It’s no secret our city centre needs some tender tough-love and care - Buildings hang about like vacant-eyed drop kicks making trouble. Last week I sat down with Mayor Rehette Stoltz to hear from a person with power why this place is feeling like a ghost town. And reassuringly, in a comforting sort of way, she shared her fears of empty shop fronts looking like ‘someone who's lost some teeth.’ And, as you would expect, she said the council has an answer. But first, let me set the record straight - There’s a lot I have in common with the past American President George Bush Snr and there is a lot I do not. We both gained a Bachelor of Arts degree and flirted with the newspaper industry. However, I can tell you I am not a Republican, nor was I a member of the Yale Cheerleading Squad. But nine words of his in 1989 put me and Bush in the same proverbial box: "Buildings should not stand empty while people lack shelter." Yes, our homeless are housed for this moment of pandemic, but will it last? We have empty buildings and a chronic need for housing. We have a city that rattles when the wind blows and our unfortunates once slept on the streets after they were evicted from long-empty buildings. Is that what we consider fair? And the kick that hurt came from behind, after I fell on an article dated 2015 in The Gisborne Herald ‘Mayor Foon calls for low-cost apartments for Gisborne.’ The title had me tickled, was inner-city development on the way? I picked up the phone and got a hold of ex-mayor Meng Foon, now New Zealand’s Race Relations Commissioner. “Five years ago I said the CBD was declining. I suggested that we should make it as easy as possible to have residential buildings in the city and to turn some of the different commercial buildings into apartments to create vibrancy. I thought it was a good idea.” However, my phone call with the commissioner and Foon’s pitch both had equally patchy reception. “There were snide remarks,” Foon recalled, they said, “‘our city will turn into a slum’ - which is not true, many cities around the world have inner-city residential properties and they’re vibrant places.” And now, Foon is gone. Is this council any different? Having had a moment in the leading role, I spoke to Mayor Rehette Stoltz to hear what she wanted for the heart of the city. “Empty buildings are not unique to Gisborne, the way we shop and the way we do business has changed significantly over the last 20 years,” Stoltz said over a coffee at the Tairāwhiti Museum. “A lot of our CBD buildings are Historic Places that cost an arm and a leg to do it up and earthquake strengthen, I know millions of dollars have been spent in the CBD, and if you're lucky enough to be able to afford to do that - fabulous. But unfortunately not everyone is in that position to quickly whip out a few million bucks to earthquake strengthen - and that's why some of our buildings are standing empty.” And here a comment about the council from my conversation with Foon comes to mind. “Council is a philosopher, it’s not in the ‘doing’. Its role is creating the environment and the rules that enable people to do things as easy as possible,” Foon said. And in a similar, yet more practical sort of vein Stoltz seemed to agree. Because Council is not in the business of getting involved in our business - it does that enough. Stoltz repeatedly said, “We do not want to interfere in private business, we want to enable it.” So if the council will not earthquake strengthen our buildings, who will? Trust Tairāwhiti perhaps? Meekly, I pushed forward asking about my inner-city dreams of development. Is the council going to develop our empty downtown? “Yes,” Stoltz said, “there is definitely a push for us to start looking at what we can do with those spaces. “Our new spatial plan is an integral part of us growing and changing the whole feel of the CBD, there's a whole chapter on the development of the CBD.” But Stoltz argues the council needs to create downtown energy to attract inner-city life before putting up apartments willy-nilly. “You can't just say ‘let's make a few apartments.’ You need to make people want to live there, you need to make spaces that they can hang out in, have their lunch in the sun and cycleways to connect it up. So one of the discussions we have had going forward is that we might have to look at compacting the city.” But the thing that perked up my ears, nose and eyes was Stoltz suggested a town square may be on the cards. A place for a few benches, a patch of grass for people to congregate and catch up with a coffee. May I suggest paving over Peel Street? And I think she is right, ‘Build it and they will come.’ The boardwalk along Waikanae beach is constantly peppered with people every hour of the day. You need delicious and desirable ingredients for punters to make the move and live the city centre life. But as Stoltz said, our habits have changed and the city centre is no longer the shopping destination it once was. The city needs to provide for the twenty-first century shopper. “A lot of our planning is archaic and needs to be addressed, and it's a fair comment that we need to tidy up our district planning requirements around developments not only in the CBD, because it's not always fit for purpose.” She says our district plan may not give us the best outcomes. “Our zoning is not prohibitive as such, but it's not encouraging it either.” Stoltz gave the example of a laboratory requesting consent just outside of Gisborne which was required to have seven parking spaces under the current district Council plans when the only visitors they had was a courier driver. She says the council staff do not have the discretion just to say ‘Oh that is silly, let’s just go ahead,’ because they are required to follow the plans. “So then we tie people up with the red tape, because then they need to get a planner involved, ring the mayor's office, and in the end, they can do it. But if our plans were permissive and our plans were modern - our plans would make sense.” “I believe the most important thing we as a Council can do is to get our plans modernised and address the needs that have evolved over the past 20 years.” “But in the past five or six years, so much already in the town has happened that lifted the overall feeling, like the new council building, the new library, the new theatre, new cycleways, so even though it's not targeted directly at the CBD, we shouldn't forget about the things that connect at all up.” And as much as locals love to moan, the revitalization is visible. The beach boardwalk, cycleway to Wainui, Fox Street mountain bike tracks, the port beautification and a new Gladstone Road bridge. There is change and we can follow the right track if we choose it. There’s no reason we cannot be like Porto, Barcelona and the seaside cities along the Mediterranian that tout cosy apartments dressed with balconies perfect for peering down at life below. Cities where you can stumble to a drinking hole one minute and fall in the door of a dinky restaurant outside your apartment the next. The same is possible here. We have the port, the cityscape, sunshine and a lively bunch of locals. Combined, Trust Tairāwhiti , Gisborne Holdings Limited and the council have over a billion dollars in assets - It may be time they put some of that to downtown use, and maybe, we can buy this city a new set of teeth. Words by Jack Marshall Photographs by Tom Teutenberg

March 21, 2020 When we talked to Tessa Stephens at Flagship Eatery today she was fresh from listening to Jacinda's address to the nation in which she announced that New Zealand has moved up to Covid-19 alert level 2. She was understandably feeling pretty shaky. "Today's probably been the quietest day we've seen. Until today people have still been coming and are super supportive. We had the last Burger Night last night and it was busy and had a fun party vibe. ”But I think after today's announcement everything will change. ”The beauty of it is we're all suffering together, it makes it a little easier knowing that." March 22, 2020 This is Emily Walpole. She's been wondering whether there are any local groups organising support for people at risk from Covid 19. She also has a Covid 19 support idea of her own: Shared Shopping. “Everyone's going to need to continue to go food shopping and we've been asked to shop as normal (chocolate and wine for me!) I've seen people posting on facebook offering to collect groceries for our at risk community, and we can also group shop with our friends and neighbours to help reduce the number of people out and about. There’s a great app to help you do this called Out of Milk https://www.outofmilk.com/ ”It’s a free app for Android and IOS, which allows you to create shopping lists that you can share with others, via the app, email, or text... simple”. March 23, 2020 This is Rob Pokoati & Marama Pepe, sitting outside their place after a bike ride and soaking it all up. We’re talking to different Gizzy locals about how things are for them in these times, about how we can best support each other as this rapidly changing situation unfolds: “I think everyone should be getting in touch with their friends and just really seeing how they’re going. Instead of messaging everybody, ring them and talk to them, we’re all in the same boat you know. ”There might be some people who are almost paralysed with fear because things are really uncertain, especially with work and stuff. ”But I suppose in a positive light, the world is saying, sit down and reflect on what you are doing, and change, change your ways. ”That’s what we’re doing out here, we just got back from a bike ride and now we’re just soaking it all up. We see these two kingfishers flying over and I was just saying then, ‘Far out I’ve never seen those here before’. It’s almost like the earth is saying to us, sit here and listen, and reflect. ”Yesterday when we rode our bikes out to Wainui there were so many people out riding their bikes, which is awesome. I suppose times like this would be good times to do book exchanges too, when you’ve got so much time on your hands”. March 23, 2020 Jo McKay was down at Midway watching her kids in the surf over the weekend. We’re talking to different Gizzy locals about how things are for them in these times; about how we can best support each other as this rapidly changing situation unfolds: “How am I finding these times? Fast. It’s all happening very quickly. And as much as I am concerned, I am also in equal measures really interested and excited to see the positives and the changes we need in our society, to come out. "Me personally, I just want to make sure that I have social contact with friends. Its my main thing actually. And in terms of supporting each other, my hope is that as neighbourhoods we will all reach out to each other and find out who are the people living close by that need support and how we can look after each other, share resources, be generous, be kind. “Tomorrow I am hosting a neighbourhood gathering with distance, where we may or may not drink tea together. Just to check in, to make sure we all know each other, make sure that the people who need supplies have people to get supplies for them, find out who has access to different resources ,if that’s needed. Mostly make sure we know how to contact each other and that we feel comfortable doing so.” March 24, 2020 Meet Dylan, Charlotte and baby Jameson. These guys were at the neighbourhood gathering called by Jo McKay in the weekend. Jo asked them how they were going: "We're feeling a little annoyed everything is getting bought out. Panic buying is inconvenient. That's the only issue for us really. "We don't need any support yet but want to make sure that all people do their bit to keep everyone safe. It only takes one person to drop the ball. "Silver linings are the drop in pollution, which is cool. And the gardening. People are looking to the land instead of the supermarket". March 25, 2020 This is Shanon O'Connor’s bookcase. She’s feeling optimistic about the community supporting each other through COVID19. “People are stressed and reading is powerful for helping readers escape their reality. Social media is dominated right now with minute-by-minute updates and while its good to stay informed, it’s also important to unplug”. On Friday, because of COVID19, the Gisborne public library closed. In the weekend Shanon shared photos and videos of her bookshelves #bookshelftour and the next day she was delivering books to mailboxes across Turanganui-a-Kiwa. In the spirit of kindness, many readers returned the offer and now Shanon is looking forward to the stack of books she brought home with her. This gesture has been mirrored across the community with some gyms lending out equipment, some gardeners sharing seedlings, some businesses lending out tech and the list goes on. March 26, 2020 Lil and Shane Aupouri. Shane: “I think our hierarchy made a good call, instead of saying ‘when should we do it?’ - Just doing it. We are in a good spot. And hopefully we learn from this and we do makes changes in our lives and how we get on with each other.” Lil: “There’s a rainbow in this..there are lots of them. You just need to look for them. If you even just look at the groceries at the supermarket, there’s bags of flour now, which is what I grew up with, big bags. I saw big pottles of dripping, like for fry bread. And I thought, woah, it’s really taking us back to how we were raised. You’ve got to cook all your kai now, you can’t just ring up and order takeaways. We’ve got to look at what we’ve got and think, how can I stretch that, how can I feed my whanau - you do the carrots and I’ll do the spuds, and you knead nan’s rewana. Nan will show you how to fry it. That’s how we were raised, and now we’ve got the time to do that because no one’s going to work. ”So there’s a rainbow there. That’s how I see it. "As a teacher, I know that there are people hurting, But we’ll all adapt, work things out. There’s so much that we can do ourselves that we’ve lost - we’ve become a convenience society”. March 31, 2020 While the weather was playing ball last week, getting out on the bikes with her kids was essential for Rural Plunket Nurse and Mum Vanessa Robertson. For the less inspiring forecast this week, she's kept a bunch of 'inside ideas' in her back pocket, including some keep her and the kids active - check out the YMCA Gisborne Fitnesspage for a bunch of challenges & ideas. “I’m at home by myself with the kids and I think that’s a blessing. My kids are adjusting to their new normal. This is giving them an opportunity to realise how connected they are and how this is going to water their connection with each other, rather than being distracted by friends and the goings on of our world. “I’ve slowed down, put my feet on the ground. What’s the hurry, it’s heavenly. In the mornings, there are no lunch boxes, no rushing. I can stop and have breakfast instead of drinking a smoothie in the shower. "Our work are doing home consults. My clients are used to being isolated so this is just another day for them. They’re like, ‘everybody welcome to our world. Every day we make our bread, and we don’t let the kids guzzle two litres of milk every day’. But they [my clients] are really grateful of the phone calls. My work are being great; we’re told to do what we can and to take care of ourselves. It’s bringing out the best in loads of people eh… “My 12 year old daughter is really embracing learning from home. She's set up this amazing workspace in her room. She’s got a diffuser going, she’s got flowers, it’s just gorgeous. She’s motivated to do her school work online, but I’m finding it tough seeing them on their screens more than usual. So I’m adjusting. I’m like, ‘can’t we read a book for a bit?’” April 1, 2020 Aimee: ”I'm enjoying the rahui in a lot of ways. I love spending more time with my partner and son. As a nurse and mum I'm tapping into my natural urge to nuture. I'm feeding them good nutritious food and keeping the house hospital grade clean! It's been a long time since I've baked bread from scratch and I intend to use the fruit trees, (which are laden) to preserve, something I never have time to do. ”I feel very fortunate that as a nurse I am able to work from home. My role is in needs assessment for the elderly so I manage most of that coordination from home. (Lucky I have an IT guy in the house!) As you can imagine it has been complicated by COVID19 but not as much as my nursing colleagues on the frontline who i truly admire. I'm so proud of them and our chosen profession. As a community I have been heartened by the kindness I've seen toward the vulnerable members of our community. People allowing elderly to the front of supermarket queues, helping them with shopping, checking on the homeless to make sure they are ok, standing at checkpoints to protect the nannies and papas up the coast. I feel pretty blessed to be part of this community right now. ”To pass some time and bring a little happy to the situation we thought we'd share a ukelele song on FB. We had a lot of positive comments that it was 'uplifting' and made people smile. So we made another one and challenged other local musicians to do the same. There is a lot of diversity in the music scene here so I really hope others take up the challenge. What better time to showcase local talent? Captive audience! ”I’m finding it hard trying to limit teenager gaming...and to get him to eat the fruit before the biscuits. Food rationing not going so well lol! OWEN (on the right): ”Working from home has been good. Being in IT there has been very little change in my daily work, except a greater focus on helping others get setup to work from home. As a family we have started a daily fitness routine, and daily challenges. I've struggled with focusing 100% on work when in a home enviroment, especially with school holidays and normal home distractions.” FINN (on the left) ”Pros: more game time, more family time, sleeping in, staying up late Cons: not being able to see mates, schooling (it's harder to ask questions to the teacher), sports are off. No fast food!” April 2, 2020 This is Monica Donnelly and the other members of her bubble, her kids and fellow bear hunters: "I won’t lie, I struggled at the beginning of the lockdown, all the changes and disrupted routines were extremely stressful. Plus “trying” to work from home and help the kids adjust to our new lifestyle...had a big fat cry to let it all out and we’ve been prioritising fun each day since. "Yesterday we went on a bear hunt around our neighbourhood yesterday. After 40 minutes of walking we found 74 bears! "Big shout out to the lady who hid behind her unicorn on the window sill and made it wave back to the kids, they were jumping with excitement. "My neighbours' daughter and mine have been writing letters to each other to arrange times to turn their walkie talkies on for a chat. "There’s been a lot of fort building, tree climbing and cake baking, I’m pretty excited to see what the next few weeks brings" April 3, 2020 "We went from a fabulous whanau weekend at the WOMAD festival in Taranaki, to doing work and school from home, all within a week. Initially it was very strange as it happened so quickly. It took a few days to accept that we were going to be home-based for a few weeks, and I'd have little panic moments throughout the day when I thought about it, but we are now settling into a rhythm and it's good. "It can be hard to stay on task when working from home. My husband is working from the shed and I'm working from our bedroom. There are 4 kids in the house, 2 of whom are teenagers. They're missing their friends, school and sport, but we're lucky we like hanging out together. I worry for people in bubbles who may not get on very well. "I try to focus on the positives of our day and the things I'm grateful for, like our health, our home and our jobs. We are trying to create things to look forward to in our days, things like dress up dinners and exercise sessions. I've been quite inspired seeing what others are doing to keep positive, and I get ideas that I put to the family over dinner. So far, they have been keen to play along! "I believe this rahui is going to be very hard for so many people, but also positive in so many ways. We all have a chance to reset, rethink how things are done, and spend quality time with people we love. Technology is great for connecting, and we've been using it more to have video conference calls with whanau". April 5, 2020 This is local artist & mum, Phoebe Gander, who’s at home with her three kids and husband who is working 4 days a week: “I can’t really create much art right now, so I’ve focused on running a 30 day online art challenge #aprilforartists2020. “The aim is for artists to share about themselves and their art practice by responding to daily prompts. I ran the same challenge last year - it was a great way to meet other artists and for them to gain confidence and followers too. “I had the idea because when I first started sharing my art on social media it was really daunting - I had a lot of self doubt. This challenge helps artists to overcome those fears - they get a set list of content, the accountability encourages them to see the challenge through and they become part of a community. “Last week I ran an art competition for children to create a ‘friendly face’ portrait on the Wainui Community Facebook page. My sons and I picked winners from four age groups, who won a small prize. I shared all the entries on the Facebook page and encouraged the children to display them in their windows so people can see their ‘friendly faces’ when they are out for a walk around the community. It was so lovely to see the amazing artworks and I had such positive feedback that I’ll be running another one this week!” I find creating art so therapeutic but with only having a few minutes each day I was getting frustrated in my attempts to carry on with my larger artworks. So I’ve adapted my practice to more achievable small works. It’s also a perfect time to experiment with materials and colours that I’d never normally feel like using and to set up art activities with my children - we’ve had a few co-creating sessions which have been (mostly) a fun experience!” April 7, 2020 Many of you will recognise this as the face of Smash Palace. Darryl Monteith and partner Kerry Donovan had just departed for their 5 week dream European holiday when they had to turn around & come home again because of Covid-19: “We managed to get back to Aotearoa, have our tests done (surely the most surreal performance to ever take place on the War Memorial Theatre stage) and are negative - so that’s a huge relief. Our daughter Maia is back from Waikato Uni, our son Jackson will rejoin us now we’re clear. Our other daughter Jasmine has been our saviour with grocery shopping and cooking for our friend Moses. The hardest thing has been not cuddling our almost 2 year old moko Isla, but we’ve caught up with her now and she was too busy to cuddle much anyway. “Kerry is working from home and Maia’s study is all online so I’m the one who’s at a loose end but have managed to write and record a song demo most days and am preparing to record a Kings of Kaiaua album later in the year. A friend of mine is running Logic Pro (recording software) workshops online via Patreon - which is a cool way to support artists - so I’ve been honing my music production skills. “Having numerous strong-willed adults under one roof is trying at times - but self-medication seems to help. I’m trying to touch base regularly with friends and whanau who are in lockdown alone, while keeping the wheels of Smash Palace turning thanks to the wage subsidy. “I think there will be a lot of people who won’t feel like things are back to “normal” until they can walk through those doors and breathe in the 30 years of accumulated love and creativity that makes @smashpalacebar feel like our collective home. At least I hope so anyway. It’s going to be a long slow comeback, but who knows - we may look back on this and see it as a much needed reset that reminded us all to slow down a bit”. April 11, 2020 "We are immensely grateful to be at Tatapouri Bay during lock-down. However reuniting with Flagship’s Eggs