Porirua City Council

Three new exhibitions opened on Saturday as part of Pātaka Art Museum’s stunning new season. The provocative exhibition Diane Prince: Activist Artist showcases a selection of Diane’s works. Diane (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whatua and Ngāti Kahu) is a painter, weaver, installation art practitioner, set designer and educator, whose multimedia practice emphasises Māori rights, particularly Māori women’s rights. The artworks focus on the close relationship between activism and art, with both facets deeply significant to an understanding of Māori and New Zealand (art) history. As we head into 50 years since the Māori Land March, Prince re-creates many of her previous works for a new audience – with political messages connecting even the quietest of her artworks. The second exhibition Rangirua presents two takes on the two-person exhibition, connecting two pairings of two artists: jewellers Neke Moa with Rowan Panther and mark-makers Gabrielle Amodeo alongside Martin Thompson. Rangirua, which translates to “two minds”, celebrates the comparisons and conversations that emerge when artists are placed side by side. In Taku Hoe, artists reconnect across Te Moananui a Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean) in the third exhibition, which features works from artists from the Aotearoa delegation for the 2024 Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC). The artworks represented at Pātaka include Cry of the Stolen People – Black Birding of the Tokelau Islands by Porirua-based Tokelauan artists Jack Kirifi, Moses Viliamu, Matthew Lepaio and the late Zac Mateo. The audio-visual installation tells the little-known history of Pacific slavery. Mid-December those three exhibitions will be joined by Boro – Timeworn Textilesfrom Japan, celebrating textile art, and the unnamed women who created it. Boro is a method of hand-sewn, repeated repairs that use sashiko – a running stitch, ideally the size of a grain of rice – to beautifully preserve and recycle fabric with cherished textiles passed down through generations. Find out more: pataka.org.nz/whats

We’ve planted up a storm this year, reaching our target of 165,000 plants in the ground. This important mahi takes the work and passion of many, and we want to thank everyone who was involved to make the 2024 planting season a success! A big mihi to these groups who helped with planting and freshwater monitoring: 🌱 schools 🌱 contractors 🌱 iwi 🌱 volunteers 🌱 rural landowners. Planting native plants near our waterways helps to improve freshwater quality and the overall health of Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour. A project of this size takes a community to get the outcomes we need. Keep an eye out for planting opportunities when the 2025 season gets going. More info: https://lnkd.in/gCd7w7US

To help keep tamariki safe, Porirua City Council is partnering with New Zealand Police and registered child restraint technician Viv Morton to provide free car seat checks 🚗   The car seat checks are popping up around the city and are a great opportunity to bring along your car, car seats, kids and questions. Everyone is welcome – there are no trivial questions when it comes to keeping tamariki safe in cars.   The next check is happening this Thursday, 7 November, 1–2.30pm in the car park next to Porirua Park, 100 Mungavin Ave. Keep an eye on our Facebook events for more.   The Porirua annual collection for expired car seats is also running all November, a great oppurtunity to hand in your damaged or expired car seats and booster seats free of charge at Trash Palace. For more information on this, give us a call on 04 978 8355 or email [email protected]

Lots of lucky tamariki got the chance to climb a tree and receive a native tree at the Lamb and Calf day this past weekend, thanks to a partnership between Council and Arb Innovations 🌲 🧒   The Arb Innovations Kid’s Tree Climb fundraiser raised awareness about planting trees, our nursery and urban tree canopy cover through the power of play.   Each child who gave it a go received a native plant grown in our nursery which we hope leads to more native trees being planted into Porirua home gardens. Congratulations to Pauatahanui School for another successful event. 

Solid - Sustainable Oral Care are a local sustainable toothpaste company helping you and your whānau brush better 💚   The Kiwi start-up is the brain child of Laura, an oral health therapist and Porirua Local.    The "out of the reusable jar" idea has seen great success, most recently Laura and the team have taken out the top prize at New Worlds Emerge Awards, a huge step for a small business. Solid were previously graduates of the council-funded Rebel Business School and it's great to see them on the national stage. If you are keen to get your hands on some, the toothpaste is available now at all New World stores in Porirua. Check out the Seven Sharp interview here 👉https://lnkd.in/gxnKrnsQ

Students from Cannons Creek School were on the ground at Cannons Creek Park on Friday helping to get the last of 18,000 plants in the ground 🌱 🚸 This planting mahi is being done as part of the Environmental Cadetship Programme in eastern Porirua, in place to help local residents gain new qualifications and on-the-job training. The programme is a collaboration of Te Rā Nui – Eastern Porirua Development partners (Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities, Porirua City Council and Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Incorporated) along with local jobs and skills providers Le Fale, Mahi Toa and Rāranga Building Careers. The Cannons Creek School students were there when the first plants went in the ground in April, so it only felt right to get them back to help finish the job. The plants are mainly streamside riparian plants, with some other natives mixed in. With this work complete, the cadets will next move into Bothamley Park to help revegetate areas where non-native pines were removed as part of the pipe upgrade work

"If it’s broken we fix it" is the motto for Colin and his Maintenance Team. From park benches to the 46 playgrounds in Porirua and everything in between, if something is broken it's Colin and the team we call 🔨 As a Porirua local, Colin says it’s awesome seeing the work done by his team making a difference in the community. "I love being out and about on the weekends and seeing families using a playground I have worked on, or a park bench the team has fixed. I joke to the young guys in our team that will be them soon with their mokopuna!" says Colin. As well as fixing up park benches and playgrounds, Colin and his team have worked on some more artistically creative projects, such as creating Christmas and Easter decorations for Cobham Court, and some interactive art works at Aotea Lagoon. After nine years working for Porirua City, Colin has decided to down tools to enjoy a well-deserved retirement, which he plans to spend with his whānau. Thanks Colin for all your amazing work!

Mobility parking spaces are there for people like Wayne who need them most, and help overcome barriers to accessing services and shops, The parks are clearly marked with signage and a disability symbol, and are wider than standard parking spaces. Please keep these parks for those who need them and use only if you are displaying a mobility permit. People using parks without a permit can be fined $750. If you have concerns about a parked car, you can report it via Antenno or by calling us on 04 237 5089. For more information, including how to apply for a permit, see your website. https://lnkd.in/eESaH5ea

It was a beautiful day for the Stop at the Top event last Sunday! 🌞 55 riders on motorcycles and 47 bicyclists stopped to enjoy a free hot drink, admire the great view and talk motorbike safety 🏍 🚵♀️ The event, hosted in partnership with Kāpiti Coast District Council, was held on Paekākāriki Hill road and was a great success. Our next Stop at the Top will be on Paekākāriki Hill road, Sunday 17 November from 9:30am-2:30pm, get on your bike (safely of course) and come along!

Some old bollards have found a new life as beautiful picnic tables after some clever thinking from our Maintenance Team 🔨   These bollards had been removed from their original site and were headed for the landfill when the team spotted an opportunity to upcycle them into something else. The bollards now make up the legs of this picnic table on the Plimmerton Waterfront, and others like this will be installed around the city as different tables need upgrading.   This picnic table replaces a memorial bench which was unfortunately damaged beyond repair following a vehicle incident. Council worked with the family who had donated the bench to replace it with this new table.