Happyzine 2015 = exciting times ahead

Despite the first rain in ages, Grey Lynn festival this weekend was an awesome success. Thousands of people packed Grey Lynn Park to chillax for the day, the drizzle not dampening festive spirits. Kiwi music entertained the easy crowd, and lots of stalls and rides kept those who were wanting to get up out of their grassy perches and venture further than their picnic sets, adequately satisfied.

It was also a reminder of how an urban community in the middle of a massive city can still be sustainable. Grey Lynn works really hard to keep pushing eco-friendly practices. As well as being community-minded and running work shops based out of their community centre, the suburb really supports local initiatives.

Locals have community gardens, food co-ops, shared work spaces and also are strongly involved in the ooooby movement – out of our own back yard. In case you aren’t familiar with the concept, ooooby works to promote vege gardens and people growing and trading their own produce – something which can be very successful and important to living a balanced life in the city, visit www.ooooby.org to find out more.

Another neat project is the tumeke cycle space – which is actively trying to change how people think about biking in the city – which can seem rather daunting at times. The group is trying to make biking, and learning the skills to safely use bikes in urban environments, accessible to all people. This is something which is really important, especially given the media climate at the moment which while highlighting the real dangers of biking, also serves to suggest that perhaps getting out and peddling could not be such a good thing. It is fantastic to see grass roots projects working to counter this perception, visit http://www.tumekecyclespace.org.nz/ to find out more.

The suburb also has a very well run transition town movement, and often holds get togethers in relation to this -check out their website if you are interested in knowing more about whats going on in the area www.greylynn2030.co.nz

Again, another week in Auckland is another reminder that this big, crazy, scary, sometimes overwhelming city has so many sweet things happening. One of the cool things about living in such a sprawl, is that each little corner always has something good going on – its just a matter of finding it, and Grey Lynn is a perfect example of this.

Tags: green design, Tamaki Makau Rau