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Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Kaiapoi retirement village up for award
A flower garden, one of many gardens carefully tended by Sterling residents at Kaiapoi, has helped win an award. PHOTO: AMANDA KEYS The initiative of residents at Kaiapoi's Sterling retirement village to transform a bare plot of land and eight empty raised beds into a flourishing, sustainable garden has the project recognised in the Retirement Village Association Sustainability Awards. The garden, which is now filled with vegetables, herbs and flowers for the whole village to enjoy, is a finalist in the Bunnings Trade Resident-Led Gardening and Landscaping Award for growing a ''thriving village garden from scratch''. Nine environmental and community projects throughout the country have been announced as finalists in the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) Sustainability Awards. The projects range from national programmes to individual village initiatives in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Rotorua, Tauranga, Clyde, Kaiapoi, and Nelson. They include the first aged care homes constructed to a globally-recognised 6-Star, Green rating, a project to upcycle and refurbish used bikes for children, schemes to reduce carbon emissions and transition from fossil fuels, reducing waste and increasing recycling, creating flourishing vegetable gardens and a community orchard. Michelle Palmer, executive director of the RVA, says the awards recognise sustainability in building, design, landscaping, grounds and activities. ''This is becoming more and more important. ''Many retirement village operators and their residents are working hard to create a sustainable future for their village and the community around them and that has been demonstrated by the high calibre of entries and finalists for these awards. ''The RVA is pleased to again be recognising and rewarding the best of these initiatives,'' she says. The winners will be announced at the RVAs Conference Gala Dinner on June 17.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Retirement village garden shortlisted
Gardening enthusiasts have made a communal space at Aurum on Clutha their own, impressing a national judging panel in the process. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED A group of green-thumbed residents at Aurum on Clutha in Clyde are finalists in the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) Sustainability Awards. One solid growing season in, the resident-led project at the village to establish a community garden has caught the eye of judges. Village manager Sonya Attfield said about 18 months ago some of the residents came to her with an idea of starting their own garden and a space was made available for their use. "HPA [the builders on site] made some large planter boxes, and the residents took it from there," she said. A 15-strong gardening club had been established. They meet regularly meeting for Tuesday morning working bees and they are eyeing expansion as more residents look to join. Group convener and keen gardener Ray Wright said a tunnel house, shed and worm farm added to the set-up. Potatoes, shallots, red onions, carrots, salad greens, silverbeet, spinach, peppers, rhubarb and rocket had all been grown, with an impressive tomato crop — grown both indoors and out — the "highlight", Mr Wright said. "The food just kept coming ... At the end of the season, we had a lot of produce left, and we made pickles, which are being distributed around the members." While the cooler weather meant jobs in the garden had slowed, a winter crop of leeks, brassicas and onions was already in the ground, he said. Alongside the produce, the garden had also provided a place for connection, and friendships had grown. "Most gardeners are individuals ... but this group of 15 have all brought their own strengths to the garden and therefore it has been a wonderful learning curve for all of us, particularly me," Mr Wright said. Ms Attfield said many of the residents at the village had a lifelong love of gardening and providing the outdoor area allowed them "the continuation of that passion". She would often see residents popping out to the garden to grab a homegrown ingredient to add to a meal, while any excess made available to other residents, she said. Nine environmental and community projects throughout the country had made the shortlist to take the top spots at the RVA awards. The winners will be announced at the organisation's conference later this month.
