Garden planning- influencing factors

I'm getting out my last years notes and photos and my colored pencils.  Not much can go in the ground right now, but the thinking behind it, sorting out the seeds, sorting out the seed trays an potting mix.  I need a plan for the spring garden.

Factors that will go into what I will grow:

• What can grow there
• What season it is
• How much money I have
• How much time I have
• What I/ we like to eat
• What I can cook

The easy stuff that pretty much grows itself, plus the stuff that I can get myself organized to preserve for the rest of the year, in terms of relishes, freezer bags, jars of tomato sauce, jams etc.

Te Tinakutanga

Here's a link to Permaculture Palmerston North where I've put on a powerpoint about seed germination.

Tinakutanga

What is the role of a Kaitiaki?

Who will stand for Council?

Bob Marley said it "Get up Stand Up"

 Who will do it for us?

 Will it be you?

 For the next 2 weeks the door is open for people to nominated to get onto local government in Palmerston North, to be on the City Council & the Regional Council and also the District Health Board...and this applies to all of New Zealand.

 If I wanted to talk to someone in the council, I dont really know who I'd go to. I dont know if they'd listen, if they'd get me or if be able to articulate my views when they go to their meetings and make decisions I have to (mostly) live by.

 So I've decided I'm going to try and talk a few friends into standing for council....and I guess I havent got long.
considering standing for council?

 If you're keen, I'd be keen to know...lol.  Here's a link to the what-you'll-need-to-know report, hopefully this link works or else just go to the Palmerston North City Council website...currently its on the home page.
pre-election report


This is how many votes people would need.  However its city wide now, not voting by wards.
results from last elections 2010

Hey hey ho ho GCSB has gots to go!

The Palmy Panthers invited many of us on Facebook.  Goodness us and our associates are probably being e-trawled  (hi John Key!) as I blog!


Anyway if you wanted to be on the pulse, in your community, but didn’t make it down.  I took a few pics, they'll help you feel included.  Next time- get your own mask and get yourself down there...we can't just let the Government trump themselves when they break their own laws!



 



There were all sorts of people out.  This is a rights issue, a privacy issue. This is also a Maori issue cos, well, we all know the cops thought it’d be ok to treat a whole community like terrorists in Tuhoe. #not_the_one


The signs and the outfits were excellent.  A good mate wore a Pink Panther outfit- a onesie.  I'll try find the vine video and chuck it up, its hilarious and only about 4 seconds






The open mic was classic.  Lots of people got up with something to say which was remarkable to me, informing and at times funny.



 Despite TV3's lies, it was peaceful.  A complaint has been made regarding their erroneous broadcast, and I think they have to recant.

The irony was not lost on me,  how at a time I'm out marching around the square re-anti GCSB legislation- I'm trying my best to understand the whole social media network concept.  I guess thats the very reason we demand online privacy.

The setting up and linking in of this blog EcoMaori to a work Facebook page which is different to my personal Facebook, to an YouTube login I had from a contract I took a few years back, also utilizing my own Instagram page for photos.

I'll also create a more work related Instagram and probably a twitter and Pintrest eventually.  That doesn't even include guest bloggers and linkages to other work departments. Jingers just keeping my head around the logins is a bloody nightmare!  I’ll put up another couple of photos after I post…you understand…they’re not on this computer, I took them on my phone!

Blog post ideas

A list of ideas and inspiration for this blog, please feel free to contribute your suggestions by comment or message, I'm also keen to invite guest bloggers, if you are one or know of anyone
Here's a quick think tank- but only by myself.  Need more beds around this to have a good brainstorm.

• Maori science/ environmental education
• dire lack of Maori science teacher, science in te reo, resources, the hoha of translating and the cultural differences of perspectives.
• thats a big kaupapa, but maybe lesson plans and conversations about Maori education successes and lessons (being) learned
• dragging whakatauki into today, eg "He kukupa ki te hui, engari he kaka ki te ipurangi"
• Beekeeping
• honey
• pollination
• how to/ where to
• link to post of Minnie catching a swarm
• Weaving- linkages to other blog The flax kete
• 
  
• Sports- Te tinana Maori kaha ki te hakinakina
• our boys being enticed by the bright lights of the NRL- with not a lot of cultural support over there
• Sports academies like TUTOA
• Waka Ama- the revival of a Polynesian tradition that works WITH our whanau's natural tendencies. 
• Migratory waka
• star maps, navigation
• winds, currents, ia, au, tohu
• where is Hawaiki?
• How many wahine were on the waka that came here?
• Tuna- The eel, 
• its lifecycle, 
• its cultural importance, 
• migration, 
• decline, retiring quota to conserve.
• Waitangi Tribunal and OTS
• avenues of redress
• looking forward where young biculturals running multimillion dollar enterprises.  What skills will they need?
• New Zealand Frogs, Amphibians.  
• who are the experts
• mokomoko- tapu.  
• The local government- 
• Who's gonna stand for us?  Are the voices in there doing a good job? Do they need a hand or the boot?
• council elections coming up
• decision making
• who even votes?
• Maori wards & Maori seats
• Idiots guide to carbon credits
• The emissions trading scheme
• photosynthesis- Ahotakakame, 
• mining- kowiri i a Papatuanuku
• protests- Porotehe
• Maramataka
• the constellation, moon patterns
• A time of year when we need to come together and feast, celebrate, party
• tikanga- hi ika
• mara kai
• hue
• Kumara
• riwai
• huawhenua 
• huarakau
• pataka kai
• rua kumara
• kahawai
• kuku- kaimoana
• aquaculture
• Resource Management Act
• ammendments
• section 6,7, 8. 
• Kaitiakitanga- 1991, the year humans became kaitiaki
• National significance
• Iwi Management plans,"take into account,"
• DOC
• nga whenua rahui
• possums
• acoustic grounding to recover species
• Harakeke- (tera he blog ano mo tenei anake)
• kono, tikanga, konae, kete, kete whakairo, hapine, haro, te tipu, te rito, te tapahi, nga whakairo, whariki, hieke, tukutuku, dying
• ...Kua timata
• Nga iwi taketake
• The UN
• UNEP
• CBD
• UNFFF
• Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People
• Rongoa
• WAI262 claim
• Intellectual property legislation inadequacies
• Kawakawa
• Kumarahou
• Horopiko
• Paewhenua
• ...

Whistling tree frog

Te Manawa has these tree frogs which are quite small. They originally came from Australia but have became naturalised in Manawatu & a couple of other places in New Zealand. I just videoed one eating mealworms. ( I've gotta master all the ways to link & hyperlink & make blogs interesting with the different apps, entities, wireless & other techy considerations before I can get down to nitty gritty issues!).

Here's a very amateurish video I took to show you a frog eating a mealworm.  You can be patient or just skip to about 46 secs.

http://youtu.be/c4ptrD1lq84

That said, 

What do you think about having Australian frogs? Should we use them to profile NZ native frogs in a museum ?(frogs world wide are in decline). Is it good to have live Aussie ones to see, but would be good to also have video footage of native frogs? (which are nocturnal- so dont exactly scream visitor experience) or despite their totally unpretentious way- we should only push for natives? 

Theoretically, & perhaps idealistically I might say native, conservation, protection all day... But who would see them? Are the overseas species, showy & exotic drawcards to get people to hear the story of cute little native frogs? 

Does this apply to all species- like birds, reptiles, tropical fish, mammals?