News from the Valley

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 …

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 …

What has Open VUE (Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary) uncovered about North East Valley wildlife? There may be many different creatures living in your backyard, from birds to mammals, right down to invertebrates and lizards! Working with our Open VUE educator, Clare Cross, local school pupils from North East Valley, Opoho and Pine Hill took on the challenge to find out exactly what was in their own backyards. They used many different tools and techniques, outlined below, and then combined their findings in what was truly a collaborative citizen science project. Here are the results of what they found out …

What a load of rubbish! The first part of the Creeky Awesomeness Kaitiaki i te awa challenge got off to a filthy start last month when about 40 people helped to clean up Lindsay Creek at Chingford Park. It was depressingly astounding how much we fished out, including three buckets of broken glass shards - yikes! And that is just from a short section of the creek, so better not go barefoot! Six sacks of rubbish were also collected in the one-and-a-half-hour-long effort. Co-organiser, OpenVUE (Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary) educator Clare Cross says she was surprised at just how …