Pod Cafe

05/05/2022

Find yourself in front of the Council Bins and not sure which bin to put your item? Don't rely on wishful thinking ..read on!

It's time for #3 – What to do with mixed materials; plastic/paper?

💥What do I do with takeaway coffee cups that are paper outside?
This is a tricky one but the general rule for all takeaway items is the RED Bin due to the waterproof inner coating. The best answer is not to use them at all and have a reusable cup.
Many takeaway cups are now labelled biodegradable or compostable but this is more well-meaning than a solution. They need to go to a commercial composter or a very good home compost, NOT the green Council Bin.

💥Do I take the plastic off the tissue boxes/tape off the cardboard boxes/plastic windows from the envelopes/sticky tape off gift wrap before it goes into the recycling bin?
Yes please separate and put the paper/cardboard in the YELLOW Bin, then ideally these are free of plastic. The paper is re-pulped to be used again, and the less plastic among it the better.

💥Can glossy magazines and old books go in the yellow bin?
YES, thin glossy magazines and brochures can go into the YELLOW bin. Books need to have any hard/plastic cover removed.
Thick books and magazines, need to be broken up, so they don’t cause jams in the machinery and also don’t overload your bins.

💥Other confusing items with mixed plastic/paper?
Till receipts go in the RED bin and not the recycling or green bin. The standard receipts that have the “slippery” texture, are lined with BPA, for thermal properties. Recyclers can't use this.

♻️More Rubbish Talk check out our website https://www.flourish.org.nz/rubbish-talk.html
More information about waste go to https://www.flourish.org.nz/6-reduce-waste.html

17/03/2022

With our new project we’ve been chatting to the waste people who deal with the kerbside collection bins from Selwyn, Waimakariri and Christchurch to find out what we are doing wrong and easy ways to make it right. We’ve asked questions about what seems simple but is confusing.

We’re very keen to hear from you what confuses you too. Message us and we’ll work on answering your questions together with waste experts. Don’t feel shy if its as simple as ‘Can I put pet/human hair in the green bin?’, we are sure that plenty of other people want to know too (as pet owners we do!).

See our first lot of questions about Pizza Boxes:
Pizza Boxes go in the Green Bin

They're a cardboard box so why not the Yellow Bin if they aren't that greasy?
You can rip the top off if it isn’t greasy, and recycle it. We do have a guide for our auditors as to what constitutes too greasy for recycling versus acceptable. As we have green bins, we do ask residents to put them straight in the green bin.…the vast majority of pizza boxes seen are fairly greasy.

If ripped pizza cardboard can go in green bin why not other ripped up cardboard?
Other ripped up cardboard can go in the green bin, as long as it doesn’t have plastic on it. Rule of thumb is, if you wouldn’t want to grow veges in it, don’t put it in the green bin.

Why do you prefer pizza boxes to go in the green bin, how does it help the compost?
Clean cardboard in the yellow recycling bins is sent to paper mills overseas for processing. However, dirty cardboard isn’t accepted in the recycling. This is due to oil having soaked into the fibres. Oils in water, hinder the re-pulping process, where cardboard is being reconstituted into new items.
However, we also ideally don’t want this cardboard in the red bin, ie landfill, as organic material in landfills both release methane, and it is expensive and a waste of this potential resource to dump it.
Therefore, the best solution is to put it in the green bin (or home compost). It adds carbon to the compost, as it is originally a wood product. An additional win is that the compost is processed just down the road in Bromley, then sold within NZ, largely locally which means less carbon miles too. Added to home compost, ripped up cardboard introduces air and carbon and soaks up moisture, so can be a valuable addition to create healthy compost at home.

More Rubbish Talk join in on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodHomeWaitaha and our website www.flourish.org.nz
More information about waste go to https://www.flourish.org.nz/6-reduce-waste.html
More information about the Council Bins go to: https://www.ccc.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/

20/02/2022

A special collaboration for this year's Earthquake Anniversary.

Seeds of Love for Canterbury Earthquake Anniversary

Two inspiring Christchurch Women are coming together for a new and special collaboration, bringing together the heart of River of Flowers Earthquake Commemoration and Giving Seeds of Love project.

Michelle Whitaker organises River of Flowers every year and in preparation for this year’s earthquake anniversary next Tuesday, February 22nd, we have been going through the beautiful Messages of Hope from previous anniversaries. “The messages make heartfelt reading – we’ve all had different earthquake experiences but what is clear from the messages is the love for the city and hope to get through the challenges we face. It is remarkable and something we should all be quite proud of,” says Michelle.

Rebecca Parnham created the Giving Seeds of Love following the Mosque attacks turning the thousands of cards into seeded hearts through community workshops. Giving Seeds of Love is to grow meaningful connections using wildflowers as symbolism for diversity. Rebecca explains that “In nature, diversity is a strength and makes for a healthy ecosystem. The same can be true of society”.

Over the years there have been thousands of River of Flowers messages collected. Michelle approached Rebecca Parnham about treasuring the cards and we came up with the idea of turning these into seeded hearts as well. The partnering of Giving Seeds of Love with River of Flowers enabled Rebecca to share the healing skills she acquired as a Social Worker during the earthquakes and following the tragedy on the 15th of March, 2019.

