After six wonderful years, Fab Feathy has wrapped up.
Please see our report below for a quick look at what we have achieved as a community from Feb 2018 – Feb 2024.
Supporting Teens with Grief
In July, Hazel Neser presented a workshop to parents and caregivers of rangatahi, to discuss how to best support them through their grief.
Below is Hazel’s presentation. A big thanks to Hazel for her allowing us to share her work here.
You can contact Hazel using the detail below:
Hazel Neser (she | her)
Kairuruku Ritenga Utua | Professional Practice Fellow
Te Tari Haumanu Hihinga Iraruke | Department of Radiation Therapy
Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo ki Pōneke | University of Otago, Wellington
Imera | Email: hazel.neser@otago.ac.nz
Waea | Tel +64 27 444 8640
A bilingual Pae Tū Mōkai – a research framework
On October 20th, 2019, Fab Feathy facilitated a community forum titled “Ka Mua, Ka Muri: Looking Back & Moving Forward.” During this forum, members of the Featherston community acknowledged the need to support, develop, and meaningfully celebrate Tangata Whenua and Te Ao Māori within the Featherston community.
After this forum, mana whenua Sophronia Smith (who was at the time a Fab Feathy kaiwhakarato) met with local whānau to develop a plan.
This plan included research on Te Reo Māori use in Featherston. Fab Feathy contracted Reo Rua back in 2020 to undertake this research project on behalf of the Pae Tū Mōkai community. The scope of this research included the current use of Te Reo Māori here in Pae Tū Mōkai, to understand who is championing the language and how te reo can be supported to flourish further.
This resource was created in consultation with schools, families, businesses, community groups, and wider (South) Wairarapa marae and whānau.
Hītori – Te Horopaki – the wider history and context of Te Reo Māori in Aotearoa
1807 was the first attempt at a Te Reo orthography
1816 First missionary school est. Thomas Kendall – English curriculum, Te Reo instruction
1842 Te Karere o Niu Tireni – name of the first Māori language newspaper
1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi
1845 – 1872 NZ Land Wars
1847 Education Ordinance Act – English instruction, law meant only English as language of instruction/teaching in schools
1867 Native Schools Act, law meant that NO Te Reo could be spoken at all in and around NZ schools
1896 Total Māori population (decline): 42,113
1920-60 Less males (because of the world wars) and Urbanisation
1972-75 Ngā Tamatoa and Te Reo Māori Society Māori Language petition, first Māori Language Week, Whakatupuranga Rua Mano initiative
1978 Ruātoki Bilingual School (First)
1982 First Kōhanga Reo – Wainuiomata
1985 first Kura Kaupapa Māori – Hoani Waititi
1987 Māori Language Act, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo, Te Ūpoko o te Ika radio station – law meant that Te Reo Māori was officially recognized as an official language of NZ; both socially and in the legal system
1993 Te Māngai Pāhō
2004 Māori TV
2008 ‘Te Reo’ channel
2016 Māori Language Act updated/enacted by govt. Includes the national Māori Language Strategy ‘Te Maihi Karauna’
References:
- Te Kura Whakarauora
- Kōhanga Reo – Ngāti Hāmua, Wāhi Reka, Hine-Tearorangi
- Rangitāne Education Website
- ‘Origins’ books by Joseph Potangaroa
- How to Bring a Language to Life | Dr Ruakere Hond | TEDxNewPlymouth
Pātai?
If you have any questions on this mahi, please contact Te Ataahia Hurihanganui by emailing taahia@reorua.com or contacting her via the Reo Rua website.
It’s Plastic Free July! A great time to revisit theme #13
One of the key themes in the Our Future Featherston Community Plan is waste not want not. There was some blue sky thinking back in 2017, wanting Featherston to become ‘the upcycling/recycling/recovery centre of the Wairarapa’.
Fast forward to Plastic Free July 2023, how are we going?
Well there are heaps of organisations and businesses here in Featherston who make it easy for you to choose to refuse single use plastics, and responsibly dispose of used plastics and waste.
The Baker:
Save $1 off a coffee by bringing your own resusable cup, or 50c by using one of their mugs and refusing a disposable cup.
Use the opportunity to sit outside the Baker and enjoy that Featherston sunshine – do you really need to use a takeaway cup?
