Auckland

News - Upcoming and Recent Events - Past Events

A Rocha in Auckland: In August 2008, a number of A Rocha supporters met together to brainstorm and discuss the possible roles of A Rocha in the Auckland region. An initiative group committee was formed and has been developing the direction of this local group. The application process to A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand has now been completed and we are now an official local group.

Our overall goal is:

to build a community of A Rocha supporters and a wider network of people in the Auckland Region to encourage and enable each other to care for creation and live sustainably through our everyday choices, actions and lifestyles, and through our involvement in environmental education, research, practical conservation, and sustainability projects.

News

Please click here (application/pdf, 141.6 kB, info) to download the latest newsletter sent to A Rocha supporters in the Auckland region.

Upcoming and Recent Events

For more information about upcoming events, please email us at new.zealand@arocha.org

Sat 5 November 2011 - Waitakere Ranges walk. We would like to invite you to help with some bait lines in the Ark in the Park on Saturday 05 November, or if you prefer, just come for a guided walk along the Upper Kauri Track which is a beautiful part of the Waitakere Ranges. The round trip will take about four hours. For full details in an attached document, please click here (application/msword, 69.1 kB, info).

It is essential to register for this field trip. If you would like to enjoy a morning in the Ark in the Park, would you please RSVP by Thursday 3rd Nov 2011.

Past Events

October 2011 - Ark in the Park, Waitakere.

October 2011 - Oakley Creek working bee.

September 2011 (9am) - Tree Planting. This activity was with Kodesh Community and Oakley Creek Restoration Project. We had been given 250 plants by the Kaipatiki Project that needed to be planted fairly soon to protect the bank from further erosion.

September 2011 - "From the Forest to the Sea: A Christian Perspective on Caring for the Environment. This weekend gathering explored some aspects of the theology and ecology of caring for the environment, as part of celebrating Conservation Week. It is also International Year of Forests, and 40 years since the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. With A Rocha Supporters spread out in the Auckland region, we thought a weekend event would be the best way of getting everyone together.

The programme included guided walks in the Ark in the Park of the Waitakere Ranges, and the wetland near Matuku Reserve to observe the ecology of these areas. There were also presentations and reflections on Christians caring for the environment, together with discussion about A Rocha’s projects in Auckland and other parts of New Zealand. The Sunday included a time of worship and a tree planting in memory of 9/11 in 2001. There was also plenty of time for sharing ideas and getting to know each other. The venue \was Karanga Camp on Te Henga Road, Waitakere Valley. To download a flyer for the event, please click here (application/pdf, 434.6 kB, info).

July 2011 - Oakley Creek Restoration Project. A Rocha Auckland is working with the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” to help with re-planting and weeding an area on the walkway along the creek near Kodesh Christian Community in Avondale. This involves 3 working bees per year. A Rocha volunteers are also doing water quality monitoring and possum trapping. Wendy John from the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” brought lots of plants for us to put in the ground, and answered questions about this project.

June 2011 - Annual General Meeting. We started with a shared dinner at 6pm, and the AGM started @ 7.30pm.

May 2011 - Ark in the Park, Waitakere. We helped with some bait lines in the Ark in the Park, and went for a guided walk along the Upper Kauri Track which is a beautiful part of the Waitakere Ranges. The round trip took about four hours. For full details, please click here (application/msword, 69.1 kB, info).

April 2011 - Oakley Creek working bee. A Rocha Auckland is working with the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” to help with re-planting and weeding an area on the walkway along the creek near Kodesh Christian Community in Avondale. This will involve 3 working bees per year. A Rocha volunteers are also doing water quality monitoring and possum trapping. Wendy John from the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” was at this working bee to answer questions about this project, and we also explored part of the walkway adjacent to Kodesh Community.

March 2011 - Matuku Reserve Working Bee. Come and enjoy the forest and help in the maintenance of this Forest & Bird Society bush and wetland reserve in the Waitakere Valley. Meet at the reserve car park at the end of Snows Lane. Please bring: Lunch and drink, sturdy shoes or boots, gloves, hedge clippers or secateurs or small loppers. The task: Track widening by removing vegetation. This will not be a super strenuous day, but the ability to walk down and later up a reasonably steep hill for 25 minutes on a good track is needed. Also, some bending is needed to cut vegetation. *** If you are coming, it would help if you could inform the ranger in the previous days or before 9 am on the day: John Staniland Ph. 810 9516. For further information, please click here (application/msword, 74.8 kB, info).

