News from the Valley

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our survey. Please watch this space for the results and for more information on what is happening next for the Kaitiakitaka in our urban ecosanctuary program. Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary (Open VUE) relies on volunteers to provide support by offering their time, skills, and expertise. There are many wonderful ideas coming from the residents to promote and increase biodiversity within the Valley. However, as with most volunteer-based organisations, Open VUE has quite a few challenges associated with getting these ideas to fruition due to low volunteer turnout. Funded by …

Due to the adverse weather predicted for Thursday 3 October we have moved this year’s event to The Valley Project, 262 North Road, Dunedin. On Thursday, 3rd October join the Valley Project, community and conservation  groups, local schools and your neighbours for an afternoon of family-friendly fun put on by The Valley Project and its partners! 1pm – 4PM The Valley Project, 262 North Road, North East Valley COMMUNITY STALLS + ENTERTAINMENT + FOOD TUCKS FREE but Koha is always appreciated. To celebrate Lindsay Creek, learn and engage with environmental topics and practices that benefit the awa and …

Join us for our annual Keep NZ Beautiful Clean-Up! We will be meeting at the Valley Project office, 262 North Road, at 10am on Friday the 27th of September. Please wear appropriate footwear and sun safe clothing. Gloves and bags will be provided. If you have any questions please email openvue@northeastvalley.org or call 473 8614.

The results are in, and we can count ourselves lucky here in North East Valley! Thanks to students from Otago Polytechnic and the Nature Club at North East Valley Normal School, we were able to contribute data for the 2024 NZ Bird Count from four different locations in North East Valley. Observations were made between 29 June – 7 July, and sites included Chingford Park, Bethune’s Gully, Wilkinson Street Park in Pine Hill, and the North East Valley Community Garden behind the Normal School. Manu pango (blackbirds), korimako (bellbirds) and pīwakawaka (fantail) were observed at all four sites. Students …

Open VUE is holding a native plant sale to celebrate World Environment Day on Wednesday, 5 June from 9am-2pm at the Valley Project office in North East Valley. The sale will include tree fuchsia/kōtukutuku, coprosma robusta/karamū, veronica salicifolia/koromiko, cabbage trees/tī kōuka, kunzea ericoides/kānuka, kōwhai, and dodonaea viscosa/akeake, among others. The prices will range from $3-$4, depending on the size of the plant. Cash and eftpos are accepted. These plants were germinated and grown as part of our native propagation nursery. All proceeds from the sale will fund future projects associated with the propagation nursery's efforts to tackle climate change …

Thank you for your interest in the Garden Star program. Please fill out the form to calculate your garden biodiversity rating. By completing and submitting this form, you'll be eligible for a FREE VOUCHER to purchase two native plants from Ribbonwood Nursery. You can submit the form by emailing it to openvue@northeastvalley.org or you can print it out and drop it to the Valley Project office at 262 North Road. 

 What is your vision for Lindsay Creek? This is the question on the minds of the Open VUE Steering Group at the moment. While the vision for an open urban unfenced ecosanctuary still proudly stands tall amongst the urban forest, the Creek is a large piece of the Valley ecosystem puzzle. Gaining insight into your vision of Lindsay creek in 5, 10, 20, and 100 years will direct the mahi’s flow. The group is putting out preliminary consultation feelers while we are limited to gather, with plans for wider community consultation early next year.   The journey of the Creek, …

North East Valley and the surrounding suburbs are some of my favourite places to be in Dunedin. One of the reasons being the closeness to nature - I love stopping by the creek on my morning walk and watching the water rush by or seeing some birds feeding in a nearby tree. There’s a few trees in particular that I like to look out for on these walks too! The iNaturalist app has been super handy to help me identify and keep track of them all! Or for the child-friendly version, try Seek. Right next to the road at …

How about taking a ramble for the holidays? With the days becoming longer and warmer, I feel the pull of exploring the outdoors becoming much stronger. With the school holidays and warm spring weather, I find myself with some spare time to spend outside. Chingford Park up North Road offers plenty of opportunity to satisfy my craving for the outdoors. Lindsay Creek, running through the heart of Chingford Park and the Valley itself is particularly alluring as the sight and sound of the water flowing across the river-bed has a calming effect. The creek is also home to many …

If you find yourself walking along the Lindsay awa, see if you can identify the ‘riparian zone – a strip of vegetation that acts as a buffer between the land and water. In healthy systems, riparian zones are made up of a thick undergrowth of small shrubs and grasses and taller, canopy trees. Riparian zones provide unique habitats for wildlife, such as birds, and protection for water systems. The roots of plants growing in riparian zones provide bank stability and act as a sieve, trapping contaminants, like nutrients and sediments from surface water (runoff) before they reach the waterway …

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 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 …