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Ā Mua resource centre and Featherston Op Shop: Why purchase brand new when you can save money and resources by purchasing items from these fabulous places?!
Ā Mua is also a drop off recycling point for soft plastics, milk bottle lids and batteries AND has a tool library!
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The Featherston Toy Library:
Borrow toys and cut down on clutter in your house, save money and reduce waste!
Open Saturday mornings and run by volunteers, it’s a great place to connect with other whānau in Featherston.
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Boomerang bags: these are community-sewn reusable bags made from donated fabrics that can be picked up at Supervalue if you’ve forgotten your bag! Don’t forget to drop empty ones back off there once you’ve used it – they are boomerang bags after all!
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Divine River: this local charity has been busy upcycling donated towels and fabrics into free eco period pads to distribute to schools and the wider community. They also host educational workshops for school students.
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The SWDC Transfer Centre: accepts recycling (soft plastics, metal, glass, plastic, paper/carboard/tins)
What to do in Featherston these school holidays!
Featherston is bursting with things to do during the school holidays, there’s no reason to be bored! Loads of places to go for a walk, for a picnic, to explore history, celebrate Matariki or even learn a new skill. Pae Tū Mōkai is the place to be this July!
Events:
Wellington Carnival Street Band: 
Join the Wairarapa Library Service as The Carnival Street Band fills the air with infectious rhythms, vibrant melodies, and pure musical joy. Let their energetic tunes transport you to a world of celebration and delight! 
Wednesday 5th July, 10.30am at ANZAC Hall.
Immerse yourself in the magic of Matariki with Moira, a captivating storyteller who will take you on a journey through ancient legends and tales of wonder. Discover the beauty and significance of this celestial event like never before!
Friday 7th July, 10.30am at Featherston Library
Flex those creative muscles! At Fareham Creative Space they have so much going on! Check out their programme below for more details.
Matariki Community Garden Working Bee:
Bring your gardening gloves, trowels, shovels and spades and help us begin to turn this blank canvas into a community garden for all to enjoy!
Learn about kūmara planting from Diane Buckley. Diane has been part of a long standing kūmara growing project here in the Wairarapa and has built up a wealth of knowledge over the years.
There will be a shared morning tea provided by the parish council of St Andrews Church, feel free to bring a plate to share.
Friday 14th July, 10am, 64 Fox Street
Wheels Club: Does your child or teen love skating?
Onboard Skate School, with the support of Fab Feathy and Aroha for Featherston Skate Park want to investigate if the formation of a ‘wheels club’ would be something the rangatahi and tamariki of our town would be interested in 
We invite you to come along to a hui to share your ideas and help establish a wheels club (scooters and skateboards) for our local youth. We’re also on the lookout for older teens to become youth mentors! All kids, teens and parents welcome
Tuesday 11th July, 1pm at Featherston Community Centre
OnBoard Skate School are back in Pae Tū Mōkai for the July School Holidays!
These guys have run skate lessons out of Featherston School earlier this year, scooter competitions at Featherston First Fridays and they are looking to see how they can continue to support our tamariki and rangatahi going forward.
There will be a girls-only workshop (9.30-11am) as well as mixed genders session (11.30-1pm). Suits ages 6+
Matariki: big, beautiful community things are coming! Watch this space for a timetable of events.
Kai:
Grab some lunch or a sweet treat at Everest Cafe or Brac and Bow. Get a bit fancy and have some delicious afternoon tea at the Dickensian Bookshop and Tearooms.
Picnic time! Take your pick from sushi from The Bento Box, chips from Quinwah or Town and Country, a sandwich from The Baker or a pie from Pioneer and walk to one of our lovely local spots to enjoy your lunch. Our playground, Clifford Square, Dorset Square or Barr Brown Bush are great options (can you find the fairy houses in Barr Brown Bush?)
Museums, libraries and shops:
Explore the worlds only remaining Fell Engine and learn how different life was in Featherston when the Incline was in use 1878 – 1955. The Fell Locomotive Museum: open Saturday and Sunday
Explore the history of the Featherston POW Camp during the World Wars and have a look at the beautiful 1932 Fire Engine at the Featherston Heritage Museum: open Saturday and Sunday
Visiting our lovely library who have lots of activities on during the school holidays! Our little town also boasts seven bookshops! A particularly good spot for the school holidays is the Chicken and Frog bookshop, full to bursting with beautiful childrens books.