November 2010 - Guided walk along Oakley Creek. To enjoy the beauty and history of this urban waterway, please meet by the playground at Harbutt Reserve which is at the end of Harbutt Ave, off Woodward Road, (which runs between New North Road and Carrington Road). Please bring some refreshments to carry with you down the walkway to the waterfall where we will stop for a picnic. The Friends of Oakley Creek Te Auaunga website has a map of the walkway, and also information on this community conservation project. See: http://www.oakleycreek.org.nz After we return to Harbutt Reserve, you may also like to visit the Cosset Cafe to view an exhibition of photographs of Oakley Creek by Kennedy Warne (Founding Editor of NZ Geographic). Cossett Cafe is at 1087 New North Road, Woodward Road and Richardson Road intersection. For some amazing photos, see: http://thecreekabides.co.nz

October 2010 - Working bee at Arc in the Park. A Rocha Supporters were helping with bait-lines in the Ark in the Park, Waitakere Ranges

September 2010 - Working Bee at Matuku Reserve. A Rocha supporters were invited to help the Forest and Bird Society a this working bee in the Waitakere Ranges.

September 2010 - Working Bee at Oakley Creek. This was another A Rocha working bee to help Friends of Oakley Creek to weed the area which was re-planted in July 2010. Wendy John from the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” was there to answer questions about this project.

July 2010 - Working bee. This working bee was to help the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” with re-planting an area of the walkway along the creek near Kodesh Christian Community in Avondale. Wendy John from the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” was there to answer questions about this project.

May 2010 - 'Celebrating Biodiversity': Launch of A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand in Auckland, and Celebration of International Year of Biodiversity. Venue: Eden Community Church. This was an opportunity to meet together to enjoy God’s creation, and to celebrate this special year. Please click here (application/pdf, 1.0 MB, info) to download an information flyer.

April 2010 - Working bee with Friends of Oakley Creek. As mentioned in the A Rocha Auckland Newsletter, we are looking forward to working with the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” to help with re-planting an area of the walkway along the creek near Kodesh Christian Community in Avondale. This will involve 4 working bees per year. Other possibilities include helping with water quality monitoring, seasonal bird counts, and possum trapping. At this, the first working bee,Wendy John from the “Friends of Oakley Creek- Te Auaunga” was there to answer questions about this project, and we also explored part of the walkway adjacent to Kodesh Community.

Oct 2009 - Ark in the Park trip. We plan to help with baitlines - for more details, please click here (application/msword, 69.1 kB, info).

June 2009 - World Environment Day Celebration. We celebrated World Environment Day on Saturday 6th June. We met at the Kodesh Christian Community in Avondale, starting at 9am to carry out some weeding and fertilising of the trees which were planted two years ago by Kodesh and A Rocha volunteers. We also started preparing an area for a community garden. After morning tea, we discussed with everyone the proposed objectives for an A Rocha group in Auckland.

Mar 2009 - "Global Warming: A Christian Response to a Burning Issue"

Christmas - Matuku Reserve

A Rocha supporters attended this public lecture presented by The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at The University of Cambridge, the School of Theology at the University of Auckland, and Theology and the Natural Sciences in Aotearoa. Guest speaker: Prof Robert White FRS, Professor of Geophysics, University of Cambridge. Also: Saturday 14th Mar 2009 (8:30 am - 6pm) - "Science and Religion in the 21st Century: Faith in Science, Science in Faith" Symposium. A programme (application/msword, 69.6 kB, info) is available. For more details on both of these events click here (application/octet-stream, 556.5 kB, info).

Dec 2008 - Christmas gathering.

This was an afternoon picnic at Matuku Reserve, which is a Forest and Bird Reserve in the Waitakere Ranges. 31 supporters of A Rocha gathered together, picnicing under a puriri tree. The guest speaker was National Trustee Richard Storey, who summarised the history and vision of A Rocha in New Zealand.

Oct 2008 - Field Trip to 'Ark in the Park', Waitakere Ranges.

Field Trip: Ark in the Park

Field Trip - Ark in the Park

We organised this field trip to find out more about Ark in the Park, with a view to working alongside this project. We were blessed with fine weather and had an excellent guide - very knowledgeable and passionate about the Waitakere ranges and a great teacher/communicator. Ark in the Park is impressive, but it was sad to see some kauri infected by fungus. A spray bottle with bleach will now be part of our kit for bush walks.

August 2008 - Hui.

A Rocha supporters in the Auckland region met at the end of August to "brainstorm" and discuss the possible roles and future of A Rocha in this region. Venue: Kodesh Christian Community. A future meeting is being planned - please contact us if you would like to be involved.

July 2007 - Kodesh Christian Community Planting Day, Auckland.

For more information about this planting day, please see Newsletter 4 in “News”.