Aotearoa Retreat Centre Project
News and Updates
Kath Flight, a Ren Xue teacher, gardener and member of the Farm working group, came to the Ren Xue farm recently with a mission: to get the garden of the old farmhouse back to a state of harmony. She lovingly called it ‘The Great Reveal”. She put up her tent on the verandah (there were a few deluges of rain,high winds and the old building is currently too damp to provide a healthy living space) and immersed herself in the Qifield of the place - including the weeds. The birds gave her a very special welcome with the dawn chorus.. To listen, click the video below. And here are 2 of the birds we hear - the tui and the bellbird. When she first arrived, Kath found overgrown bamboo, banana passionfruit vines taking over the vegetation, self seeded plum trees which had passed their prime and obscured the beautiful views to the estuary and river below. Here are some steps along the journey....and some of our volunteers - Wayne, Simon, Nathan and Chris. Kath shares some of her video diaries...
Some of the team take a well deserved rest at the Mussell Inn! Kath, Chris, Wayne and Renee The History of the old farmhouse The old farmhouse is a building which is particularly special for a few reasons: the situation it is in, overlooking the estuary and bordered by the Onekaka river makes it a peaceful and beautiful place to be. It was a home for many years for the farming family who lived and worked there - the Bennet family. It was built in the early 1900’s and has served as a general store, a library and a post office so it already has a Qifield for communications and a hub for gathering community. With this in mind, a group has been formed to work on what this building might be used for on the Ren Xue farm. Ideas so far have been - a healing centre, a visitors accommodation, a practice space, a community gathering space. Many people, including local community members, have already formed quite a love for this building and have been involved in projects such as fixing up the leaky roof (link to blog post here) If you are keen to know more, or you have skills to get involved with a project like this, we would love to hear from you - please contact Ollie Clifton our Project Coordinator.
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It was a great step forward for the farm to start our water quality monitoring initiative last week. Find out what critters Steve and Grace found and meet local waterways expert and Onekaka local resident Claire Webster. Claire (CJ) Webster has been supporting Steve and Grace to establish the what, how, when, and where to monitor on the farm. We are now monitoring the state of 3 streams ( Tukurua, Kaituna, and Little Kaituna) across the farm. Things monitored include: temperature, water clarity, dissolved oxygen, pH, stream flow, and what is living there. Claire is Education and Partnerships Officer from the Tasman District Council, she is involved in stream monitoring and community education on environmental issues in Golden Bay. We are so lucky to have people like her! CJ says "The Tukurua and Kaituna streams are in pretty good health with just a few places where each would benefit with changes – mostly around stopping run off from paddocks during rain events. The little Kaituna has lots of potential to improve. Part of what is wonderful about your farm is you can provide excellent habitat for all 3 areas needed for the life cycle of some of the native fish – access to healthy upland streams, a spawning area at the interface of fresh and salt water and healthy marshland/estuary for juveniles to grow in. At 6 months old they then head inland (this is when some folk go whitebaiting) to find the right habitat for their species to grow up in. Each species needs different habitats – for example Kōaro are the mountain climbing fish going far inland while Giant Kōkopu need deep calm pools. New Zealand freshwater fish: native animal conservation (doc.govt.nz)
New arrivals on the farm - meet the new steers! We welcomed some new arrivals last week from nearby Bainham. We found out that some of them had actually been born on the farm! But what is a steer anyway?? Watch these videos as Steve explains.
Cow Mastitis therapy with Marie-Laure When the vet visited, this mama cow was not given a good prognosis. She has had great care - antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, homeopathics, herbal ointment, Qi therapy and scenar therapy administered by Marie-Laure. This was the first time she had worked with a cow! Amazing work from the farm team. She is doing pretty well now.
