News from the Valley

Do you want to do your bit to cut down on plastic bags AND support our great little playcentre community? Opoho Playcentre is selling these handy-dandy string bags. Contact us on 473 0819 or at opoho@playcentre.org.nz with the details of which bags you would like, or fill out this handy online order form – bit.ly/opohostringbag – and we’ll get back to you with payment details. You can choose your colours or get a whole happy rainbow set. Bags are available in cream, blue, pink, green and black. String bags are $8 each or three bags for $20. Opoho Playcentre …

“Did you know,” Mr Jack asked me a few months ago, “that there is a rare isopod living in Lindsay Creek? It is one of the only places that it is found.” “No! Wow, that’s cool!” I replied. Several seconds’ pause. “Um, what’s an isopod?” Which is a question I’m sure most of you have too. Isopods are a type of crustacean (crustaceans include things like crabs, lobsters, shrimps and krill) and they’ve been kicking around Earth for 300 million years. Their name comes from the Greek for ‘equal foot’, because their 14 tootsies are similar lengths. The tops …

Since the Dundas St bridge closure, many valley residents will have done a few more trips up Lovelock Avenue recently. The road curves – with a few hairpins – up through native bush, before levelling off over speed bumps near the stylish propagation building and offering glimpses of daffodils, dog walkers, rugby games and maybe some lawn bowlers. These views would have been different if a 2008 proposal to realign Lovelock Ave to have it run parallel to the cemetery had eventuated. The bowls green was scheduled to be a carpark. This stirred the Opoho community into action, and …

Open VUE is hosting a free movie night and will be screening two 25-minute films from local film-makers, including one that has a special connection to North East Valley. What does Charlie the cat get up to when his owner is away? Paw and Claw: Finding the balance between pets and wildlife, by Tegan Good, explores how cats have impacted New Zealand’s native wildlife and looks for a future where the two can live in harmony. The second film, The Silent Invader – Can it be stopped? by Berenice Matthieu, takes the viewer to the coast to discover if …

This month we explore how much has changed over 115 years on Chambers St in North East Valley. The picture from 1904 shows a horse-drawn carriage coming down the street, while the shot from the same perspective today shows cars coming up and down the street. While the cars aren't particularly interesting to look at now, in 100 years time they might be the most interesting part of the photo! This photo was published in the Otago Witness on 8 June 1904 and shows a horse-drawn wagon coming down Chambers St. The caption on the photo reads: This new …

The Valley Project is teaming up with the Sustainability Project to run a two-week Dunedin Summer School offering community education for everyone at the start of next year. A similar event has been running in Oamaru for the past nine years and now the idea is coming to Dunedin. Summer School facilitator Melissa Pronk expects there will up to 60 different classes on offer. Previously these have ranged from skills such as sewing, knitting and making bread; hobbies and interests such as keeping bees and chickens; health and nutrition such as how to grow food and make fermented food; …

An English conversation group has started up at the Valley Project community rooms The group is an informal gathering where those who are learning to speak English can come along and talk with native English speakers. Group facilitator Carolyn Rogers says it is not a group to provide lessons or tutoring. “It is going to be a relaxed way to practise English and make some new friends.” Carolyn recently returned from teaching in Abudabi, and after trying to learn another language herself she understands how challenging it can be: “I tried to learn Arabic in six years, but it …

The largest and liveliest Dunedin City Council candidates meetings are on again at Opoho Church. This is the chance to hear from the candidates to help decide whom to rank highly or, perhaps more importantly, whom to place low on the list. The meetings will again be chaired by Philip Somerville, silly hats and all, and the stag roarer will be on hand to cut off any who dare to try to go over time. It’s, mostly, those with surnames M to Z on Sunday 15 September, and A to L on Monday 16 September. The meetings are 7–9pm …

Broken things, discarded and free objects on the side of the road and buildings in various states of disrepair have all been the focus of local resident Hayley Walmsley’s lens. She has snapped over 4000 images, mostly on walks to and from school or while out doing errands. The project, titled Suzie No Friends, was undertaken for her master’s of visual arts at Otago Polytechnic, and her work will be on public display until Friday 6 September. North East Valley and north Dunedin feature heavily among the images, but Hayley also visited places as far away as Waimate, Oamaru …

The annual great Valley Spring Clean is coming up on Saturday 21 September from 11am-3pm. If you’re in the mood for a clear out but want to ensure you’re being responsible with what you no longer need, then the Spring Clean is for you. This year, with support from Dunedin City Council, we are going bigger and better, especially in avoiding sending items to landfill. We’ll have a team of dedicated volunteers assessing and diverting as much as possible away from the skip. The Te Rōopū Mānaaki class from North East Valley Normal School will be running a clothes …

How much has North East Valley changed in the past 100 years? I was on the hunt through one of our cupboards at the Valley Project recently when I came across a box full of old photographs of scenes of North East Valley. Before I knew it, two hours had gone by as I looked through the pictures trying to visualise what a particular scene would look like in comparison today. As a keen photographer I thought it would be a fun project to try to recreate old pictures in their modern context. This picture, taken on the corner …

The owners of North East Valley’s newest café, Adjo, have combined their two passions to create a new space where art, coffee and food meet. Caitlin Holloway says she has known for a while that her interest lay in hospitality; her partner Jonas Jessen Hansen is an artist who has developed an interest in curating and what happens behind the scenes of art exhibitions. The couple are focusing first on getting the café up and running, then plan to feature new exhibiting artists every 3–4 weeks. The café serves Danish food and features Danish-style porridge and smørrebrød , …