Category: Places

Spirit of the Valley

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The suburb of Whitby, where this journey largely takes place, strides across the lumpy hills overlooking Pauatahanui Inlet. This large estuarine wetland is home to many waterbirds, threatened fish species and plants. Whitby has grown like topsy since it was first established in the 1960s. It raced eastwards with the ever-increasing demand for housing, and now presses up against the freshly opened Transmission Gully motorway.  

Some years ago, Pataka Art + Museum held a thought-provoking exhibition about the creation of Porirua titled We Built This City. Early development plans for Whitby were similar to North American new towns, which aimed to relocate populations away from cities and group homes, industry, culture, recreation and shopping into planned communities. I seem to recall that the original aim of creating houses with open and fenceless front yards was to develop community spirit and relationships. These days most of the newer house builds have double garages, that open with remotes, and drivers seamlessly glide into the recesses of homes. It’s fair to say that Whitby, like many suburbs, orientates itself around car culture.

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Moments in Warmth

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I think I’m becoming obsessed with the temperature gauge as the weather flip flops between extremes. No sooner has a cold southerly snap arrived than it vanishes, followed by sudden and often intense heat. The other day it climbed to 17C in the shade and, for a time, the sun strike on our deck was 32C. Too hot to sit there! We heard on the radio that Japan had recorded its hottest June temperature ever – 40.2C. But the northern hemisphere is not even into its proper summer yet!

When the air temperature climbs I come across moments of frenzied insect activity on some of my walks. It seems to be the exotic plants they are dipping into such as flowering bottlebrush, dandelions, gorse, lavender, rosemary, buttercups, tree lucerne and nightshade, plus some natives including the odd manuka bush and hebes. What would they forage on in winter if it wasn’t for the introduced plants – some of them considered weeds.

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Queens and Storms

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The weather has turned. A low-pressure bomb travelled up from Antarctica and into the Tasman Sea, lashing thunder, rain, hail and tornadoes onto our coast.

Walking down to Pauatahanui Inlet, my nose and eyes stream in the wind, tips of fingers icy. I notice a white-faced heron, hunched in ruffled grey coat, observing the brown waters that race into the inlet from Whitby’s streams and drains-turned-torrents, flipping storm water lids. Seagulls turn steeply, their undersides flashing white under pink clouds. The sound of traffic as evening commuters head home to warmth, children and dinners. A driver yawns. Back up at Postgate Park a huge gum tree has crashed down, perhaps overnight. Its remains lie in butchered lumps and splinters, after someone has been in with a chainsaw. Old yellow toadstools lie in the grass nearby, rotting like sloughed skin. On the news I hear that hundreds of kororā/little blue penguins have washed ashore up North at Ninety Mile Beach. A DOC spokesperson believes they are starving to death as climate change is creating waters too hot for the fish they feed on.

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Welcome to Edge of Things

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Welcome to this experimental journey where I’m attempting to pay closer attention to everyday encounters with pollinator insects like bees, butterflies, and moths in the places we live. Insects are declining drastically across the planet, yet they are vital to all life. I’m curious about who survives in my neighbourhood, how we relate with them, or they with us. So, I’ve committed to a walking routine along various street verges, tracks, unused plots, and small parks in the Porirua suburb of Whitby, plus my own tiny backyard, to journal, photograph and video day-to-day moments with these more=than-human beings. I’m also seeking to connect with my neighbours, locals, and others to gather and share stories of encounters with the insects.

Why am I doing this?

I’m a journalist, communicator and artist and this blog is part of a research project with Victoria University of Wellington. Like so many others during our COVID lockdowns, I noticed that when the human buzz subsided, we had space to notice little things in backyards and on local walks. We heard uncommon trills, chimes, and warbles across valleys and city streets. Bees hummed around wildflowers popping up in less manicured and neglected verges. When humans retreated, it seemed there was an opening for other beings to re-flourish. I’m hoping to creatively explore these relationships further, particularly with insects who often go unnoticed. 

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