Get outdoors:
Get on your bike and head down to the Windy Wheels Community Bike Track at Featherston School. There’s even a skills track to help increase confidence!
Walk the Featherston Heritage Trail
Head down to the Moana and see how many different types of birds you can spot!
Climb up to the lookout at Lone Pine Hill/Featherston Domain – how far can you see?!
Visit the new Science Table at Donalds Creek and read all about our native freshwater critters
Feed and Fund Round Two
Fab Feathy and the Featherston Communtiy Centre joined forces to run our second Feed and Fund event, and it was such a great evening. There were some marvellous pitches, so in case you missed it (or you want reminding), read on to find out more!
Featherston Community Garden
Pitched by Tanja Schubert-McArthur and Amanda Bradley
What’s your project?
Imagine it’s the year 2028, you walk along Fitzherbert Street to get your Friday takeaways, but when you walk past St Andrews you hear chatter and laughter and decide to check it out. As you walk around to the back of the church you stumble upon a secret garden you didn’t know existed: veggies in raised beds grow happily next to sunflowers, tamariki play with caterpillars on the swan plants and a group of people of all ages husk corn while having a yarn. Someone comes over to greet you and offers you a slice of apple pie made from the fruits harvested. You ditch the takeaways and take a seat at the picnic table.
Welcome to the community garden! Nau mai, haere mai ki te mārā o Paetūmōkai! This is a community garden that is open to everyone who wants to learn about growing their own food and we will run workshops to teach people skills. This garden can fill our community pantry and connect people!
How will this/does this benefit the Featherston Community?
Research shows the many benefits of communities gardening, beyond just harvesting a bunch of kale that might be healthy to eat and providing the community with food security.
Spending time connected to nature can improve our mental wellbeing. People who participate in community gardens are more hopeful, positive, energised, and optimistic about the future. They have improved levels of attention, life satisfaction and self-esteem.
We want our garden to be a place of belonging where we can grow social capital, where we can support others and build new relationships.
We are an informal group which formed last year after St Andrew’s Church offered their back yard to Fab Feathy as a potential space for a community garden. The group have had several meetings and one workshop planting daffodils at the garden site. The goal is to build a community garden that will grow food for the community, share skills and resources. With outcomes of community wellbeing, social capital, and improved food security.
How do people contact your group/how do they get involved?
Do you want to learn some new ideas and tricks for your own backyard?
Do you have a green thumb and want to pass on your skills?
Why not join our motivated group of gardeners and wannabe gardeners who are keen to get their hands dirty? All ages welcome!
Join us on Facebook: “Featherston Community Garden Planning”.
Or come to our workshop preparing a bed for planting kumara on Matariki July 14th (check the Facebook page for details).
Wairarapa Moana Trail
Pitched by Geoff Thurston
What’s your project?
Wairarapa Moana is a precious local Taonga of historical, ecological, cultural and community importance. A group of Featherston residents got together when they found that they were all interested in getting a cycle trail running from Featherston to Wairarapa Moana. The vast majority of feedback received from the community when it has been sought, has been very positive.
In conjuction with Fab Feathy a feasability study was carried out that investigated a number of routes that could be taken. The route chosen was a combination of state highway, paper road and rail corridor, and will link in with Pae Tu Mokai o Tauira Te Whare Whakapapa at its midpoint. The trail forms a part of the Five Towns Trail and Remutaka Great Ride. It also gives rise to other short rides of interest that could be added at a later stage.
How will this/does this benefit the Featherston Community?
It is estimated that there would be over 10,000 users in the first year of trail operation. It is also estimated that for every dollar invested in its construction the trail would return four dollars to the region. The benefits to the local and regional communities make the proposed trail a good investment for potential funders.
How do people contact your group/how do they get involved?
A Moana Trail Trust has been formed to guide this project through, but as time has gone on and for a variety of reasons some members have moved on. We are needing replacements who share our enthusiasm for this vision. Interested people can get in touch with us via the good folk at Fab Feathy.
Featherston Beautification Group
Pitched by Julia Reed
What’s your project?