A fine example of selfless giving from this mama cow! The unexpected pregnancies on the farm over the last couple of months have kept Steve and Jackie busy! The calves have been frisking away, enjoy a good back scratch and some new farm hands have had some training in moving cattle... And just for the sake of it ... a beautiful picture of cows and view! An inspiring story about local native plant grower, Meret Weiss and how she worked with local children to grow their own seedlings and plant a riparian strip on the farm. A year and a half ago, Meret Weiss, founder of native tree nursery OkGrow , invited children from Collingwood Area School, where her own three children are pupils, to plant some seeds. Just a few weeks ago, those same children came to plant a riparian strip along the Onekaka river, which flows through part of the farm, with the 18 month old seedlings - a mixture of native grasses, flaxes, shrubs and trees. The children grabbed spades and got stuck in with digging holes (the ground was pretty rocky so this was sometimes a big challenge!) and then they labelled their trees so they can come back and find them in future. With a few willing parents, we managed to plant 130 seedlings before we had morning tea and then finished with a few games of ‘name the native tree tag’ on the paddocks. The Onekaka river is special for many reasons. It is home to some of the highest densities and diversities of local fish in New Zealand and the health of the estuary it flows into depends on the health of it’s waters. One of the ways in which we can protect waterways on farms is through riparian planting. We are so thrilled to have Meret as a neighbour - she has been a great support and source of knowledge on local soils and what grows well where. With her learning from her many years as a passionate grower, and a background in horticulture and nursery production, she holds a wealth of local knowledge and experience. It’s also quite contagious to feel her passion and joy when she talks of seeing water ways transformed following wetland planting, and witnessing the return to health of ecosystems. By growing the plants which will help restore our streams and waterways, Meret makes an amazing contribution for us today and for future generations. She also holds an awareness and respect for local māori tikanga around plants. You can probably see why we see her as a treasure, and we really value her involvement in the farm project. Huge thanks goes out to Meret, the teachers and pupils at Collingwood Area school, and the parents who came along that day. On Sunday 2nd October the Ren Xue farm hosted it's first Global Awakening Day gathering - to send out our heart felt intentions for awakening to the world. The farmhouse provided warmth and shelter from the cold wind for a beautiful practice. It really feels like a Ren Xue family home now! We warmed the mauri stone gifted to us at the farm blessing in June and spoke our intentions into it. We closed with a waiata (song) to honour the mihi from Jackie. The waiata (Te Aroha) shown in the video below speaks of peace, faith and love for all so it was a natural and joyful part of our practice. After some shared kai (food) the sun came out and some of us went up to the high point for a practice while others went to deal with the milking! A wonderful time and a beautiful Qifield. Huge gratitude to everyone for being a part of this wonderful day. Last week a team of Ren Xue teachers rolled their sleeves up & got some much needed roof painting completed on the old farmhouse in Onekaka. The farm house has quite the history - previously a family home for most of its life, as well as being a post office starting back in 1912. The bustling little village of Onekaka had an iron works in those days, and used to export iron down the wharf back to the UK. After being a post office for the schooners coming in and out at the wharf, and for the locals to get their precious mail, it became a library and all through also remained a home for local people. So, we hope to continue it's purpose as a place of learning and sharing knowledge and family as a Ren Xue Community House. The location is utterly beautiful - heres the view down the estuary across the lower farm, taken from the rooftop. A special thankyou to John Shepherd, Derek Hamblett, Ariel Linklater, Marie-Laure Darricarrere & Ollie Clifton for helping out on what proved to be a sunny, warm, & fun-filled week. Great team work from all involved! A thankyou to Jackie Blunt as well for hosting John & Ollie during the week, on top of everything else she is doing to manage the Ren Xue farm in Steve's absence at the moment - top effort all round.
Here's the crew at Ren Xue Farm wishing you all the most loving warm hearts this Full Moon of unconditional love. The moonrise is from our first June full moon here on the farm and tonight it looks just the same, rising like a bright silver circle of pure universe and love out of the sea. You'll see all the animals full of curiosity and enjoying each other while happily and unconditionally being themselves... on guard, resting up between duties, paddling back from the stream (where mother duck has become a pair of gumboots for lost ducklings), and most importantly herding ducks! We think that herding patterns and clearing conditions we've put on the 5 xin takes the same keen eyed interest and steady work that Taz is giving the ducklings to get them safely home! Welcome to Ren Xue Farm and the start of our seasonal new year in winter! Here in New Zealand we have just last month celebrated Matariki, the rising of the Pleaides on the early morning horizon which marks Māori New Year for many. It's an historic Matariki as for the first time we have a national holiday for the whole of New Zealand, and that feels like a wonderful and inclusive way to start the life of this global Ren Xue home here on the farm where we as a community are kaitiaki/ guardians of and with the land and its creatures large and small. Steve and I are frequently to be found out on the electric "Tuatara" with Taz and Ash our faithful hounds, checking out the state of the farm, the rivers, the mud (and the cows!). First stories from the farmOver the past few weeks, Steve, Jackie and their family have moved out of their house in Greenpark, Christchurch where they have been living for more than 10 years. They have been settling in to life in Onekaka, and getting to know the Ren Xue farm - the weather, the animals, the soil. Here is a little taster of their experiences...we look forward to finding out more as they make their discoveries and the farm shares with us it's teaching and potential. Huge gratitude to their whole family for the skills they bring and the care they are taking for the land. These are lucky, happy cows.
June Celebrations on the farmIt was a heart-warming time celebrating the land and the new beginning for the Ren Xue retreat centre project. We experienced all kinds of weather - storms, sunshine and rainbows! We took the time to look back and honour what has gone before, everything we have in this moment and to set our intentions for the future. We gave thanks for the privilege to be the kaitiaki of this beautiful land and by planting trees, we showed our hope for a bright future. A simple wish for living in harmony - with ourselves, with others and with nature. Together, we helped to create a beautiful foundation and Qifield for the project going forward. It wouldn't have been the same without each of you playing your part so, from our hearts, we thank you for being there and supporting us. With gratitude and our best wishes, The retreat centre project team |
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March 2024
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The Aotearoa Retreat Centre Project sits under the umbrella of Ren Xue Australasia, & has links throughout the global Ren Xue community. If you would like to be involved, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you :-)
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