding was required, and that was taking a while which is when Inspiring Communities became involved.

We helped strategise, we acted as social brokers, putting them in touch with the right people, giving them language and approaches to use. We helped them figure out how to plug into others in the community to ensure they were building on the existing strengths.

We provided a sounding board and ideas to help fundraise and get local businesses involved. We suggested they approach Council to contribute once local support and resourcing was secured and gave them advice about keeping local people engaged.

We then took a lead role in promoting progress on the painting and in organising a Neighbours Day celebration to thank neighbours.

This process and resulting mural have given the Eden Terrace community a sense of pride and security. It’s also led to re-vegetating the small reserve above the tunnel and there is talk of other events and enterprises to help pay for maintenance and upkeep of the mural, garden and reserve.

The Backbone for CLD

As the backbone for community-led Development in Aotearoa New Zealand, we provide a number of pivotal services and products that help accelerate change and deepen knowledge.

We are the reference point for community-led development in Aotearoa. We collect and share research, growing a pool of evidence of what works as well as advocate for CLD to be more widely adopted.

Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve offered recently:

• Neighbourhood Boost Camp – an intensive leadership development and learning weekend for grass-roots leaders.
• We co-hosted the national Our Place Conference with Inclusive NZ and Be.Accessible.
• We’ve shared our insights at a number of events including; the NZ Community Boards Conference, Treasury hosted Inclusive Economy workshop, and the Civics and Media Project.
• We co-hosted a Provocative Breakfast – How can Auckland do density well?
• We wrote a chapter on CLD for an upcoming book being published by the Auckland District Council of Social Services.

Harder to quantify,  but vitally important is the social brokering we have undertaken between local and central government officials and community organisations, supporting them to improve their effectiveness and to work in new ways.

We operate beyond sectors at multiple levels – individuals, families, streets, communities, and nationally, linking government agencies, businesses and community organisations. We exist to support them to find locally-led solutions for sustainable change.

How a plan comes together

By Janine Boult, Kaiwaka Cares
In a small community timing is everything.  The same ideas may float to the surface again and again.  What makes the difference is having a person, or people, to take the ideas and keep them alive and from them create a reality.  That’s what’s happening in the small township of Kaiwaka in the gateway to Northland.

A group of like minded citizens were brought together in late 2014 as part of an initiative to improve what Kaiwaka has to offer and how it works with its community.  Some members felt called to take up the challenge. This is how our group, Kaiwaka Cares, was born.

Since then the community service has grown to include re-development and upkeep of the community garden as well as the establishment of a drop-in centre – open three days a week.  Whilst the garden feeds the body, the drop-in centre feeds the soul and the feeling of community within Kaiwaka.

Our committee has learnt as number of lessons over the past six months, and I am sure there will be more.  Any time a new person enters a community they bring their own life’s experiences and knowledge.  Often they are enthusiastic and want to change the world overnight and fill the gaps that a newcomer sees.  It is hard to hold back and allow change to happen more organically.

In a community as old as Kaiwaka no idea is new, it has been thought of and attempted previously.  The trick is to learn from the past, and to preserve and gain support from leaders in the community and the respected elders.  In particular our idea of having a drop-in social space was unpopular with some.  Many times we heard; it wouldn’t work, it was a waste of time, and how everyone already knows everyone.

We turned this around with a bit of thick skin, determination, stubbornness and resilience.  By sitting down and sharing a cuppa with some of these people we have not only gained their knowledge and advice, we know they have our backs and we have their support.  Yes there are still detractors, some more vocal than others but over time I hope that will change.

The biggest gift you can do for yourself when volunteering or creating something new for your community is to pace yourself.  Take care of yourself first.  Don’t try and do everything the first day, give it time.  Take small steps and allow each step to fulfil its potential before expanding or trying to jump onto the next level.

I have a quote on the wall by my computer from Mother Teresa: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”  Putting this into our community is one of my goals.  As a community if you leverage the skills and experience of all then you will have a community that your grandchildren will be proud of.