Our group tries to have multiple projects on the go, currently the big one is to get our entrance ways back on the outskirts of town and complete our 3rd one. As we request funds from other areas and need to show we are also proactive in our own fund raising, which we do with our annual calendar and our community picking garden and sales Nursery. For our garden we are looking to fund a picnic table to enhance this area and make it a place people can sit and enjoy our Fridge library at No 2 Bell St .
How will this/does this benefit the Featherston Community?
The funds we raise go towards our beautifying Featherston main Streets and parks. Which we hope bring a smile and a pride to those passing through and who choose to live in Featherston.
How do people contact your group/how do they get involved?
The best way to contact us is email Featherston.b.g@gmail.com, we do have a fb page FBG Featherston beautification group
Youth Hub – Wairarapa Whanau Trust
Pitched by Tahlia Steedman, Naliyah Namana and Taizak Walker
What’s your project?
A Youth Hub on the main street of Featherston – based at Common Ground.
How will this/does this benefit the Featherston Community?
Young people have skills and gifts but often needs a platform for that wisdom to be heard. This will be a space down the main street where they can discover their talents and gifts, and where there’ll be regular workshops and activities.
How do people contact your group/how do they get involved?
Contact Tahlia Steedman at tahlia@wairarapawhanautrust.com
What to do in Featherston these school holidays!
Featherston is bursting with things to do during the school holidays, there’s no reason to be bored! Loads of places to go for a walk, for a picnic, to explore history or even learn a new skill! Pae Tū Mōkai is the place to be this April!
Explore the worlds only remaining Fell Engine and learn how different life was in Featherston when the Incline was in use 1878 – 1955. The Fell Locomotive Museum: open Saturday and Sunday
Explore the history of the Featherston POW Camp during the World Wars and have a look at the beautiful 1932 Fire Engine at the Featherston Heritage Museum: open Saturday and Sunday
Flex those creative muscles! At Fareham Creative Space you can bring your crafts along to the open studios Tuesday and Friday 10am – 3pm
Stretch out and relax at Kids Koha Yoga at the Featherston Community Centre! Every Saturday morning.
Grab some lunch or a sweet treat and enter the colouring competition at Everest Cafe
Get a bit fancy and have some delicious afternoon tea at the Dickensian Bookshop and Tearooms (Thursday – Sunday)
Picnic time! Take your pick from sushi from The Bento Box, chips from Quinwah or Town and Country, a sandwich from The Baker or a pie from Pioneer and walk to one of our lovely local spots to enjoy your lunch. Bubble Tea from Happy Thoughts would make a really special picnic! Our playground, Clifford Square, Dorset Square or Barr Brown Bush are great options (can you find the fairy houses in Barr Brown Bush?)
Get prepared for Booktown next month by visiting our lovely library who have lots of activites on during the school holidays! Our little town also boasts seven bookshops! A particularly good spot for the school holidays is the Chicken and Frog bookshop, full to bursting with beautiful childrens books.
Take your wheels down to our skatepark, great for both scooters and skateboards! If your child want to increase their skateboard skills , OnBoard Skate School are running school holiday programmes on the 18th April at AOG in Featherston. Pretty cool!
Get on your bike and head down to the Windy Wheels Community Bike Track at Featherston School. There’s even a skills track to help increase confidence!
Walk the Featherston Heritage Trail
Head down to the Moana and see how many different types of birds you can spot!
Climb up to the lookout at Lone Pine Hill/Featherston Domain – how far can you see?!
Visit the new Science Table at Donalds Creek and read all about our native freshwater critters
Feed and Fund Round 2: FAQs
We’re excited to announce that Feed and Fund is back for Round Two!
Wednesday 10th May, 6.30 – 8.30 pm at the Featherston Community Centre.
What is Feed and Fund?
It’s a community micro-funding event, where a $10 entry fee (gold coin for tamariki under 16) gets you your supper and a vote. Spend the evening listening to pitches, chatting with your community and voting for your favourite project. The winner takes home all the money in the kitty to help make their project a reality!
Why should you get your community group involved?
We’re seeking 4-6 community groups or projects to pitch at this event. The winner of the first event (Featherston Athletics) took away $451.10 to go towards their project, but all of the pitches were able to showcase their mahi to a group of 50+ local community members. Great publicity and a chance for some great conversations!
How do we get involved? (Community group)
If you would like your group to pitch at the event, please fill out this form. To give your project the highest chance of success, ensure that it is providing a genuine benefit to the Featherston Community and that you are excited about it!