beni and a Massage from Ora Day spa are going to be glorious days! "Our challenge moving forward is the unknown future of tourism. We spend/support local whenever possible and operate out of an optimistic mindset rather than fear based… Not to say there won’t be tough decisions and road bumps ahead but we don’t want to sit in a pool of fear. We see ourselves as one of the more fortunate businesses, so our duty is to support those who need our Aroha. "The silver-lining in this is that we have more time to focus on our creative endeavours and our people that remain on the grounds. We are working on a new digital platform and are using this time to design and extend our waterfront hospitality space, which will house food and drinks along with live music, events, workshops, yoga etc. So with all this time, we hope to have something really great come Summer 2020. "Making Tatapouri Bay a destination for locals and internationals is the Dream and we welcome any ideas, collaboration & positive vibes into the process. "We are sharing a daily sunrise clip on Instagram until lockdown ends… But as it seems to brighten up people's days we may have to continue the tradition! "We want to give thanks for all the local love and support" April 15, 2020 This is film maker, Michelle Fraser. “As we entered the second week of lockdown here in Gizzy, I had something of a moment of clarity: these are completely unprecedented times for our species. Not unique, of course - pandemics have come and gone - but the lockdown scenario played out across the majority of the planet is certainly new territory for the human race. “As a film-maker then, surely if I am ever going to document anything in my life, it should be this? We are all making the same journey, but on such different paths - in Gisborne, we’ve had three cases of Covid to date, and we look out to the rest of the world in mounting horror and trepidation about what is perhaps to come; others are experiencing the full impact of the outbreak right now. Some have had Covid and recovered. Some contemplate Covid parties to get it ‘out of the way’, while others with underlying health conditions live in constant fear knowing that it is very much a life or death situation for them. “I am one of those who think we will come out the other side of this a changed people in many ways, living in a changed world, and I think it is very much worthwhile documenting what we are going through individually. Isolation means we can’t really understand what others in different situations and locations around the world are really going through. “I have decided to make a documentary during the lockdown period and am looking for people who are happy to be honest and spend 2 minutes every other day talking to camera about how it is for them in lockdown”. Anyone who is willing to video themselves talking to their phone for a couple of minutes every other day about what they’re feeling, can get in touch with Michelle at lockdowngizzy@gmail.com. April 16, 2020 This is Ros Faulkner from the Gisborne Volunteer Centre. After being away on sick leave for a while she is happy to be back and hearing of all the work everyone is doing to support each other. Over the past few weeks she has been in contact with community groups to see how they're all going: “Things are pretty quiet on the volunteering front. We’ve found that organisations have been quietly and efficiently responding to community need and in some cases even anticipating it before it becomes apparent. “Unlike many other regions where Civil Defence has called upon the community to come forward and volunteer to meet the demand, the response in Gizzy has been an organic and responsive process. Iwi groups and health providers have made up and distributed packs to those most vulnerable to Covid-19. “Our homeless whanau have been provided for and people are spontaneously making masks and baking up a storm for those unable to shop. “We’ve referred a number of people to Age Concern for shopping and companionship and people have been knitting bed socks for Cancer patients and other things they can do within their bubbles. “We are trying to identify ways to support single parents with shopping and pregnant Mum's and Mum's of newborns to lighten the load on midwives - this is still developing. “Communication has been quite slow as people adjust to working from home and others are just busy doing the mahi rather than answering emails. It seems neighbors are helping neighbors, families are helping family and there is less need for formal volunteering than in other communities. A sign of a healthy and connected community I think”. April 17, 2020 Megan Hansen-Knarhoi is isolating at home with 3-year-old Niwhai and as they were unwell before official lockdown started, they had already been self-isolating for almost two weeks before that: “Yesterday I had nothing. Just nothing. I stood in the sun. I sat in the sun. I lay in the sun. I've been having accidents because I'm so fatigued. I have a compromised immune system, so I’m completely reliant on others to help us. “I’m struggling to work two hours a day, Niwhai watches movies during that time. I feel a bit guilty about it but I don’t know what else to do without being constantly interrupted. As it is, a running commentary of what's happening is the norm! Actually, I think what I’m finding hardest is the constant chatter. I’m quite sound sensitive and listening to and interpreting constant chatter is exhausting. I’m noticing I’m not understanding or hearing Niwhai as I usually do, again I think it’s fatigue. “We’ve been squashing small invasive sucker type bug creatures on the plants whilst gardening, which Niwhai has named the Corona virus bug. It’s Niwhai’s interpretation of me trying to explain in simple terms that the virus is tiny bugs that we can't see floating around, that we’re all trying to avoid by staying home. Niwhai desperately wants to go visiting and keeps asking if the bugs are gone and if we’re well. It’s very confusing. “My sanity is going for a daily walk. I’m loving the new friendly neighbourhood, where most people are super happy to chat. And that there are more people on the streets than cars on the roads. I love it. Not having any time pressure is wonderful, taking all the time in the world to go for a walk and watch Niwhai explore is fabulous. “Niwhai opened my eyes up to the Walnut trees lining one of the streets in our neighbourhood, so we spent a couple of days walnut collecting. Another day it was watching the “leaf traffic” (leaves blowing along the footpath and road) and another watching Niwhai give “loveness” to trees and Praying Mantes (kisses and cuddles), yet another the hilarity of Niwhai calling out to a couple of random people “hello you silly buggers”, and to someone else “you need to put your mask on” (we haven’t worn them once the blimmin hypocrite!). We also found a skip bin full of perfectly good stuff on one of our walks. We salvaged a couple of toys and DVDs. Absolute treasure. “I’m video calling adults, but it's not the same as being in the company of an actual adult person, which is what I need, as well as some alone time. And then there’s intimacy. Oh gosh do I crave that! “I’ve been thinking about other sole parents, and what would help reduce their workload slightly. I’m worried about people having enough wood for heating for the winter and getting it stacked; having the lawns mowed; receiving a prepared meal - a meal I haven’t had to cook would be AMAZING! April 20, 2020 This is the Dibble-Halley whānau. Today Harley Dibble, (Tairāwhiti Economic Action Plan Programme Manager for Trust Tairāwhiti) let's us in on how he's been going for him over lock down: "Pretty good! My bubble includes my wife Bess, and our two sons Ralph (4) and Louis (2) – I’ve loved the extra time with the family and my appreciation for Bess and what she does with the kids has been reinforced. "Working from home has been good – once I got my workspace properly set up – and I realised that my brain sometimes needs a bit of time to adjust / jump between work stuff and ‘being present’ with my family. The commute time between the sleepout and the house is short! "I‘ve missed a bit of the banter at work but connecting with the team via zoom has been mostly productive and fun. I’ve liked being able to turn off my face in meetings/webinars etc – which is harder to do around a table. "There has been increased family time for walks, bike rides, reading books, baking, gardening, hide and seek, playing with matches etc.. which has been great. But I know the kids have also struggled with the social distancing from friends and in particular their Aunties and Grandparents. "We also had some trouble in the bubble last week when Ralph slipped off the tramp and needed a trip to A&E. I stayed in hospital overnight with Ralph because he needed surgery to wire his broken elbow back together. He was back to full throttle the following day. Jacinda’s not mentioned anything about trampolines… "I’ve been loving the discussions online about the opportunity for a reset and the ‘new normals’ we should to be working towards. Especially the increasing recognition that to bounce back from COVID-19 in a just and sustainable way, means also responding to the global ecological and climate crisis. "The lockdown has helped me realise that I want to work from home more often and spend more time with family and friends. I also want to be doing more to improve biodiversity outcomes in the region and to support an inclusive, low emissions and circular based economic recovery in Tairāwhiti". To keep up with ideas around moving forward in a sustainable and just manner especially as they relate to the Tairāwhiti, check out and follow this page: Towards Tairāwhiti Bioregion and the Circular Economy https://www.facebook.com/groups/bioregion/permalink/2671716332938154/?notif_id=1587285441134673¬if_t=page_group_post April 22, 2020 This is Lena Bevan and her bubble. Lena works for Sport Gisborne-Tairāwhiti and the Chamber of Commerce. One of the things she has been thinking a lot about during these times of isolation is Play: “As a whanau unit, we are trying to keep a balance with work and family life: my partner is an essential worker, and we have our two children at home. We are all very accessible online so work feels even busier, it’s hard to keep up at times. “We understand that people are in different situations facing different challenges. As a whanau we encourage mindful appreciation of where we are as a community and a nation, often reflecting on how others may be coping. It’s important to us to maintain positive engagement with our neighbours with a friendly wave, happy smile, check-in conversations and a bit of banter. “All in all, we are really enjoying this quiet, low-fuss time together. Our children are particularly loving lockdown bubble life. In my earlier career I was a teacher and value holistic learning. To keep a balance we have a rather sporadic routine which includes some form of outdoor physical activity, a school-based task, and lots of play. “In fact play is incorporated in all that we do, it also means we hide the devices when the ‘I’m just checking something’ goes beyond a joke. “We love our family bike rides, we let each child take turns to lead, helping out around the house is enjoyed with music and dance, cooking and baking in the kitchen is steered by the kids with a lot of playful experimentation. Play should be fun and child-led with limited or no adult involvement!” In last week's Weekly Roundabout, we asked our subscribers how they were going and got this thoughtful response back from Janine Hamilton-Kells: "I swing between having a million to-do projects I want to get started on, to finding it hard to settle on anything. I find myself stretching out simple routines, drinking my daily coffee while sitting on the deck and throwing the tennis ball for my dog - I think she may be wearing a groove in the path. "Online learning with my son has been really cool, some days we are really into it, but I'm wary of setting a pace we can't maintain. While I enjoy the community of sharing around the learning I'm mindful of unwittingly entering into some kind of competition of the 'cool things' we are doing and putting pressure on teachers and other parents. Some days we don’t achieve anything. My teenage son for example has a complete absence of any circadian rhythms. "I am doing lots of writing. I am also not doing as much writing as I thought I would. Working and parenting and the added time everything takes are a juggle. My phone tells me my social media use has increased, even though people seem to be trying to make me to do math on there, which is a kind of Facebook aversion therapy for me —still the social snacking is addictive. "My overall emotion in the first couple of weeks was of feeling so very privileged to be isolating in a home, community and country where I feel safe and have all of my needs met. I get teary when Jacinda talks of being a team of five million. Since the talk of moving to Level Three I feel a yearning for more freedom, social gatherings, pub choir, Zumba, walking with a friend and not queuing. If only I had some IT skills I could make a youthful neck filter for Zoom meetings and make millions for charity. "Most of all I miss my daughter and granddaughter that are not in my bubble. A month is seven years in Nan years!" April 23, 2020 This Sally Shanks, the owner of our beloved Dome Bar and Cinema , one of the shining jewels in Gisborne’s cultural crown. These are deeply difficult days for the Dome, named a few years ago “one of the best dine-in cinemas in the world”. Sally talked to us about how she’s going: “I’ve got [daughter] Lily home thank god and she has been amazing. