Bridge Court Village Games Day

Written by Denise Balmain

 Despite a few minor setbacks, the Bridge Court Village Games Day was a success for all involved. The Friends of the Farm team again proved their willingness to connect with others in our Mangere Bridge community by continuing to include, involve and educate residents through events. And most of all to have fun!

 

The Senior Citizens Hall is a perfect venue, and when the residents arrived, they were thrilled to see both older games they were acquainted with (checkers, scrabble and cards), and newer games (Connect-4), and the response was pleasing for all involved.

 

 

 The participants were eager, even without the promise of a delicious afternoon tea provided by Friends of the Farm. Particularly pleasing was the arrival of Naadja and Nicollette, whose youth and enthusiasm added to the atmosphere.

 Although we would have liked to have seen more Bridge Court residents come, those who came clearly enjoyed the afternoon and left with promises to spread the word and attend further events.

New connections were made and suggestions on further events will be followed up. Thank you so much to Friends of the Farm members who took time out of their busy Saturdays to help.

Another Pop Up Clean up! 8th November 2015

Written by Janine Nillesen

Around 21 people popped up to the mountain to pitch in and give the area a quick spring clean earlier this month.  Our set up is always simple and we make the timeframe short- just two hours, or less if you want. Our motto is "come on by and help care for our patch" – of paradise, right here in Mangere Bridge.

 

Kids arrived on bikes and scooters, the lure of course being the skate park.  So while they were distracted, some very committed parents put their efforts into removing glass from around the playground.

Most locals who came this time also attended our first Pop Up Clean up. This is very encouraging, as it is obviously striking a chord, and people are seeing it as a very simple and effective way to make a difference in our community. Along with a few new faces too – yahoooo!

It was a glorious day on the mountain! We managed to rescue 30kg of recycling that was trapped under trees and in long grass around the mountain and sports field. Unfortunately the 28kg of landfill waste we collected was unable to be diverted. This consisted mainly of plastic, soft plastic and packaging, fireworks and a boogie board.

Thank you to those who came along – caring for our environment!

 

 

Mangere Bridge Community Picnic

The inaugural Mangere Bridge Community Picnic hit the Farm last weekend, with around 60 locals gathering in the sunshine for food, fun and friendship. 

  Picnickers had fun trying out the range of physical activities on offer, including disc golf, volleyball, relay races and working out in a junk-yard gym.  Others went for the more sedate pastimes of finding gold in the hay, taking selfies with the horses, and guessing whose poos belonged to who.  The picnic finished with a tug of war, pitting adults against children and boys versus girls, and ending with a pile of happy people!

The day was simple, relaxed and fun to organise and we’re hoping for it to become a Mangere Bridge institution.  This year, we were lucky enough to have the junk-yard gym and relays courtesy of Mangere Bridge local Ian Campbell from ASAP Fitness.  Next year, we’d love to have other contributions from locals too, so let Friends of the Farm know if you’re keen to run an activity.  Thanks to everyone who came and made the day such an enjoyable one!

 Written by Justine Skilling