Read more about us caring4kaiwaka.blogspot.com

Inaugural Boost Camp a Huge Success!

“My biggest learning was looking for strengths in others, and how these can be knitted together so that everyone is free to grow.”         – Boost Camp participant

Working on leadership skills and the mix of listening and hands on learning are just some of the positive outcomes participants at our very first Boost Camp pinpointed after spending two days at Tatum Park, Levin recently.

The idea to run Boost camp was in response to our research last year, Strengthening  Neighbourhoods in Aotearoa which identified the need for more training, learning and connecting opportunities. It prompted the Inspiring Communities team to think about how we could creatively package and share what we’ve been learning about working at neighbourhood scale.

Held from Friday evening to mid-Sunday afternoon Boost Camp was all about connecting local leaders and wisdom around what works and enables neighbourhood-led action to thrive.

A diverse mix of 32 neighbourhood people, armed with heaps of passion, came together from lower North Island communities.  They brought and traded their knowledge about time banking, community gardening, supporting and connecting local families, creating local hubs, promoting community safety, growing local leaders, sharing local assets, encouraging generosity and transforming local environments.

We learnt from each other and were also inspired by amazing catalyst speakers.  Trent Hiles from Gap Filler reminded us what’s possible when you just get on and do things – and then invite people in to use and be part of locally created spaces and places.  We also learned from Dave Tims about building and connecting local people and their assets – from the street up – in Randwick Park, Manurewa.

We worked on ourselves, our leadership skills and made plans for what we will do next  back in our local communities.  And if that wasn’t enough, there was a bonfire, a crazy flying fox and Sunday morning site visit with passionate Waitohu Stream Care Group members at Otaki Beach.  Not only was their dune restoration programme impressive, so was their baking!

For Boost Camp facilitators, Denise and Megan, it was a great first up learning experience too.  “Boost was about creating an ako-ako space where we’re all teachers and learners.  Everyone participated 120%.   The fact that  92% of attendees gave Boost a 4 or 5 out of 5 (very satisfied) rating shows us we have a valuable learning process that many communities can benefit from”, says Megan.

Here’s a sample of participants’ comments

• “I loved the mix of listening and hands on learning”
• “The speakers were amazing and provided good examples of who, where and how things are already working around the country.”
•  “I loved the opportunity to talk in small groups and having enough free time to network informally.”
• “I’ve learnt more about sharing leadership, giving space for others to lead and grow and appreciate the value of play in providing opportunities for people to come together.”

Denise says Boost Campers also offered some really useful suggestions for making the next one even better.  “We want to take these ideas and feedback to further develop the Boost programme and offering.  Ideally, we’d love to run four Boost Camps in and with different New Zealand communities in 2016″.

Check out images from the weekend on our facebook page

If you’re interested in learning more about Boost please contact Megan:Megan.Courtney@inspiringcommunities.org.nz

PS: if you’re looking for a fantastic community friendly workshop or conference type venue outside of Wellington, we totally recommend Tatum Park.  They have a range of accommodation options, massive grounds and their customer service is top knotch!

A Business Approach to Change

By Denise Bijoux and Grant Harnish, Focus Pahia Co-founder 

Real change is going on in Paihia which is visible in the local landscape as well as in the accolades and awards they’re winning – including 2015 Community of the Year!

But visible change is not all.Local people and local systems are changing too.

Fundamental to this is the business approach Focus Paihia takes to the action-focused model developed and mandated by local people.

The visible change is perhaps most apparent on the waterfront, where once there were parked cars and now there is seating, a sculpture, a little library and games. It’s is also obvious at the Maiki Hill public toilets.

As Tania McInnes Focus Paihia Co-founder and now Far North District Council Deputy Mayor says,“simply put – Paihia stopped waiting for someone else to fix their problems.  It took responsibility and put words into action. It’s all about having a common goal, building community spirit and getting your hands dirty.”

In 2009, Focus Paihia worked with local people to develop a collective vision for Paihia village which led to a mandated masterplan within a year.