The collaboration aims, with the help of funding, to create a special card and run workshops in the community to make native seeded hearts for the 12th earthquake anniversary. These workshops are all about creating opportunities for people to connect with each other and participate in a therapeutic process where they can make something tangible.

“Imagine seeded hearts growing alongside the waterways to help our rivers become healthier“, says Rebecca. Flourish Kia Puāwai, the organisation behind River of Flowers, will work with their science advisor Dr Colin Meurk to get the right seeds.

River of Flowers has always been about celebrating our rivers. It was very important to the late Evan Smith who partnered Michelle in previous years to run River of Flowers. “Evan would be happy we are adding to the biodiversity and health or our rivers by seeding appropriate natives at next year’s anniversary,” says Michelle.

This year, for the 11th anniversary of River of Flowers, we are under the COVID-19 Red alert, and Michelle encourages people to self-organise and stay safe.

We will all mark this anniversary differently. Some will reflect on issues they’re still battling – lost loved ones, life changing injuries and insurance, while others will celebrate how far we’ve come and reflect on their own life challenges. “Thousands have taken part in previous years,” says Michelle. “It has become a safe space for dealing with hard emotions, whether about the earthquakes or other losses and now tough times with COVID-19.”

“We expect small numbers this year but stay safe by following COVID rules, wear a mask, bring your own flowers and pop down any time during the day. If you want to be with others then come to any of the 12 sites between 12.30 – 1.30pm. The blooms are dropped into the river, coming together like our city, as the flowers drift towards the sea,” says Michelle.

River of Flowers has become part of our Christchurch City’s story and like ‘Giving Seeds of Love’ is one of the few rituals that supports grieving and healing at a community level.

Info the River of Flowers sites go to https://www.flourish.org.nz/river-of-flowers.html

19/12/2021

How often are you out 'being' in nature? Plenty of time to make it an easy priority this summer. Have a look at Flourish Kia Puāwai's last and very important

10 Top Tips for Climate

16/11/2021

Our 8th for Climate Action - Mātauranga Māori!

This special Tip needed a bit of a background on the importance of Mātauranga Māori (Maori Indigenous Knowledge), how it can address Climate Change and create a better world for all.

Many of us Pākehā are on this learning journey So let us know your feedback and tip ideas too!

Our exploration and Tip actions are right here: https://www.flourish.org.nz/8-matauranga-maori-.html

31/10/2021

Love nature? A lovely wee activity to do with your kids and go in to win a nature prize for The Great Wee Springtime Nature Treasure Hunt!

Me te mihi nui mo a koutou manaakitanga. We are grateful to have support from Te Hapu o Ngati Wheke, Rapaki , St Martins Primary School, St Martins Scouts, Opawaho Heathcote River Network and Christchurch City Council Rangers.

06/09/2021

#2 Grow Your Own Food
Our Top 10 Tips for Climate Change

These tips are great for the planet, together it will reduce climate change but also it will be better for your health and our society. So it’s a win-win-win-win !

I (Mark) grew up in a family that grew a lot of our food. So, I absorbed a lot of knowledge and skills from my father. There was a clear gender divide between food (dad) and flowers (mum). We had a large vegetable garden, fruit trees and chickens. The old quarter acre section was like a small suburban market garden. Nowadays with housing intensification our properties are getting much smaller. So, we need to do things differently.
When we bought this bungalow exactly five years ago it had an extremely limited garden. All that was food-producing was a lemon tree, grapevine and blackcurrant bush. Each year we have added to this. It has been a slow conversion from lawn to food production, but we are making steady progress. A step at a time, add more capacity, grow slowly.
We are also growing more herbs in the garden and in pots. Most summers we also grow tomatoes and other edibles this way. We always leave some “weeds” that are also edible. E.g. stinging nettle and plantain that make medicinally useful teas.
Another option might be to make a proposal with a neighbour to develop a garden on their section if they don’t have one. You might be able to do it together or they might be happy for you to have a garden there if they can share the produce. I once took over a section of an elderly widow’s vegetable patch because it had got too big for her.
If you have too many zucchinis, swap some for your neighbour’s lettuces, pop in a community fridge/pantry or join a community exchange.

There's lots of links on community gardens, foraging, getting started in the full story on our Flourish website below. To conclude, just start, even if it’s one planter pot of strawberries (yum). Don’t try to do everything at once.

Let us know your ideas and how you are getting along in the comments below. We’ll be adding helpful info to all the Tips online too
https://www.flourish.org.nz/2-grow-your-own-food.html

19/03/2020

We might not be going anymore but our people are still sharing the love!

10/02/2019

Where we had a wee life is now the Burger Joint! Great choices of vegan and vegetarian too. YUM!

We’ve done it!! The store is open in Carnaby Lane, New Brighton 😊

We’re here 7 days a week with SouthPaw beer on tap and a wee selection of wines to complement your burgers.

A massive shout out to everyone who has helped us on this journey, we couldn’t have done it without you!