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t had her here. We’re just trying to keep busy. We go for a walk every day and we’re getting through a list of things around the house that I’ve been meaning to do forever. We usually have bubbles around 2pm and we’re making some amazing food. We haven’t watched any TV at all. “[Son] Jack is at his place with his flatmates so we’ve thrown a few things over his fence to him, like an avocado tree, and we hung an Easter bunny from a bit of wire on a stick and made it dance along the fence. We’ve been doing things like that, just trying to be good people, you know.. “As for the Dome, well, I really don’t know - we can’t go for too much longer like this. I just don’t really know what to do, even when we get back on our feet I’m not sure people will be going out much. “I have got a few ideas. I’ve been onto my favourite out-of-town bands about being ready to come when we open again so that we can kick off with some great live music from both local and out-of-town bands. I’ve also been thinking about weekly record evenings in the bar and limiting our dining to 25 people or so. We’ve also been in touch with the distributors to ask them for some light-hearted movies when we return! “I get the feeling that people’s hearts are in their mouth about the Dome [surviving this]. I think it’s one of the worst thing that could happen for Gisborne to lose this cute, quirky, independent, Sweet As venue and cinema of ours, because it does feel like all of ours”. April 27, 2020 Christine and Thomas Boyce: On the day when Gizzy Local puts out a list of the local eateries opening for Level 3, we say ‘Hi’ to the Boyces - the family behind one of our favourite restaurants, USSCo - which isn’t going to be opening just yet. Christine, also on the Comms team at the GDC, talks us through that decision and reflects on their lockdown times together: “We’re doing all good in the lockdown! Our kids are happy and loving their time together and with us. They’ve insisted on all sleeping in the same room since lockdown started - it’s been about 65/35 bliss and carnage. I'm also working from home, and we're homeschooling so it’s a juggle, but the schooling aspect has been really good to bring back some structure and routine. “This is the most time Tom has ever had off from the restaurant and without a lockdown it probably wouldn’t have ever happened. We’ve been thinking about what we need to be happy and it turns out it’s not a lot. We also spent probably too much time coming up with ways we could viably open in some small capacity in level 3 but decided against it. “So much of what USSCo is valued for comes down to our team, our space and the whole experience. It’s so good to go out, get looked after and not have to cook or clean up! “The uncertainty of the world is scary, as is not knowing how business will be for restaurants after this waiting room period is over. Business is always a running battle but this will be the biggest challenge yet, for all of us. “We will be incredibly grateful to reopen the restaurant when it’s safe for our staff and our customers. “It will be a bit different to before, but in a good way. We’re excited for some change and have a plan. We really, really hope that when we reopen people will come out! There are lots of amazing, locally-owned hospitality businesses in Gisborne and we’ll need all the support we can get”. April 28, 2020 This is Whyte Trashe, who managed to fit a little art and activism into lockdown before heading back out to work today: How do I feel about the lockdown? I’d say that’s too long an answer for a post on social media so let’s just say, Lucky. Lucky for the timing, lucky for my lifestyle and lucky to be where we are in the world. As a beekeeper, I was considered an essential worker. However, due to the honey harvest being complete, the decision was made by the team to put work on hold. I was relieved by this decision as I felt staying at home was best for the community until the spread of the virus was more contained. During the lockdown, I took the opportunity to participate in ‘HOME’, the first stay-at-home mural festival for the planet. Organised by Pangeaseed in association with Seawalls, Whanganui Walls and Alternative Arts Initiative. They are responsible for some of the murals around Tairāwhiti last year. My piece aims to reference the inability to laybuy a future (a stable economy won’t fix extinction). It was awesome to get back into focusing on art, without too many external distractions. I also feel lucky that my wife had started her virtual administration business last year. It has allowed her to work from home, and thankfully, she had clients that were able to keep her on during this unsettled time. Level three sees me out preparing the bees for winter. The saddest part of leaving lockdown is having less time to paint. Although I have kind of run out of walls in our tiny house anyway! April 29, 2020 This is Morgan Ngata, he's been at home with his wife, their 15-year old daughter, 16-year old son and kuri Mojo: "Ko Hikurangi te maunga, Ko Waiapu te awa, Ko Horouta te waka, Ko Ngati Porou te iwi, Ko Ngata te whānau, Ko Morgan toku ingoa. "We’ve been really trying to stay true to life at level 4. We’ve been using the term rāhui when we talk about the lockdown or isolation. According to the Māori dictionary a Rāhui is: a temporary ritual prohibition, closed season, ban, reserve - traditionally a rāhui was placed on an area, resource or stretch of water as a conservation measure or as a means of social and political control for a variety of reasons, which can be grouped into three main categories: pollution by tapu, conservation and politics. After an agreed lapse of time, the rāhui is lifted". "Personally I think this was an important decision to make because it helped to frame my understanding of what we are trying to achieve during this strange time. This is about protecting our whanau, our communities, our taonga. "This rāhui has forced us to connect with interests that have been lost in busy modern day living. Clearing up the shed to get back into a regular exercise routine, get our neglected garden weeded, turned over and planted up. Cooking up Feijoa chutney and Feijoa skin jam. This time has been more about reconnecting than isolation. Reconnection of values, ideas, skills and dreams I had put to the side. "For the first time in a long while, I began to feel that our whare was a foundation of sorts. Not just a place that we used between work and play but a place of safety and providence. It gave me a sense of control. I had no idea what was happening day by day out in the wider world but we knew what was happening in our whare. "The mental challenges are real and they are different for all of us. Personally, I have been down for a while because of work and life pressures. As a result, I had stopped my regular exercise routines at the gym. At first, I didn’t see the online fitness programs being something I’d use. But by the first week, I was into it every day and after 4 weeks I’m beginning to really feel more positive physically and mentally. Challenging my mental state by going a bit further and a bit harder in my exercises seems to do the trick. It’s the best way to realise that I am always much more capable than what I give myself credit for. I’ve just started the 25 push-ups for 25 days challenge to raise awareness for mental health, PTSD, depression and anxiety. "If you're feeling low in lockdown take a walk, call a friend or family member, meditate, exercise, or do something that brings you joy. I’m on day 7 and are beginning to see mates of mine picking up the challenge as well. Friends reconnecting in new ways. "This was about reconnection to move forward into a positive future. Kia kaha… we got this". April 30, 2020 This is Tim Marshall, who has insights to share from both his own bubble as well as other whānau he has remained connected to during these times, through his mahi with Tauawhi Men's Centre: "I’m going pretty well thanks. I have a lot of things to be thankful for, particularly with my whānau bubble that includes my partner, our two daughters, my son-in-law and one of our mokos. That has been a real bonus for us and also the fact that our other moko and his mum and dad stay just around the corner. I am also grateful that I have also been able to continue to work from home and maintained a positive connection with my work teams and others. "I think the lockdown or rāhui period has seen both challenges and opportunities, apart from the whānau connection and ability to do some jobs around the house. The obvious challenges for many of us are around the impact on employment and finances for many people whose work has been directly or indirectly affected. For some whānau we also know that holding things together when we are around each other more than usual, brings with it some challenge. "One activity we have been involved with from Tauawhi, in partnership with the Gisborne Herald offering tips to stay safe, with members of our team sharing ideas on maintaining whānau wellbeing and staying safe. We have also been trialling some of our services online, including our weekly men’s group and we've discussed how we might continue this in some way to increase access, particularly to those who may have travel and transport barriers. "I have been hugely impressed with how the Iwi-led response has mobilised to connect and support whānau, in particular pakeke and those most vulnerable. Also our essential workforce, in particular our Supermarket teams, who have kept things running for us all, despite the risk to themselves at times. I know that kai and food parcels have been the most regular response and with such things as Gizzy School lunches and other support usually provided to education facilities, this has no doubt increased pressure on whānau, who have needed to provide this from their own resources. "We have been blessed with beautiful weather during this time and seeing whānau out and about making the most of it has been pretty cool. I think this time has also allowed us to consider what is important and how much of our experience we can learn from and continue to maintain, particularly around the messages of being kind and staying connected". May 1, 2020 This is Tessa Beattie, the force behind Dancefit Studios Limited: "We have loved the forced rest in lockdown - but now our timeline has come to an end it's time to pick up our feet