Author: Aislinn Hill – May 23rd
Howdy gang! I saw Delaney gave a quirky little update about what she was doing while writing her post, so I thought I’d do the same. Currently, we’re all hanging around at our beautiful house on the Harts’ property, eagerly waiting to eat dinner, and I am witnessing an intense hacky sack sesh between Justin and Rosie. I’ve only been hit once, but I still slightly fear for my life. Just thought the world should know.
Our morning started with stoke levels at an all-time high, but we were also a little bit bummed out since we knew it was our last full day in gorgeous Whaingaroa. Personally, I started my day slightly struggling because, at some point during the night, I had twisted my sleeping bag around so much that I had become a human pretzel. Good news though, I freed myself from said pretzel with little to no sustained injuries.
Anyways, our first stop of the day was just a quick drive down the road from the marae at Xtreme Zero Waste. With some company from Maddy and Tiaki, we toured the site and learned how, about twenty years ago, a group of friends driven by shared concerns, acted to create solutions for issues in the community that their government officials were not addressing. At the time, rubbish from the residents of Raglan all ended up at one local landfill, where the only method for waste disposal was to bury it with no real consideration or countering efforts for its environmental impact. Over time, the leachate (essentially toxic waste) that formed from the town’s garbage had begun to leach into the soil and make its way out through erosion into the coastline waterways, devastating the local fisheries, as well as degrading the quality and safety of the beaches. This group of concerned citizens took notice to the negative impacts that the landfill was having on their community, and after bringing the issue to their local council’s attention and not being heard, they took matters into their own hands. After seeking out advice and support from Eva Rickard, a prominent figurehead and fierce activist in both the local Maori and general community, these friends got the community to band together and petition to have the landfill shut down. After succeeding in having the site shut down, they had to provide a new alternative for the town’s waste disposal system, so they created Xtreme Waste (which eventually became Xtreme Zero Waste).
What started off as an entirely volunteer-based program eventually blossomed into the thriving non-profit organization that we had the privilege of exploring and learning about. At Xtreme Zero. Waste, every form of rubbish has an avenue that gives it a new purpose. They had everything from basic recycling, to repurposing and reselling of old or broken belongings, to mass composting. One of the coolest projects they had going on was their collecting of “worm wee farms” (I love that they call it “wee” instead of “pee”), which is a specific setup of composting that feeds worms and captures their urine to sell back to the community for cheap. Apparently, it is a great source of nourishment, so locals can buy it and incorporate it into their gardens at home, which encourages local gardening and regenerative practices. Xtreme plays such an integral part in Raglan because it focuses on being an active and engaged part of the community, encouraging town residents to be conscious of the waste they’re producing and how they can implement lifestyles that more positively impact their immediate environment. Something that really stuck with me was that Karen, our tour guide, described Xtreme as an organization that was a “for-more-than-profit,” rather than a “non-profit,” because the value that it had was incredibly important for Raglan in a way that far exceeded monetary value.
After leaving Xtreme Zero Waste, we stopped by the marae for lunch and headed off again to Rick and Liz’s farm for our first introduction to the wild world of permaculture. The farm would be more accurately described as a micro-forest because it was lush and full of so much awesome plant life. Plus, I can’t forget to mention the kuni kuni pigs that were freakin’ adorable and literally acted like massive round dogs. I’ll say it, the belly-rubbing was out of control, no pig was safe from receiving mass amount of love and attention. As someone who’s studying environmental science, I was lowkey trying not to absolutely geek out, but we were all pretty fascinated by the concept of permaculture. It focuses on reconnecting with the natural system, instilling agricultural practices that become permanently engrained and intertwined with the already existing environment. We split up into three teams, with one group assigned to harvesting fruits from the food forest, another group helping shuck garlic, and a third group making what Liz referred to as “compost lasagna.” I got the opportunity to be a part of the composting group, which was truly an interesting experience to say the least. Fun fact, dead animals are great for compost! Liz was very enthusiastic about this since there are no native mammals to New Zealand, so all the invasive pests they catch actually can get put to good use. I could ramble on for a hot minute about all the cool shit (literally) that they do with composting, but I’ll leave that to be something that only my family has to be subjected to once I’m home.
As the sun began to set, we said our farewells and headed back home to enjoy our last dinner together at the marae. Some of us headed down to the beach to watch the sunset, which was just as breath-taking as it had been every night of our stay in Whaingaroa. We reflected on the incredible memories made and experiences shared during this second phase of the trip, and the night was concluded in the proper fashion of playing at least twenty intense rounds of Mafia. It was a bittersweet time because this phase of our trip had clearly been a time of personal growth and exploration for many of us, and, although we were eager to dive into the final part of our journey, we knew the people and the places we had built such strong ties here would be hard to say goodbye to.
P.S. Hey there family and maybe friends (don’t wanna overly assume), I’m super excited to come home and tell y’all about my experience here, love you all very much. Thanks for leaving comments on all the blog posts Mom, I’m actually not embarrassed by it!
P.P.S. Hi again Mom, just wanted you to know that I’ve made it through almost the entire trip without getting a tattoo, but no guarantees that I won’t be coming back with one. Please don’t disown me J
P.P.P.S. Someone tell my cat I say hi, I don’t think she keeps up with the blogs. Also, she can’t read.