Placemaking provided a vehicle for making things happen, and while they are a community based trust, the funding side is run with a strong business ethos to ensure ongoing supply of funds.

Their first project involved renovating an unattractive public space next to the local i-Site.  It was transformed by more than 100 volunteers over one weekend using just $5,000 provided by the local community board.

Since then, many other projects have been completed, including the waterfront park where the $180,000 spend and 9,000 volunteer hours has created a space valued at $1.3 million.

Focus Paihia provided 90% of the funding for the park through their sustainable funding sources:

• a committed pool of volunteers donating time and resources
• volunteer-run Op Shop profit
• contracts, including cleaning up after the Rena and cleaning and maintaining the village green
• Grants from a targeted rate

Maiki Hill toilets.It’s hard to believe this is the same building!

Operating Focus Paihia like a business makes more sense, according to another co-founder, Grant Harnish. It means “that we are in charge of what we do. We can change things as we go, it’s more creative, fun and better use of our time.

“The answer lies in having a mandated masterplan and in local people actively carrying out the plan’s actions. If it is done with heart, it will be comfortable,the people involved will be proud and they get to know each other better.”

The Trust takes a no surprises approach and has developed a strong respected relationship with key agencies, including Far North District Council and New Zealand Transport Authority. It also helps that people involved remain open to change.

Focus Pahia has been so successful that they are developing a toolkit to share what has worked for them. The hope being that it will encourage more people to take responsibility and develop a bond and community spirit from the ground up and thus be in a much stronger, more resilient position to face whatever the future holds.

More info: http://focuspaihia.org.nz

Berhampore School – creating an inclusive school & community

Being brave, working collaboratively and giving people opportunities to participate and contribute in many different ways has born amazing results for Berhampore School.
Primary Principal Mark Potter shares key highlights from their community-led journey to “help people no matter what” at “Community is the Answer” Workshop Day held  in December 2014 – co-hosted by Inspiring Communities and Inclusive NZ.

Neighbourhoods Leading change with street BBQ’s

A small local fund has helped enable barbeques in the streets of Massey for several years and they have been a great way to get to know the neighbours and they often lead to residents building local social capital in many other ways.
Read more; Massey neighbourhoods leading change with street BBQ’s

Massey Matters Fund – small change enables progress

A core part of the Massey Matters initiative has been releasing new funding into the community to enable the community to lead action towards making Massey a better place to live, work, play, grow and learn.
The Massey Matters fund is capped at $25,000 per year and encourages applications for relatively small amounts to carry our new projects.

Read more; Massey Matters Fund – how small change enables progress

Bees, sunflowers and Great Start’s Bright Spot campaign

In Taita, children have been growing community along with sunflowers.
Having fun can be a great way of learning. Not only that but it can also be a really effective way to build connections to the environment and people around us. In Taita, children have been having fun planting sunflowers in less than beautiful spaces – on verges, along fences and in parks as well as back and front yards. Not surprisingly the sunflowers have been noticed by many people. So while the children have been learning a lot about how sunflowers grow, the importance of bees and what they can do to protect bee populations, they have also been learning how they can use sunflowers to help not only bees but also their community through ‘the Bright Spot’ campaign.

Read more; Bee’s, sunflowers and Great Start’s ‘Bright Spot’ campaign

Sharing the Love- Great Start’s project Sunshine

In 2010, Project Sunshine quickly found that growing sunflowers brought out the best in local people as much as it helped beautify parts of the community. Children became recognised as leaders and sunflowers became a catalyst for all sorts of things, including the development of a connection with a local beekeeper, Al Kilminster.
Al was keen to work with the Taita community in establishing a local beekeeping group. ProjectSunshine linked Al with the gardening club kids and soon the children were learning about the importance of bees, and their current plight. The children also realised that sunflower planting could help other children to make their communities beautiful too, while building connections between people and bees to help ensure the survival of the bee population. As a result, the BrightSpot campaign has turned into Project Sunshine and in 2011 it went national.

Read more: Great start project sunshine – Sharing the Love with NZ