again. Dancefit has chosen to temporarily project lessons online - this has proved to be time consuming, physically exhausting and internet draining! "We have joked I've become the "Suzy Cato of Dance" - the delivery of this feels so unnatural and as teachers we are feeling vulnerable. However we know the kids will love to see us again in the virtual world and be eager for new routines and choreography. "We have experienced significant financial loss - and will continue to for months on end. We have been extremely humbled by the messages and support of those who have committed to see it through with us. It’s simply a small speed bump in our calendar. For lots, Dancefit Studios is their happy place, their sport and their space to create. They feel a sense of belonging. Our drive is to continue to embrace our local community and keep their love of dance and musicality alive. "Creating parent facebook groups has kept everyone connected - some families send in their TikTok videos for a laugh and everyone shares their child's dance practice to keep momentum. We've even seen a few of the dad's moves appear! "We are itching to reconnect in our busy, loud, fun environment as soon as we can. The camaraderie is huge". May 2, 2020 Lock down was and still is a mixed blessing for me. When it became clear that travel restrictions would come into place I was in Wellington for work. The country started to panic and I decided to head for home and my family. For some reason Gizzy feels safe even when things are tumbling down around us. To get home meant a long drive. I had booked an Air B'n'B who cancelled on me at 8pm at night leaving me stranded on the side of the road with no accommodation. There was no other vacancies I could find but luckily I keep a hammock and sleeping bag in the truck so pitched this in a highway picnic area and had a relatively good nights sleep. The service stations were taking peoples wallets as collateral while we filled up with gas, there was no stock on shelves at the supermarkets and people had a panicked look in their eyes. It really felt like the apocalypse was coming at that stage. The worst part of humanity was coming out in our communities. As I travelled up the country however people were becoming more and more relaxed and finally, as I pulled into little old Gizzy, it was almost like things were fine again. I managed to score a deer on the mates’ farm, family gave us flour, we were trading fruit and veg over the fence with the neighbours and we even managed to buy some extra chickens from a friendly local. Preparing for the apocalypse definitely had a friendlier face in Gizzy. Lock down itself has been pretty good for our little family. My work hours and salary have been cut down to 80% which means I get Fridays off and with nothing open we aren't spending as much money. I also can't travel for work which is awesome, we have been spending lots of great family time in the garden and foraging for mushrooms on our daily exercise walks. All my coping mechanisms for stress were thrown out the window so the first few weeks were pretty intense, no surfing, no hunting, no fishing and for someone who is used to travelling for work a slower pace was definitely hard to get used to. With uncertainty surrounding work and the very real possibility that I would become unemployed the first few weeks were hard. It was like being cooped up with nowhere to escape to, nowhere to relax. But after a time we became used to a smaller existence. We found different ways to escape and relax. There were definitely times where we broke level 4 rules. I would often drive to different beaches or reserves to take the dog and my son for a walk. At the time it was key to our mental health to get a change of scene. We all needed it and we really craved nature, the bush, the birds and the ocean. It was shocking to realise that we don’t have an abundance of nature in our neighbourhoods and as a bushman it’s incredibly scary to be told by the Government that we cannot access our wild places. I absolutely support the decisions made by the Government to make the restrictions they did but at times for me it wasn't possible to adhere to them. Moving into level 3 I’ve been excited we can surf, hunt and fish again. My work situation is stable. We don't look like coming off 80% employment any time soon but that’s actually amazing, I love three-day weekends. Hopefully we can take the positives from this as a country. We have new coping mechanisms, we are used to a slower pace of life and our communities are stronger for Level 4. It’s been an awesome opportunity to come together as a community and as families and have the time to do things together again, to garden, do craft and DIY projects and cook good food. May 6, 2020 This is Wade Brunt who talked to us about what he did and didn't change as everything changed around us at the end of March 2020: “Before lock down I’d been very busy with my new job with Safetree in a new 12-month pilot role Toroawhi to engage and support Forestry workers to get more involved in health and safety decision making. We were training for our annual Jogging for Logging relay run to Tolaga bay and were setting up the wellness centre. It was a big high for us to get our run to Tolaga bay in the week before lock down. "I’d had mates lose jobs in February. So by lockdown they were very stressed and bored. "I could see a lot of our guys were shy and didn’t interact much on the public pages already set up, so I set up private groups and group messenger so we could check in on each other there. "Safetree made a video series with Pio Tirei called ‘stay well while you stay home’ to support forestry workers. The first one was around making a plan in your bubble and creating safe zones within your bubble for everyone in it. He talked about families who might not have been home together like that ever - forestry workers are usually out the door at 4am and back at 5pm - the dynamics all change. "Every second day I’d post an exercise video that could be done using stuff from around home - one day it was with the lawnmower and tackling the weeds, another day going for a bike ride with the kids. We also used videos from Dr Tom Mulholland who does a lot of stuff around mental health - healthy thinking, the importance of exercise to stimulate endorphins, which make you feel good. That kind of thing. "After posting a few of the exercise videos some of the guys said they’d like to work out together online, so we started messenger group work outs, one at 7am and another at 5:30pm. I’d talk them through a 15-minute workout - not long, just enough to create a routine and then we’d have a chat. "I’m the first one to share about any topic, which helps to normalise things. "My children’s mother and I were set for a child custody hearing the day after we went into lock down but this virus is bigger than all of us and whatever is going on between us has to be put aside to put the children first and protect our bubbles. So that was nice to be working together, that’s the silver lining for me, coming to resolution. "It was great that we could keep our 50/50 custody through lock down and when the kids were with me we kept our usual morning routine up, out the door in the mornings, for a walk or a bike ride, lots of fresh air and now we just add in a bit of school work. Having a good routine has really helped in our bubble. "Its a big relief coming to Level 3, the majority of the guys i work with are back at work and very happy about it. And I'm looking forward to getting back out there supporting them when we come down to Level 2". To check out the resources Wade talks about here check out his Jogging for Logging Facebook group. May 9, 2020 This is Flo Bub. Through his role in the Gisborne Boardriders Flo demonstrated super positive and proactive leadership in encouraging our surfing community to stay out of the water during lock down, but managing all the while to keep the good vibes flowing. Well done Flo. "I have been doing well, thanks. Can’t imagine a better place to live during these challenging times. We are lucky to have everything we need and to call this beautiful place our home. Although the challenges are real, the opportunities are endless too. It all depends on your perspective. At least for the ones of us who are lucky to have got all their basic needs covered. It’s awesome to see how the whole community helps together. "I guess we're all facing challenges during these times. I have seen it as a character-building exercise instead of looking at what we currently can’t do or what might be annoying me. I was given time to reflect, plan, learn plenty of new things, to really discover online-learning and exercise, and spend time with my loved ones and reconnect with old friends. Also focusing on the little things and learning what’s important for me. Also, great to see all the people supporting one another and standing together as a community for the most part. "Every crisis has its opportunity. It’s always a matter of what we make of our time. I learned that I need less than I thought to be happy. I also learned that it’s important to have empathy for another as we never know the other person’s situation. "The online experience has been amazing and works so well. We - Gisborne Boardriders - have just created a new Podcast Show called “The Longboard House” talking all things longboarding with our best surfers. I am looking forward to that kicking off this Friday 6pm. I am also enjoying every minute in the water even more after not surfing for a while". "Stay safe and positive whanau. Yeeew". May 11, 2020 Kirsten Barrett: "Lockdown has been a special time to bond with my family and has enabled quality time to be spent. Lockdown has also made my girls and I truly appreciate my Mum and dad and how much they do for us. I am living with my parents while our house is being built so I was a little worried about invading my parent’s privacy. However, this time has been lovely. We’ve watched movies together, gone on long walks and shared lots of laughs. "My daughters, Maeve and Keira have reconnected. With Maeve at university, their relationship wasn’t as strong as it used to be. During lockdown, it has been neat to see them getting along and laughing together. "This time has provided me with motivation to begin walking and cooking again. I’ve been learning a few delicious recipes from Nadia Lim and my mum is an impressive cook and has inspired me to be more adventurous. "It’s been lovely to see others enjoying exercise too and everyone is so friendly, I’ve found myself even more proud to live in Gizzy. Our community has all come together and been respectful of keeping safe to save lives. There is definitely a sense of connectedness. It has also been eye-opening to see changes for the better in our environment. "In the beginning of lockdown I was a little anxious about Covid 19 and worried for my mum and dad as they are in their 70s. Going to the supermarket was interesting and a little nerve-wracking to begin with. I found it surreal and scary seeing people wearing masks and things.. "At first, my motivation levels were down and there was this small feeling of doom and gloom. I’ve missed being able to sit in the same room and spend quality time with my sister and her family, and my partner, Scott. I’m really missing my class, Room 19, at Mangapapa School - our face to face contact and learning together. However, I am so proud of how our Mangapapa whanau have taken up the challenge and are thriving. "I must admit, it was so exciting to see how many cafes and workplaces were opening up again on Gizzy Local. It made me feel like there was some light at the end of the tunnel. I no longer feel so anxious and gloomy about the future. "Going forward, I will make a more conscious effort to spend quality time with family and friends and make the most of the new walkways and attractions in Tairawhiti that I haven’t utilised before. I will also stop and appreciate the wonders of nature all around us more than I did before. The sound of birds singing in the trees during lockdown has been so calming".

