Village Green
The drivers of the Paihia Village Green project began with a vision of creating a more open, clean, and usable space than currently existed. This first successful sprint, or working bee, happened in late May with scores of volunteers manning rakes and shovels, the small digger on double duty, and food and drink appearing by the hour. Overgrown vegetation (and no shortage of rubbish) was removed, the garden dug up, donated picnic tables were assembled by one crew; painted by another, and wood chips spread over the expanded and improved picnic space. Planter boxes were assembled and later filled with natives; the power box was spray painted by a passing (magic happens!) professional painter. Dozens of volunteers, one weekend, and a whole new space was created. Visit our photo gallery page to see images of this ‘double PPP’ in the making.
Phase 2 of the Village Green PPP took place in August when volunteers helped install a series of airbrushed paintings by artist Dennis Lattimer. These paintings depict the story of Paihia and Waitangi as birthplace of the nation. Around the same time, the mature trees lining the picnic area were topped, allowing more light to Paihia’s first “art walk alley”.
Bay Belle PPP Completion
Over the street, on the same May sprint weekend, volunteers worked on completing Paihia’s first PPP, the Bay Belle project, which began in winter 2011. The finishing touches included portholes (filled with seaside curios) attached to the brick walls, a welcome sign, a tidied and replanted native garden, and the crowning glory: a pair of leaping dolphins, carved from totara, and blessed by Bishop Ben at a ceremony on the day. While the bay is graced with many dolphins, the ones at the center of our town stay still long enough to be photographed!
Visit our photo gallery page to see images of the work in progress.
