REGULAR EVENTS
Working bees
These are held on the third Saturday of each month, meeting at 9 am at the watershed. They provide an opportunity for neighbours and other interested volunteers to participate in seasonal tasks in the gully. After the mahi is done there is an opportunity for kai and interaction with other volunteers.
Mid-week working bees.
These are held every Wednesday at 10.30 meeting at the watershed. These have an educational focus appropriate to the season.
Bioblitz
The first Kukutaaruhe Bioblitz day was held on 13th November 2020 and has now become an annual event. Students and teachers from local schools and members of the community regularly attend. They all experience a variety of science activities, including:
· finding kokopu in the stream.
· investigating animal tracks,
· identifying plant species in a quadrant
· identifying species in soil samples.
We are grateful for the support of Hamilton City Council and other local scientists at this event.
Matariki 2025
The 21st of June was a beautiful morning for our Hautapu dawn ceremony. The rain stopped just in time for us to set up our fire pits and begin the ceremony to acknowledge those we've lost in the last year, and to send out our hopes and wishes for the year ahead.
Afterwards, we shared delicious kai and enjoyed each other’s company sitting around fires. who attended and helped make it such a special morning, This was a truly memorable community event and we thank those who attended and contributed to it.
Here is a video of the 2023 event.
Community Planting days
Community planting days are held every winter planting season. Each year more than a thousand trees are planted in in the Kukutaaruhe gully.
These days fulfill one of our goals which is “community building”. This is typified by the following comment:
‘Thanks so much for this opportunity, I have never done anything like that before - it felt really worthwhile.’ (Community voice 2021)