Titirangi - Kaiti - Waikanae Photographs by Tom Teutenberg

My neighbourhood has come alive these past couple of weeks. The roads are busy with humans and happy dogs. People pause to look at things that catch their eye and to chat with their fellow walkers and bikers, and people out in their gardens. All at a safe and respectful distance, which has so quickly become our new norm. I’m proud of our neighbourhood for that overly-cautious distance, often spanning the width of the road, but I’m perhaps even more proud of the stopping and talking and getting to know each other - it’s one of the most important things that will come out of this all, I think. I have noticed this new openness amongst us. We're openly joyful and appreciative of the opportunity to connect with each other - it's as if we have remembered how much we need each other. Our family sent out a letter to the other residents of our road at the beginning of the lock down. None of our neighbours said they needed any help, but over the last few days emails have been going back and forth and we’re getting to know all sorts of things about each other. I had thought we were a pretty connected street before, but I realise now that we’d only just begun. Everywhere in our neighbourhood there’s evidence of people getting stuck into their Things to Do lists: People stacking firewood, pruning trees, weeding, people just being outside, because they know they need it for their own sanity. Everywhere, there are teddy bears and other small creatures peeking out through windows. They are signs of our unity, our kindness and encouragement towards each other. Some are holding bottles of wine and signs, one down our road has a giant pumpkin as its princely bed. Without all the cars, you can hear the leaves, starting to crackle and colour up, rustle in the wind. You could probably almost hear them land on the ground if you tried. You can even hear the distant roar of the ocean some days, even though there’s a hill between us. A few days ago I met my favourite bird for the first time ever; a bird whose song I have listened to my whole life, but whom I have never ever managed to catch sight of, no matter how hard and often I have looked. A few days ago I opened our front door and there it was - a Riroriro, or Grey Warbler, singing its song so nonchalantly, as if it didn’t even know it’s the most abiding sound track to my life. It was one of those moments I tell myself I’ll never forget, just as it feels as if none of us will surely forget this extraordinary moment in time - confined as we are to our homes, our bubbles, our neighbourhood, and the reaches of our own minds. I’m not sure whether my memories of this time will sustain or not, filled as it is with the simplest of things. The rustling leaves, the smiling conversations across our street, watching the kids try out new tricks on their bikes and the rope we’ve slung up in a tree, if we’ve managed to get them both out of their pyjamas and the house that is..usually by lunchtime, but not always. Whether I remember this time, or not, right now I am so grateful that this neighbourhood is my home, and the people in it, my neighbours. Words & Images by Sarah Cleave.

CBD to Waikanae Photographs by Tink Lockett

When Gizzy Local started looking around for some buddies towards the end of last year; people who shared our vision for our community, for life out here on the East Coast, and whose business embodied the values we hold dear, we didn’t have to think for long before our sights settled on Jo Pepuere and Steve King, the cracker couple behind Far East Coffee Co. When Far East Coffee Co. came on the local scene in 2014, they were distinctly mobile, ‘agile’ before their time. Even before their beautiful coffee cart appeared at the Saturday Farmers’ Market, they were delivering their coffee door to door. I was deep in the throes of at-home-mumming at that time and a visit from Jo with our weekly bag o’ beans smelt and sounded nothing short of salvation. The aroma of freshly roasted coffee, a few pearls of motherly wisdom and good dose of fellow-motherly kindness from Jo and my day was always the gentler for it. Our ability to get freshly-roasted and fairly-traded organic coffee here in Gisborne felt like we suddenly, really qualified for our ‘City’ status - the privilege of having them hand-delivered to your door felt like one of those ‘Only in Gizzy’ micro miracle moments. Only in Gizzy indeed! Jo and Steve have created a businessthat is far from the ‘cookie cutter’ mould. The pair are steadfastly dedicated to doing business as they do life, always mindful of the impacts of their decisions on their staff, family, environment and wider community. They are committed to keeping as much of the ‘coffee dollar’ circulating among Gisborne businesses as they can and Far East was the first official Living Wage employer in Gisborne, and the second coffee roasters to be accredited in the country. Since establishing Far East and in between attending to all of its moving parts, Jo has become a Romiromi practitioner. While the wananga continue, in her quest to keep learning and improving, Jo has a small private practice where she works with and on whaiora - people seeking wellness. She is part of a collective of practitioners called Kahu O Te Rangi who facilitate Romiromi and Mirimiri wananga and practice clinics for people to learn and practice and is also a part of the Moko Turongo collective who hold wananga to support whanau affected by whakamomori – suicide. It is Jo’s eye that is behind the images of the many views of Gisborne that you find on the @fareast_coffeelovers Instagram page and which make up an ever-evolving art piece on the wall of the Roastery. Jo’s images, like everything Far East, serve as this whispered reminder in our ears, to breathe, to enjoy the moments we find ourselves in, to appreciate this place we call home. While you usually find Jo with an overflowing cup of ideas and creative and community-minded projects in her hand, her current challenge is for herself, as she prepares to walk the 75 kilometres to Mahia this coming May. Steve has an abiding love for the sea and for being on it - from sailing Optimists on the Hamilton Lake when he was a kid, to his latest voyaging adventures immersing himself in the tikanga and the kaupapa of the waka. He now crews on Te Matau a Maui, a 72 foot, double masted Vaka Moana, which is berthed in Ahuriri, in Napier and potters away on the sailing canoe he designed himself. Steve has spent a good part of the rest of his life making music. If you were one of the 4000 or so people at the first Gathering in 1996, you may well have danced some of your night or day away to Steve’s electronic beats. Steve’s music-making has been as they say, ‘quite a journey’ that began in the late 90’s in rooms choc full of hardware. He released a number of tracks in NZ and Europe, and one might even say the couples’ entrepreneurial roots can be found in the record label they founded together, Breakers Wax. These days Steve is into making minimal techno, which when performed become something to engage with, rather than be entertained by, encouraging a deeply immersive experience similar to meditation with its sparse and mesmerising beats. These are the kinds of things you get to know about a person, about a community when you have the opportunity to sit down over a cup of the good stuff and get to know each other. We are grateful and honoured to have Far East Coffee Co come on board as Gizzy Local’s first sponsors, which will enable us to keep gathering the stories, learning about the lives, ideas and inspirations of the diverse community of people who call this place home. When it comes to the embodiment, the practice of and support for all good things Local here in Tūranga, Gisborne, we think the Far East Coffee Co. take the cake! Thanks for stepping in Jo and Steve to enable us to take the next few steps towards becoming a sustainable enterprise, which like your own business will be around in years to come.

Kyle De Thier got his first makeup when he was 12 or 13 years old. He swiped a stick of pink lippy and some mascara from his aunty, and promptly posted a review of the pink lipstick on his youtube channel. He also posted a video about his makeup collection – a glasses box with the pink lipstick, the mascara and a paint brush in it. And so it all began.. Before the pink lippy Kyle had been into nails “every mum has some nail polish right?” In the early days his mum would give him grief for spending all of his Warehouse vouchers on makeup, “Sorry mum, but look where it’s got me.” Where has it got Kyle De Thier you may well ask? Well, if you are within the 15% of his social media following that is Gisborne-based, you may well know that Kyle De Thier is one and same as social media influencer Kylee Fleek. You Tube 4.51k followers. Instagram 12.6k followers. Kylee Fleek is famous around the world for his flair in creative makeup artistry, for informative, wild, fun and funny videos. While make up didn’t come onto the scene for Kyle until four or so years ago, his YouTube channel has been around since he was 11 when he used to play Minecraft for his viewers. He also posted vlogs - such as how to make a green screen, and choreographies of himself in front of the green screens he’d constructed. It’s probably no surprise then that 17 year old Kyle is totally comfortable in front of a camera, “I’ve always been myself, from the start until now, I don’t think I’ve changed. I just put the camera on and start talking”. For those of us camera-shy types Kyle advises “You just talk to it like it’s a person, it’s a bit weird but it is a person - it’s a whole lot of people actually, in one little device.” I’m not sure that makes me feel any more confident Kyle, but that’s something for us all to keep in mind now that we’re going to be using video conferencing technology a whole lot more! But while Kyle describes his social media style as really loud and confident, he admits that at school he’d rather keep to himself “I barely talk at school. Anywhere out of school though I’m just like I am on my social media, if not even more crazy”. Kyle’s Insta and Youtube channels provide his main sources of income, but he’s in it because he enjoys it and because the idea of being a role model appeals, “I’ve watched other people with their Youtube channels, and the idea that a young Maori boy from Gisborne, New Zealand can make it” is a huge motivation for him to use his voice. So what does Kyle have to say to other young people from Gisborne? “No matter what restrictions you have in your life, you have to work for [what you want] and, it’s important to have role models”. Kyle’s role models are his mum, who is a “splitting image of me and is really strong. She’s always supported me, and now more than ever”. She was a bit unsure of a 10 year old having his own hot pink lipstick when he was at intermediate, but that wasn’t because he was a boy, “It’s not that appropriate for any young kid to be wearing hot pink lipstick!” American makeup artist, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, DJ, beauty YouTuber, model, Internet celebrity and founder of Jeffree Star Cosmetics is another person that Kyle looks up to - Now one of the biggest makeup brands in the world, he came from nothing, was “pretty much homeless” before launching his brand. Are Gisborne people likely to recognise Kyle if they pass him on the street (once we’re out the other side of Lock Down)? While Kyle never goes anywhere without "his eyebrows", you’re unlikely to see Kyle sporting the incredible make up he does online, unless there’s an event of some kind. When Kyle isn’t filming or furnishing his career in make up artistry, he’s a quiet force in our local rainbow community. His peers who have known him for a long or a short time, say how he has just always been himself, quietly confident. It is surely this quiet confidence that draws in Kyle’s followers and friends alike, beyond the gorgeous giggle and the language that sometimes matches the extavagant hues of his makeup, Kyle has a measure of self-belief and determination we could all do with a dose of, particularly in these uncertain times. Words by Sarah Cleave Images X Uniquelytink Photography

