WATERVIEW CONNECTIONCONSTRUCTION UPDATE SOUTH 04.11.2013

ALICE ALL SET TO GOAlthough she won’t actually start tunnelling for another week, Alice was officially ‘launched’ on Wednesday this week by the Minister of Transport, Gerry Brownlee, and Branden Hall, the 9 year old schoolboy who gave Alice her name. Guests included Auckland Mayor Len Brown, local MP David Shearer, Gebhard Lehman, the vice-chairman of German company Herrenknecht, who designed and made the TBM, as well as representatives of the community, the NZ Transport Agency and the project’s regional and national stakeholders.

Following a blessing and formal acknowledgement of this important milestone, Minister Brownlee, Mayor Brown and Branden climbed on board Alice to start her up. The event was then wrapped up by a waiata performed by pupils of Waterview Primary School – which is located directly adjacent to where Alice will pop out in just less than a year’s time.You can follow Alice’s progress online at www.facebook.com/AliceTBM

Contact us at info@wellconnected.co.nz

if you would like to receive Construction Updates by email

freephone 0508 TUNNEL (88 66 35)project website www.nzta.govt.nz/waterviewconnection

follow the project on twitter www.twitter.com/wcnowwatch videos on youtube www.youtube.com/wcnow

EDEN/ALBERT COMMUNITY GARDEN OPEN DAYSGet ideas for the community garden at 4 Valonia Street from other gardens in the area. There are five other community gardens in the Eden/Albert Local Board area and they will be open:Saturday 16 November 1-4pmSunday 17 November 10am – 1pm

The gardens are:

Old Homestead Community Garden 92 Pt Chevalier Road

Sanctuary Organic Garden Building 40, Unitec, Carrington Road

Owairaka Community Garden 56 Owairaka Avenue

Mt Eden Community Garden Poronui Street (far end), Mt Eden

Epsom Community Centre Garden 202 Gillies Avenue

MAKE MINE A CRATE, PETEThe idea of growing veggies in a crate was introduced at the community garden launch by our own gardening guru Pete Whiting. It uses a no-dig gardening technique that’s easy, cost effective and is incredibly productive.The concept involves lining an old field bin (used in orchards for carrying and storing fruit) with black polythene, filling it with layers of straw and compost, giving it a good stomping, and then planting. Newly-made crate gardens are ideal for herbs and leafy vegetables such as lettuce, rocket, spinach and silverbeet. Once they have grown their first crop and have settled down, you can grow almost anything, including tomatoes, zucchini and capsicum.Pete says the field bins usually still have five years of good life in them when orchardists get rid of them. They are often sold on Trade

Me (search for “field bins”). Alternatively, he may be able to source extra bins directly from an orchardist for anyone interested – email him at peter.whiting@wellconnected.co.nzTo get going you need:• Approx 3m of black polythene (available

from garden centres or farm supply stores)• 1 x bale of barley or wheat straw• 6-8 bags of compost• A small bag of organic fertiliser• 2-3 bags of topsoil or veggie mixInstructions:• Line the inside of the crate with the

polythene, stapling it to hold it in place.• Fill the crate to half full with straw• Sprinkle over one or two good handfuls

of fertiliser• Tip over three bags of the compost• Get into the crate and trample it all down• Add another thick layer of straw, and

another sprinkling of fertiliser• Tip in the remaining compost and trample

again• Spread the topsoil evenly over the top• Plant, and keep well watered

GARDENING FOR HEALTH AT 4 VALONIA STREET – IT’S YOUR GARDEN, TOO!Keen and would-be gardeners alike recently descended upon 4 Valonia Street, New Windsor, where we are working with the Diabetes Project Trust (Gardens4Health) and Auckland Council to establish a community garden. Initiated by our urban design and landscaping team (take a bow Pete Whiting, Al Rigby and Bernie Ranum), the garden will be a place where our neighbours and anyone from the project team can learn about gardening and, in the process, get some hands-on experience. The launch attracted a mixed bunch of enthusiasts. Two gardens were established

and planted – one a conventional in-ground garden and the other in an old fruit crate. The house at 4 Valonia Street is owned by the NZ Transport Agency and we will soon be opening it as an information centre. Anyone is welcome to visit the garden anytime, and to water the plants and pull a few weeds. The next community garden get-together and demonstration will be Wednesday 20 November. Come along anytime between 4pm and 6pm and stay as long or as short a time as you want.

ARE YOUR KIDS SAFE?With the long summer nights coming our kids are spending more time outside playing and having fun. We are asking parents and teachers to urgently speak to their children and reinforce the message that our worksite is not a safe place to play!

We have had a few incidents over the last month where kids have been entering our site and been found wandering around. We cannot express strongly enough how dangerous our work area is. Not only do we have heavy machinery onsite, we also have deep excavations, sharp tools, cutting equipment and large loads that could fall if climbed. Please speak to your children and tell them how dangerous it is for them to enter our work area. We care about your children and would hate for anyone to get hurt.