Residents working in local parks, reserves and green places are dismayed to find plastic bags of dog poo dropped

• under bushes
• beside tracks
• at  park entrances  -  particularly Trelissick Park
• on road reserves
• under the ornamental grasses in Khandallah Road.

Dog poo bags hidden in Trelissick Park

What are dog owners thinking when they leave their pets’ litter?  Who do they think will remove it?  Council?  Other dog owners? Volunteers?

Ngaio Progressive Association believes dog owners should take poo bags home and dispose of the contents.

If dog owners believe that it is someone else’s responsibility, then they should be brave enough, forthright enough and assertive enough to discuss this in an open forum. Ring Council, write a letter to the editor or start a blog – but for heavens sake don’t expect volunteers who work hard to fundraise, plant and maintain our green open spaces to dispose of your dog poo.

Meet the candidates 2010

Ngaio Progressive Association is holding another of our popular ‘Meet the Candidates’ meetings to help you decide who to vote for in next month’s local body elections.

We are inviting Mayoral and Onslow/Western ward candidates to speak and answer questions.

Join us in the Ngaio School hall from 7:45 – 9:00 pm on Thursday, 9 September. (Please note, the meeting will NOT be in the Ngaio Town Hall this year.)

More information about the election is on the Wellington City Council website.

Ngaio Junk Drive, October 2006

Bring out your old toasters, broken bikes and cracked flowerpots!

Ngaio’s next junk drive is on 18 September 2010. Put your inorganic junk where you normally put your rubbish bag by 8:00 am and leave a $10 donation in your letterbox or at the Ngaio Pharmacy.

We can collect most junk except:

• heavy or bulky  items, such as fridges, sofas and barbecues
• television sets and computers
• hazardous waste such as paint, poisons, car batteries or oil
• garden rubbish.

Does riding around Ngaio in a rubbish truck appeal?

We need people to help us.  Can you spare a Saturday morning to help on the rubbish trucks or drive ahead to see what’s waiting for collection? Please phone Trevor Lloyd  on 479 5439.

No recycling stall this year

We will not have a Used Good Junk  stall on Khandallah Road this year because the trucks must finish collecting junk by 1 p.m. If you have good junk you can take it to the Second Treasure shop at Wellington’s Southern Landfill.

Or you could join Wellington Re-cycle, a Google Groups email list. Their website says:

“This is a recycling group for anything you wish to keep out of the tip or is too good to throw away.  Whether it’s number 8 wire, the old bed, your kitchen sink, or your old kitchen, then if it’s your trash it maybe someone else’s treasure.”

Go to Wellington Re-cycle and apply for membership

Makererua - Heke St steps July 2010

The steps between  Makererua and Heke  Streets in Ngaio are now open again.   They have a new hand rail, a very smart gutter, and a new pathway at the bottom.

The Pukatea Track starts at the  bottom of the steps and takes you  to Orleans Street in about 10 minutes.  Look out for the pukatea tree.

Planters in action, 2010

View upstream

A dog's view

Nearly finished

Ngaio Progressive Association had another working bee behind the Playcentre on Silverstream Road recently.

Armed with spades and grubbers, we planted out 100 shrubs from Wellington City Council in a couple of hours.

We planted shrubs that enjoy growing beside streams – such as flaxes, kowhai, wineberry.  Closer to the Huntleigh Park bushline we planted long term species such as  rimu, rewarewa, tawa.

We found a few bottles, car parts and an escaped kangaroo (which we lobbed back into the Playcentre.)

Earlier planting bees

This was our 5th planting bee.  Our first was in 2006.  It’s great to see that the akeake and olearia  are growing well.  Many shrubs we planted earlier struggled with rank grass and, in turn, over enthusiastic weed cutting.

Do you know where this is?

Do you know where this reserve is? What about going to have a look? The entrance is off Orleans Street.

Entrance to Orleans Reserve

The Pukatea Track goes from Orleans St Reserve to Makererua St. It takes about 10 minutes.

Blocked sump in Ngaio, 31 May

Wellington City Council has about 12,000 roadside drains and has trouble keeping them clear.

NPA committee members recently walked the streets of Ngaio and Crofton Downs, looking for infrastructure problems.  We found many local sumps filled with leaves and rubbish.  The long dry spell (now over alas) has made the usual problems with detritus build up worse.

Council would like residents to remove leaves or rubbish blocking the sumps so rainwater can drain away easily.

They suggest trying a low tech solution such as poking around the sump grate with a stick to get the water flow moving.  Otherwise, call the Council on (04) 499 4444 and they will get someone out to fix it.

Read the WCC press release on preventing flooding

Ngaio’s BP petrol station closed at the end of April.

The Independent Herald (2 June) reports that BP is negotiating with a third party to take over the site.

Read the Independent Herald story (republished with kind permission of the Independent Herald).
NPA has heard the “third party” is another petrol company.

Wellington City Council is introducing a new recyling system.  It will supply wheelie bins for recycling paper, metals and plastic and residents can use existing green bins for glass.  People with steep steps or difficult access will get see-through bags instead. Council  says on its website:

• households will receive a free 140-litre wheelie bin for recycling plastic, paper, cardboard and cans
• glass will be recycled using the existing 45-litre green bins
• households where the terrain isn’t suitable for wheelie bins will be offered 40×90 litre see-through bags to recycle their plastic, paper and cans. These bags can be recycled.

A trial of the new system will probably begin in Tawa later this year.

Read more: Wellington City Council news, 6 May 2010

Ngaio Gorge retaining wall

Wellington City Council is strengthening the retaining wall along Ngaio Gorge Road.

They want to make sure the wall opposite 45-49 Ngaio Gorge Road stays up during earthquakes or big storms.

Work on the wall begins on 30 April 2010 and should finish by October.

Read the Wellington City Council news release about strengthening Ngaio Gorge.