Our most recent addition to the Gizzy Local crew, photographer Tink Lockett, takes us on a leisurely wander along a street she describes as 'the K Road of Gisborne'. Lowe Street has always held a special place in Tink's heart, and still conjures up all sorts of memories from over the years and the evolving streetscape. It has often been home to the quirkier, small and independent genre of shop in Gisborne, and gets its Karangahape Road feels from the tattoo parlours, the sex toy shop, the bars, restaurants and vintage shops that have come and gone over the years.. These days there's probably not much call for mooching down the industrial end of Lowe on foot, but all those wide empty footpaths must be good for something! The mid-section of Lowe is currently best avoided if one is hoping to retain any sense of pride in their city (a hot spot for dystopic music video shoots perhaps?) thank goodness for the Sea Walls murals! To the contrary, the river end of Lowe is doing a great job of living up to its indie vibe at the moment with a great little collection of diverse shops, some of which surely could only ever be found on Lowe Street. imgs x Tink Lockett | @uniquelytinkphotography - check her work out on instagram or facebook words x Sarah Cleave

Last weekend I spent up large at Gisborne’s annual Art Mart at Marina Park. My definition of a big spend may differ to that of some people - I’m a pretty thrifty lady (nicely evolved from the frugality/stinginess of my younger years). But in the space of Sunday morn spent amongst a sunny array of browsers and vendors alike, I managed to find a birthday gift for my sister, a Christmas present for my niece, and I added a small pile of absolute beauties to the household’s ‘present drawer’, which will see us through a good few months of kids birthday parties. The best thing about the whole experience was how good that exchange of dollars felt every single time it passed from my wallet to the very hands of the artists, the craftspeople, the makers, who had made the pieces I was about to take home with me. I've been having a few conversations around the place lately with people wanting to ‘give up Christmas’ in different ways and to varying extents, but there is a rising energy it seems, to stop mindlessly playing out on repeat, this tradition that's become so skewed from its original self, and which does little to serve humans or the planet in its current form. One friend was trying to find the words to pen an email to whanau asking for their help and support, “Our kids are growing up in a world full of issues from mass consumption and we are trying to show them, through our purchasing choices, that we can make a difference” she writes. “Our hope is that the kids are fufilled with the simple things in life”. Another friend has taken to giving each of her children a sum of money, to be equally divided into three parts. One part to give, one part to spend on an artwork or an experience, and one part to spend on something that they really really want. That same friend talked about a shift to celebrating the Equinox instead of Christmas, in the hope of further distancing themselves from the consumeristic connotations of the latter. Yesterday I reminisced with a fellow parent about our own childhoods in which we placed such high value on the things that we owned and experienced - our marble collections, the second hand bike our parents had done up for our birthday with a lick of paint and addition of some spokey dokeys, the annual trip to McDonald’s for a birthday celebration, the rarified glass of Fanta or Sprite. These days when there’s an absolute excess of everything, that sense of anything holding any particular value has certainly become a difficult concept to impart to our young’uns. My partner and I don’t buy our kids much new stuff. It’s not to say that they - we - don’t still end up with piles of stuff though. I made a concerted (and rather short-sighted) effort to train my daughters into op shopping from a young age, and it was only when I realised that, contributing to a circular economy though I might be, it was taking away from that notion of value in scarcity just as much as buying new stuff all the time would be, and so these days op shopping too has become a once in a while kind of occasion (ahem). It’s not that I don’t sometimes question this approach we take. When the kids are looking at us like we’re just downright mean..when the front brakes on my daughters bike that I got for $30 at a Barwicks Auction before she was even born come unclipped for the second time in the week, when I’m refusing yet again to buy something because of the way it has been packaged..it is hard to not just start feeling - downright mean. But although I cringe every time I hear myself saying ‘you’ll understand one day’ I do think that the way in which we remember ‘scarcity’ with such fond nostalgia and almost romantically, holds us to the truth of this notion. Which delivers me back in a very circular manner to the value of the craftsperson, the local makers and marketplaces for their goods in a healthy community and creative economy. Last weekend I came away from the Art Mart with about 10 gifts (including one for myself) having put about $70 into the local economy, which I’m guessing for a lot of Warehouse customers is probably a fairly modest spend. My five daughter and I had had a rare kind of shopping expedition in which neither of us had a tantrum and during which we stopped and talked with friends and people we knew, makers and fellow browsers alike. My daughter got to experience this simple yet rarefied concept of buying things from the people whose hands had made the ‘stuff’. It was a warm and sunny day, the band matched the mood of the weather and we took the dog and my daughter’s bike for a run around the cycleway to finish. There’s plenty of opportunity for supporting our local makers and easing the environmental impact of our Christmas shopping spend this weekend, with both the whimsical Willowsong Summer Fair in the Rose Gardens and the always outstanding Upmarket in the Ballance Street Village tomorrow and the Royal Market in Matawhero on Sunday. Other ideas for more sustainable giving can be found aplenty if you’re looking for them - vouchers for future adventures or help doing something, tickets for experiences, memberships, secondhand goods, up-cycled goods, home baking.. the list goes on. For the less time wealthy amongst us though I highly recommend a mosey around a local makers market! Story by Sarah Cleave. Image X Ro Darrall.

The origins of one of Gisborne’s latest home-grown businesses, Food Cartel, might be found on the sideline of a kids footie match where, over the course of a season, Drew and Katie Hill listened with increasing interest to fellow parents comparing notes on their Meal Kit Home Delivery services of which there are many currently operating in New Zealand. Eventually, they decided to try it out for themselves and went straight to the top with a gourmet box from one of the major players in the meal kit delivery game. But what arrived on their doorstep that fateful day was disappointment. The ‘Fresh East Coast Tarakihi’ was fed to the cat. The bendy carrot went straight to the compost. Upon contacting the supplier to express their disappointment that they wouldn’t be be feasting upon a gourmet dinner that night after all, they were offered a discount on their next order. They were kindly informed that the fish had absolutely been fresh.. when it had been vacuum sealed one week prior. Drew and Katie thought about the long round trip their East Coast Tarakihi had made, from ocean to the Bay of Plenty and back again, only to arrive at its destination inedible and so far from the claims of freshness. And they thought quite simply that fateful day, ‘let’s do it ourselves’. You could say the seeds of Food Cartel were sown many years ago when Katie and Drew first met. Katie a vegetarian chef and Drew an appreciator of meat who at the time was devoting a fair bit of his time tending to his gardens on Valley Road. Fast forward to 2019, the pair were both casting out their nets for new direction, and something they could do together. Fast forward to 2019 and this fast-paced life in which delivered meal kits are an increasingly normal part of life for some people. The standard model however is by no means a fix for everything and in fact, as Drew and Katie had picked up over the course of many Saturdays on the football field sideline, there’s a lot about home delivered meal kits that is downright counter-intuitive in these times in which we’re aspiring for positive change, new ways of doing things, which work forour people and our planet, rather than against them. In Food Cartel Katie and Drew set out to provide a model that works for our community; the consumers, food producers and fellow local businesses and for our Earth. Maintaining as small a carbon footprint as possible is a major focus for the business, with 97% of the ingredients found in their food boxes grown locally. Items unable to be sourced in Gisborne are purchased from local businesses, and there are even items in a Food Cartel box that can’t usually be found on Gisborne supermarket shelves, such as export-quality Turihaua beef - thereby enabling those producers to reduce their carbon foot print, you might say! Plastic-free and recyclable packaging is also a priority, consumers are encouraged to leave out the box that had contained the previous kit to be picked up upon the next delivery. Paper bags are used instead of plastic ones and the pair are currently exploring the use of glass jars for items that would usually be vacuum-packed. Drew and Katie aren’t necessarily taking the easy way, but they’re taking a line that allows them to sleep at night. They’re also doing their best to ensure that ability to sleep easy extends to their customers, who aren’t lock into contracts or subscriptions, which are de rigueur with other meal kit companies. “We’re drawing people in with love, not locking them in with chains” says Drew, off the cuff and to the heart of the Food Cartel philosophy. Boxes are packed and delivered the following day, so when Food Cartel uses the word ‘fresh’, it means fresh. Drew and Katie are also motivated by their ability to use this space to encourage healthier eating habits in our community; being innovative with their menus to educate around meal sizes, healthy proportions of meat and veg, and catering to vegetarians as well as people eating keto. I myself was particularly taken by the sentiment behind the hangover boxes and barbeque/grazing boxes, providing some well-considered assistance in two potentially stressful situations! Together with their two children Lucy and Leroy, these guys live and breathe food. They rave over the life-giving properties of the Manzano chilli crop in their backyard, loved just as much by the kids as themselves. They call themselves urban farmers, loving nothing more than to preserve whatever they forage and then give it away. Drew’s preoccupation with issues around food, the health of our community and our earth has been evident too in his art over the past few years. His works in the 2016 Auckland International Art Fair and his 2017 show ‘In Your Face’ passed fairly unambiguous comment on ‘Corporations killing generations with fast food’; the stuff people around the world are consuming by the bucket load that as Drew points out ‘isn’t even food’. In these works body builders hang next to cow carcasses in freezing work fixtures. The later works Drew printed directly onto discarded fast food wrappers, the polluting propaganda of the multinationals themselves. I think Food Cartel offers our community a pretty awesome opportunity to support local, especially if you are in the meal kit market already. You’re not only supporting a home-grown business but also the local producers and growers supporting them. With a liquor licence currently in the works, which will enable local export quality wine and local brews to be added into the box of offerings, the future of Food Cartel is looking hot – Manzano Chilli hot – because that’s the way they like it. Do not be concerned however, they assure me they tone down the spices for the general public. Sounds like ka pai kai to me Food Cartel and a beautiful approach to boot, ‘Love not chains!’ Check out the good stuff and place yourself an order! foodcartel.nz For more on Drew’s Art go to drewhill.co.nz Story by Sarah Cleave

