This aerial shot of our beautiful Sanctuary gardens and food forest, clearly shows how much of a 'green lung' and diverse the site is.
Since Unitec informed our Steering group in March this year of Unitec's intention to sell the piece of land containing the Sanctuary, we have sought clarity about this decision. Unitec's relationship manager, Merryn Stratham, has now arranged a meeting of the Steering Group with the senior leadership of Unitec's Wairaka Land Company (WLC). Questions have been asked of Merryn and answers are currently being sought and will be relayed back to us at some point - hopefully in the near future. We know 'due diligence' is being undertaken for the site, as we talked to the people hired by Unitec to do this work when they turned up at the Sanctuary. This was the first we knew of the 'due diligence' process being underway, so it's fair to say that communication channels have not been the best so far. We are hoping for a marked improvement as we move forward.
There is a perception perhaps propagated (no pun intended) by some who may seek to undermine the position of the Sanctuary, that we are a self-interested group of people who have claimed public space for individual use and benefit. This is simply incorrect. The land is owned by Unitec and we have a partnership arrangement, and our responsibility is to look after this piece of land.
The Sanctuary and our work there has both an ecological and a social value. The great diversity and stewardship of the land and 'space' is a fundamental tenet of the Sanctuary and our organic ethos and care of the land demonstrate our commitment to this.
Our strategies moving forward
1. We have formed our group into an Incorporated Society. This gives us an overarching entity that provides a legal standing.
2. We have also formed an 'Action / Communication' group to complement our Steering group to liaise with Unitec and their subsidiary company, the Wairaka Land Company (Ref http://www.unitec.ac.nz/about-us/unitec-forms-wairaka-land-company-limited)"
about the developments and the potential interface of these with the Sanctuary Garden.
3. Our prime objective is to protect the Sanctuary as we believe it is far better to have the Sanctuary continue for cultural and biodiversity values than not to. Continuation will not only be for the enjoyment of the existing members and wider community but also for the new residents, once the intensification is completed.
4. A website is also in the process of being set up. This will widen our interaction with the community, so people can more easily find out about what we do, what we achieve, how we care for the land and so on.
We are starting a collection of histories relating to the Sanctuary and archiving these on the website so this information is searchable as a research resource.
Please actively solicit this information from anyone you know and send it through as a document for archiving to;
carla.gilmour@gmail.com.
These new structures will mean little change for our Sanctuary group. We will still enjoy the benefits of our fabulous volunteer Steering group - Bev, Trevor, and Sarah - who plan the working bees, oversee the accounts, liaise with visiting groups, organise the markets, coordinate events, start the communal seedlings etc.
And now we are sharing the workload and roles via the 'Action' group so other group members have the opportunity to participate in this process.
Possibly the Sanctuary area may come under the jurisdiction of the Auckland Council as Oakley Creek and the Wairaka Stream already does. This would be a natural extension of this green corridor for both our bird and other wildlife.
This is going to be a learning process for all of us but it will be interesting and extremely worthwhile.
Happy Gardening
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