See the document below for our top tips on creating a perfect pitch!
How do we get involved? (Community member)
Please come along to the event, and engage with our wonderful groups! Ask them questions, learn about the good mahi happening here in Featherston and meet others in your community. The soup is delicious, and so is the company!
Entry is $10 per person (under 16s are gold coin) and this entry fee gets you your supper and a vote. All entry fees go straight into the winners kitty.
Wednesday 10th May, 6.30 – 8.30 pm at the Featherston Community Centre.
Fab Feathy 2023
We’re thrilled to be able to announce that we have received funding for a ‘transitional’ year, so Fab Feathy will still be around in 2023! This is different than our current partnership with the DIA (which ends at the beginning of Feb 23), and will involve only one facilitator, and some slightly changed priorities.
We will be focusing on closing some of the big projects we have underway (such as an ongoing bicultural and bilingual project) and capturing learnings from our CLD experience that will benefit not only our community, but other CLD’s around the country. We will also be developing options to continue Fab Feathy beyond the transitional year (watch this space!).
We’ll be doing all this while continuing to support our community. On that – our practical support to the community will look a little different next year. With some lofty goals and less facilitators, we’ll be trying to do more with less. That might mean we’re a little less available than in the past, but rest assured, we’re still here and working for Featherston!
Our 2023 priorities:
- Closing Projects Well. This workstream is focused on wrapping up incomplete projects.
- Capturing Fab Feathy’s Mahi. This workstream is focused on documenting and sharing Fab Feathy’s experience during the partnership so that community-led development (CLD) can continue to flourish in Featherston, and other CLD’s can benefit from Fab Feathy’s experiences.
- Designing and Implementing the Future Fab Feathy. This workstream is focused on designing and implementing a model that enables Fab Feathy to continue beyond the transitional year.
- Continuing to Add Value to Featherston. This workstream is focused on continuing to deliver the value that is outlined in our value propositions (e.g., creating connections, reinforcing community) and supporting Featherston to achieve the aspirations captured in the 2017 Future Featherston Plan and 2022 Community Survey.
Windy Wheels Bike Track at Featherston School
A group of passionate locals have been working on community bike tracks, based on the Bikes In Schools model. This is on land gifted to the project by Featherston School – Te Kura o Pae Tū Mōkai.
This project fit in perfectly with the community led development principles, and so was a great project for Fab Feathy to support. We were able to source significant funding for this project via the DIA CLD fund, which has paid for the installation of two bike tracks and a container to store and work on bikes for the community. The group have also sourced funding elsewhere to keep this project sustainable.
The initial riding track was opened in March 2021, with the school reporting that the tamariki use the track regularly on the breaks.
The group have worked with the tamariki, visiting local bike tracks and working out what they think will work well for the Windy Wheels track. The tamariki presented their findings and ideas to the working group at the end of 2021.
The skills track was opened on 19th September 2022, with a series of ‘pedal for your parakuihi’ events, with all community members welcome to test out their skills.
Who participated/benefitted?
The working group for the Windy Wheels bike track is made up of local volunteers, who are passionate about our local tamariki having access to bikes and skills. A group of students from the kura helped the group to research other bike tracks in the area, and designed their own bike track.
The group have partnered with another local group, Ā Mua resource centre, to run bike repair workshops and drop in events. These regular events upskill our community in bike maintenance, and also fix up bikes that were heading for landfill – gifting them to our community.
The local Menzshed have also worked on this project, helping with the building of the obstacles for the skills track.
All members of the community have been welcomed onto the bike tracks, including the two other schools and local early childhood centres.
Two high-quality bike tracks have been created for our community, as well as a container workshop/storage area. The space is welcoming and friendly, with planting and benches available for those who need a rest after so much biking!
Working bees and opening events have provided opportunities for the community to reconnect and spend time with each other now that covid restrictions are a thing of the past.
Access to the bike library has meant all of our community are able to access bikes and increase their skills, and the regular workshops the group are holding means that bike repair skills are being passed around our whole town.
This group have overcome so many challenges over the period of this project, with many covid-related cancellations, shortage of supplies and contractors. What they have created is a fantastic amenity for our community, and with the cost of living increasing pressures on family transportation, more bikes in our community is hugely beneficial.
