The succession of Autumn colours here at the park has drawn many more visitors this year, particularly those interested in photography. Our 50 Shades of Autumn 2021 photography competition resulted in some really successful images. Autumn leaves are still colouring up throughout the park so next year the Trust may extend the length of time for the competition. The competition was judged by one of our annual pass holders, Rose Kerin, who is a professional photographer in Cambridge. The adult prize winner (Susan Savill) and the junior winner (Anica Downing) photographs this year are inserted below:
The Trust sought advice from Kaz Design to create better assets to represent the park’s brand. There is no doubt about the ruru being an important symbol of the park and the colours purple & green have consistently represented the park. Kaz Design provided the Trust with a range of brand assets that can be used in different contexts. You will see above our new logo! Our checky ruru will be popping up on some of our videos by now and in other media postings.
Wintec continues to use the park for training its students with projects that make a difference to the park. The pathway to the cross was the first project the landscape construction students undertook here. Their latest project is nearly complete – this is the lookout to view over the newly planted Asian gully, the short pathway from our Japanese folly. We are thrilled that in spite of prolonged drought, most of the new plants survived these conditions. For a glimpse of the new lookout please see below:
Plans are well-underway for Stories in the Landscape 2021 which will be our summer sculpture exhibition. The Trust has received some funding from Creative Communities and artists are starting to respond to our call for expressions of interest. The Trust does need to find more sponsorship for the event so if you know of any companies who want to entertain their clients and help the park run this event, please get in touch.
Volunteering Waikato has been a great help in finding people for specific tasks as the Trust really does need more assistance to keep the park going. There are still a couple of positions on their website – you may know of people who could be interested in them:
https://nfp.volunteeringwaikato.org.nz/roles/2011
https://nfp.volunteeringwaikato.org.nz/roles/2092
The Trust is also planning a volunteer day event called Pitch-in at the Park where there will be a variety of big and small jobs suited to every capability, individuals and small teams.
Date: 26th June 2021 (Alternative weather date:3rd July).
Please do mark these dates in your diary so you too can pitch-in to keep this place visitor ready
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Matangi Link 