Pick-your-own flowers
Gina Chalmers has always grown flowers for herself and now she has beds of flowers on her Brightwater property where locals can enjoy picking their favourites from brightly-coloured zinnias and dahlias to old-fashioned sweet peas. Her reasoning for her part-time business, Gina’s Garden, is simple. “I love seeing people with my flowers and I find it really enjoyable picking flowers, so why wouldn’t other people?” As she says, not everyone has the time and knowledge to grow flowers, but now they have the opportunity of picking blooms for themselves or to give as a gift to someone else.
Dellows Bluff slip repair
More work began this week to fix a new slip site at Dellows Bluff on SH6 near Murchison. Resilience work has been ongoing at the area since a major rockfall in July 2022. This has seen rock scaling and rock blasting to remove overhanging rock and debris from the cliff face above the highway. Rock anchors, steel mesh, and protective shipping container barriers have also been installed at the site. Bad weather late last year caused a slip less than 200 metres away from the original rockfall site. Work began on 10 February and crews and heavy machinery will be on site for around six to eight weeks carrying out remedial work.
Kingsland Forest update
Improvements at Kingsland Forest were completed in late 2024. Contractors have constructed two fire ponds on the Fowler and Henry Road skids and were starting to fill with water in late January. Tasman District Council has also installed a toilet, with money for the project coming from Better Off Funding, which is good news for the more than 500 people who use the area per day. Along with planting thousands of new trees, three new park benches have also been installed at the Fowler, Henry and Heaton Rd skid sites with the help of volunteers from Keep Richmond Beautiful. The council have also installed 10 new way-finding signs at the main entranceways and strategic locations as well as rebuilt two mountainbike tracks. A further 34,000 native trees will be planted in 2025.
Lotto win
A Nelson Lotto player was among 14 celebrating after each winning $20,337 with Lotto Second Division in last Saturday’s live Lotto draw. One player also won Powerball Second Division, taking their total winnings to $39,580. The winning Nelson ticket was sold at Four Square Atawhai.
Library powers up EVs
Richmond Library is offering a new programme allowing electric vehicle drivers to borrow EV charging cables for free, just like you would a book. They have various types of cables available for loan and borrowers can keep the cables for up to three weeks.
Cooking course returns
After the success of the free ‘Just Cook Healthy Ageing Cooking and Nutrition’ course hosted by the Nelson-Tasman NZ Nutrition Foundation in November, they’re offering another fun and practical four-week cooking course in Stoke for older adults who want to develop basic cooking skills and learn to prepare nutritious meals on a budget. There are still a few spaces available for these friendly, free sessions, which will be held at The Food Factory in Stoke, starting 17 February. For more information, contact Birte@nutritionfoundation.org.nz
