Wellington Doings

Today I have been in Wellington for three weeks. It certainly doesn't seem that long, somehow; although between volunteering at the Pop Up garden, volunteering at Mechanical Tempest, getting involved with Innermost Gardens (more about that later), working on various gardens and now surveying for the Council (not to mention a little bit of volunteering for the Fringe festival), I've been running around like mad getting things done. Or rather, biking around like mad, which is getting me back in Austin-like bike shape, albeit with more steep hills but less overall biking (Wellington is pretty small). Its hard to realize how much time is going by when you're running around.

So, in more detail; The Fringe festival (theater festival) in Wellington kicked off over the weekend, which is very exciting and I've already had a chance to see the 'Fringe Lounge', where different performers do short sets, get interviewed, and attempt to get the audience to come see their shows. There's more on the way, and some of it looks really good (as well as sometimes free)! Also, two of my flatmates and I went to a Chinese New Year celebration - cum - fashion show, which had better dancers than models, but it was still very cool. Apparently Wellington was the last place in the world to celebrate Chinese New Year, although technically the first place to experience it (being ahead of the rest of the world, you know).

Also, volunteering at the Pop Up garden has gone well, watering and talking to passers-by. Feedback is still very positive, and the gardens have suffered absolutely no vandalism, putting paid to the concerns expressed by some citizens about their vulnerability in the City Center. Charmingly, the bees have now discovered the gardens! It took them about a week and a half (I saw the first one last week), but now there are multiple bees buzzing around and diving headfirst into the blossoms. Bees are great! I'm just sad that after their great discovery, the garden beds are being moved again this coming Monday. Too bad they're not permanent, although they are hopefully going to become part of a rooftop garden for a nearby cafe.

Also at the Pop Up gardens I have been surveying for the Council (and they're paying me!). This means asking the same questions about the Pop Up gardens and community gardens in Wellington to lots of people for three hours straight. Luckily, I like talking about gardens, and the information that some people share can really be quite charming. For example, the older woman yesterday who has just started growing potatoes, and now she 'really knows what potatoes taste like' after eating them from the garden rather than the supermarket. Mostly everyone supports community gardens, and I hope that the Pop Up ones will encourage those who don't garden to grow their own. So its a good job, and it makes me hopeful about the future of urban gardening in Wellington.

Which brings us to Innermost Gardens. This group runs two community gardens in Wellington, one in the Mt. Victoria suburb and one in the Newtown suburb. I ran into their coordinator, Sarah, at the Children's Gardening workshop at the Pop Up Gardens, and from there have gotten involved not only in Innermost, but also in the recently formed Urban Agriculture Steering Committee for Wellington. The Committee is attempting to bring together different groups that do urban agriculture in Wellington, and to promote it within the city. So, as happens, one thing led to another, and I am now on the Committee (probably going to help update/blog on the website), I'm the Innermost Secretary (lots of writing and volunteer organizing!) and possibly going to be one of the coordinators for the Newtown gardens since Sarah wants to exclusively manage Mt. Victoria.
In other words, I'm moving back to Wellington on a semi-permanent basis.
Which is kind of scary, but also very exciting. Urban Agriculture, here I come!