Whāia te iti Kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei’ ‘Strive to succeed, and should you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain’,” Of the many kōrero tied to Titirangi, this Whakataukī was chosen to be the guiding sentiment of Whāia Titirangi – a restoration operation unfurling on one of Gisborne’s most loved sites. The pūrākau tells of Tawhito, descended from Taiau and Tamahinengaro, who lived on Titirangi maunga. He enchanted the beautiful Te Aoputaputa of Te Whakatohea, who was overcome by the desire to be with her love. She decided to leave Opotiki, but her father was worried about the long and arduous journey ahead of her. He gave her a mantra for when she felt like she couldn’t go on – ‘Whāia te iti Kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei’. This sentiment is used today “to encourage young people to strive for excellence in all their pursuits”, and be relentless until they achieve them, says Whāia Titirangi project manager Ranell Nikora. When urgent actioned was needed to address the unruly pest-plant growth on the maunga, Whāia Titirangi was the answer. Whāia Titirangi is a strategic plan committed to the comprehensive and continuous management of Titirangi, that integrates both the Gisborne District Council and Ngāti Oneone. Two young women have contributed to a mountain of changes through Whāia Titirangi. The programme is spearheaded by Jordan Tibble and Mihikura Te Pairi, who have been elected as the operational cadets. The cadet programme was born out of the desire to build capacity for kaitiakitanga, to give young people the skills to be the future guardians of the whenua. Energetic, passionate and not afraid of hard work, these two wahine fit the bill. Guided by the knowledge of senior staff and the Biosecurity team, a large part of Mihi and Jordan’s work involves weed management, but they also find time to lead group planting sessions and manage the Whāia Titirangi social media. It is hard hard mahi, often involving exhausting physical work and long hours, but Jordan and Mihi are proud to do it for their whenua and their iwi. The Whakataukī, shortened to ‘lofty mountains’ comes in handy on hard days, as it reminds them to keep going. For such active cadets, they find the hardest part of their work to be the hours spent indoors in the office. Ranell is adamant that the stance for the cadet programme is not ‘what can we get out of our workers’, but ‘what can we do for them’, a perspective which bolsters their holistic development. She has always been supportive of the cadets’ other interests and pursuits and insists that investing in their well-being leads to happier, healthier, more fulfilled people. Jordan and Mihi explain that from an employee perspective, they also feel looked after. With a strong emphasis on the cadets’ professional development, the cadets have received vocational training such as drivers licencing, first aid and chemical handling. After delivering a season of planting sessions, often for large audiences, they have found themselves more confident speakers and have grown socially, appreciative of the new relationships gained. The cadets also undergo a thorough cultural education, with regular wananga covering topics such as the Titirangi Maunga korero, whakapapa, tikanga and kawa. This understanding is integral to the role of kaitiaki and nurturing the spiritual connection to the maunga. Community education and passing on Māoritanga is a key component of public planting days. Jordan and Mihi have been praised for their role as advocates for celebrating Māori knowledge and perspectives, and sharing the unique story of the land. Many new feet have been introduced to Titirangi soil; there have been regular public planting days and korero about the maunga flora and fauna for volunteers, council, learning institutions and schools. It is easy to grasp the impression that Jordan and Mihi have left on their people, with tamariki including them as characters in their stories at school. For Ranell, putting Jordan and Mihi in visible positions of leadership is key in challenging the typical ideal of ‘success’, and showing the young people of Gisborne that people who look, speak, act and think like them can be leaders too. Titirangi has undergone a drastic transformation since the Whāia Titrirangi team began their work in October last year (2018). The threat of weeds has dwindled, and the roadside and main amenity areas look like they’ve been given a bit of TLC. It is estimated that under the programme, 5500 new natives will be planted on Titirangi this season. Truly built from the work of many different hands, the native trees used for plantings days are the fruits of labour of The Women’s Native Tree Project. Since Whāia Titirangi’s inception, The Project has generously donated upwards of 450 trees and provided a nursery space to foster new seeds sourced from Titirangi. With the maunga’s new look, Whāia Titirangi is noted to be “the most successful and cohesive programme in maintaining the reserve” and being of such unique structure, it has already caught attention from afar as a model of iwi-council partnership. The continuation of funding would see a weed-free, pest-free, ecologically enhanced Titirangi. Hopefully, the replenishment of forest will welcome the return of more native birds and reptiles, and we could even expect community fruit and vegetable crops to appear. Ranell knows the cadets won’t be here forever, and they might not need to be – Whāia Titirangi has been responsible for passing on a healthy legacy of kaitiakitanga, aiming to inspire the current and future generations beyond that to be the new ‘cadets’ of the maunga. Ranell wants to see the operation expand, taking on more cadets as kaitiaki with Titirangi as their training ground– who can then spread their skills around the East Cape region where our biodiversity needs it most. Thanks to the work of Ranell, Jordan, Mihi, and the Whāia Titirangi team, Titirangi has been a site of growth - not of just plants, but people and passion as well. Story by Lauren Turner.

A year and a half ago Kahurangi Ngata decided to take control of his own learning and life. His first decision was to forgo his final year of high school, Year 13. Instead, with his parents’ blessing he would set out into the world that awaited beyond the school gates, with dreams of exploring art and gathering ideas for his future, whilst keeping ‘as busy as possible’. Since then Kahu has been on a path that has taken him to parts of the country he’s never been before, alongside new people as well as friends and whanau. Kahu seems to have this ability to see opportunities for learning in everything he does and in everyone he meets. When we spoke he had this shiny-eyed enthusiasm and excitement, which was both compelling and reassuring. When Kahu first set out to explore Art eighteen months ago, he had a few ideas about the kind of art he thought he wanted to do, but these have altered course and amplified in scale along the way. A month spent at animation studio Nyuk Nyuk Studios in Wellington, alongside his uncle, helped Kahu realise that animation wasn’t really for him after all. But he soaked up all he could from a guy who was back home from eight years of oil painting in Florence, learning how to transpose age-old methodologies from paint brush to his ipad pen; old to new. Last year also presented Kahu with the opportunity to volunteer with the Seawalls crew in Gisborne, and it was through this experience Kahu discovered his love of the large-scale artwork. Not only does the outdoor aspect appeal but he’s found that spray painting works well with his fast and unstructured, loosely-planned style, ‘if I plan too much, or try to repeat an idea, I usually find it just doesn’t work or look how I want it to look’. Kahu completed his first mural The Tui & The Kākā at Solander Cellars in March this year. ‘Do you know that I’m interested in Birds? I could talk about birds for ages’ says Kahu. A trip to the Zealandia Ecosanctuary in Wellington has turned Kahu into an avid researcher of birds. While he has always enjoyed drawing bird life, these days Kahu will take any opportunity to get closer to them, which has variously included tramping with friends, spending time with some people he knows who look after birds and visiting Wingspan in Rotorua. Kahu seems entirely happy to be painted with the ‘Birder’ brush; he’s fascinated by the uniqueness of our bird life in Aotearoa and their role in our country’s history. Interesting facts and anecdotes about birds spilled from Kahu as we spoke, his infectious enthusiasm and sense of wonder that made me want to go straight home and delve into all the old bird books on our bookcase. Kahu’s family’s involvement with the Te Toki Voyaging Trust (his dad Morgan was crew on the waka that travelled from Auckland to te Tairawhiti in 2017 and his mum Cleo crewed on the Waka that went to Norfolk Island last year) has piqued Kahu’s own interest in what is being called the ‘Waka Renaissance’ in Aotearoa and led to his own involvement with the Trust. Lately he has been based up in Auckland volunteering with Te Toki. He helps out with boat maintenance, preparing the waka for Tuia 250 commemorations later this year, and is involved in the training sessions, all the while absorbing as much knowledge as he can from the people around him. The experience has added another aspiration to his hopes for his future which is to be involved with the waka that will travel to the Pacific next year. Being away from Gisborne and immersed in the intensity of our biggest most hectic city has also given Kahu a newfound appreciation for Home. While Kahu’s experiences in this past while have undoubtedly been aided by supportive whanau and open doors around the country, it is Kahu’s own focus and openness to learning from any person he might come across and any situation he finds himself in, that make him a great poster boy for the case of self-directed learning. So while not everyone always has access to such support networks, we do all have the ability to open our eyes to the fact that teachers and learning opportunities reside around every corner, across every table. Just as Kahu is continually soaking up ideas, inspiration and imagery from everything he can, I came away from our conversation with scribbled notes to myself about birds to look up, new bands to check out. I also brought away a reminder to myself about the importance of listening to our young people, just as they are listening, and trying to learn from our mistakes. Story by Sarah Cleave Images supplied