Herald Malaysia
08-05-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Cambodian Buddhist monks remember Pope Francis, await new pope
Cambodian Buddhist monks remember Pope Francis, await new pope The longstanding friendship between Buddhism and the Catholic Church will continue in coming days, they say May 08, 2025 Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler of Phnom Penh and Buddhist monks offer prayers for Pope Francis in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on May 4. (Photo: RVA) Top Buddhist monks in Cambodia paid tributes to Pope Francis, who died in Rome on April 21, and made good wishes for his successor, says a report. Yon Seng Yeath, the highest representative of Samdech Preah Agga Maha Sangharajadhipati Nun Nget, the Great Supreme Patriarch of the Kingdom of Cambodia, led a delegation of 42 Buddhist monks to offer prayers for the late Pope Francis at the Phnom Penh Apostolic Vicariate Pastoral Center on May 4, Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) reported. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, the Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh, welcomed the delegates and thanked them for the interfaith tribute to the late pontiff. During his address, Yeath recalled the longstanding friendship between Buddhism and the Catholic Church, and the spiritual ties cultivated over the years by the late Great Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong and Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. He added that the cordial relationship between Buddhists and Christians will continue to flourish in the tenure of a new pope. A letter of condolence for Francis on behalf of the Great Supreme Patriarch and the Buddhist community in Cambodia was presented at the meeting, RVA reported. 'We extend our deepest condolences to the entire Catholic community for the loss of the beloved Pope,' said Yeath, who serves as Rector of Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Vice-President of the Cambodian Sangha Secretariat, and Vice-Head of the Phnom Penh Buddhist Governor. 'May His Holiness rest in peace in heaven with God,' he concluded. 'Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims — all should have the opportunity to journey together,' said Bishop Schmitthaeusler, a French missionary from Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP). He recalled Francis' commitment to fostering interfaith harmony. Since the week he died, the Catholic Church in the Phnom Penh Vicariate has been holding memorial prayers for Pope Francis attended by the Ministry of Cults and Religion, senior government officials, foreign diplomats, Islamic and Protestant leaders, Catholic NGOs, and parishioners from across the vicariate. A total 133 eligible cardinals from across the world are currently participating in the centuries-old process to elect a new pope, known as a conclave, which began on May 7 in the Vatican's famed Sistine
ABC News
24-04-2025
- General
- ABC News
'Rejected' soldiers from World War I remembered in Charters Towers
A North West Queensland historian is making sure the men who desperately wanted to fight in World War I but were rejected are not forgotten. Charters Towers resident Michael Brumby's research into the Rejected Volunteers' Association (RVA) has found how those left behind worked to support their mates who returned from active duty. Mr Brumby found 377 men in Charters Towers were rejected for military service in 1915 and 1916 for a range of medical reasons. Rejected soldiers later went on to find camaraderie in the Rejected Volunteers Association. ( Supplied ) Some were too short, others had bad eyesight or weak chests and nearly 80 were refused enlistment for having perceived "testicular disorders". Mr Brumby said he struggled to find out why so many many men were rejected on those grounds. He said it could be because military recruiters were looking for men to join the Light Horse Brigade. "I think their physical dispositions … and the need to be riding a horse on a regular basis, probably tipped them in favour of not being accepted … if I can put it that politely," Mr Brumby said. A Rejected Volunteers' Association badge. ( Supplied: State Library of Queensland ) No proof of 'white feathers' Mr Brumby said he found no evidence that the men who could not join up were sent white feathers or ostracised in Charters Towers. He said the men banded together to help returning soldiers and that in 1918 more than a dozen formed a branch of the RVA, which was founded in Sydney in 1916. "They saw themselves as men who can support their brothers … who were gradually and slowly making their return from France and Europe," Mr Brumby said. Mr Brumby said wearing an RVA badge allowed the men to show they wanted to serve. "This let people know that while they were very earnest and wanting to do this," he said. "Their medical capacity was not such that they could do it." Rejected volunteers play tennis in Charters Towers. ( Supplied: Charters Towers Archives ) Friends with returned soldiers Mr Brumby said the RVA met in the Charters Towers premises that would become the equivalent of the RSL. The rejected volunteers fundraised and held welcome events for soldiers returning home. A photo shows the rejected volunteers marking Anzac Day, alongside returned solders, in Lissner Park in Charter Towers in 1920. Mr Brumby said it would have been the first time that returned soldiers had gathered on Anzac Day in the city. The war memorial on Mossman Street is the centre of the town's Anzac Day service. ( ABC News: Brooke Tindall ) "[The RVA] made a connection between those who did not fight and those who did fight," he said. " I'm still thinking about what an amazing experience that would have been, for both parties of men. " "The fact they were there and able to meet socially, with these returned men, in their meeting rooms, and drink beer. "It brings them back to the reality of life beyond uniform."
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plans to transform town centre shop into community hub gather pace
Plans to transform a town centre shop into a community hub are gathering pace. Rother District Council purchased the former Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Devonshire Road, Bexhill, in 2024 using money awarded by the then Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The council is now working with Rother Voluntary Action (RVA) to turn the idea into a reality, through this Levelling Up grant, to renovate the building for the benefit of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations. Councillor Christine Bayliss, Rother District Council's portfolio holder for regeneration and economic development, who has driven the project, said: "I am so excited to see the plans for the Bexhill community hub moving forward. "This is a real win-win for the town, helping our residents to access key services in a central place and contributing to the regeneration of Devonshire Road." Read more: The new hub will make essential services and support much more accessible for all the residents of Bexhill and wider Rother area. It will also be used as a co-working space with the voluntary and community partners such as Citizens Advice 1066. Kim Richards, RVA chief executive, said: "We are thrilled to receive this funding to help support the groups we work with. "We are really looking forward to working with the hub partners to develop a valuable and useful new resource for the Rother voluntary sector. "This is great news for everyone in Rother and the wider community." Residents and community groups will have opportunities to engage with RVA to help shape what they want to see in the hub through workshops and events to be held later this year. Details for these will be shared on RVA's social media and The creation of the hub has been a partnership between RDC and RVA with other partners and came out of the Anti-Poverty Strategy. There is a lot of work still to do, but over the next year, residents and visitors to the town will be able to see its progress.
