Neighbourhood Fruit Picking Pole
Materials:
6mm Steel Rods
28mm D x 3m L Wooden Handle
Garden Tool Green Spray paint
Vinyl Sticker Letters
Black Foam
1 x Hose Clamp
1 x Zip tie
Neighbourhood map indicating several lemon trees that are not my own
Neighbourhoods are not designed to encourage communities. Neighbourhood Fruit Picking Pole is a project interested in neighbourhood boundaries (fences, gates, berms etc..) and why we so closely follow the rules laid out by them, when they prevent us from truly connecting with the people in our neighbourhood.
When neighbourhoods are being built around making boundaries, it is important that we have objects and structures (like shared libraries) that neighbours share so they have something they can connect through.
The artist, Jocelyn Glenn, has identified the lemon tree, a common neighbourhood landmark, as an opportunity to form connections and relationships with the people in our neighbourhood. The law states that fruit can only be gathered from your neighbour’s tree if it falls naturally from their property onto the public walkway. However, when a poll was conducted, the general consensus amongst people was that as long as the fruit was outside the property, it was okay to take regardless of whether or not the fruit was still on the branch.
The poll showed that many people don’t follow the rule and continue to forage from their neighbours’ plants despite it being Communal Law. It is a rule that is not strictly followed and is not strictly enforced. So why do we have it? Do we even need it?
In October 2023, Glenn distributed a Communal Fruit Picking Pole in her neighbourhood, Glen Innes. The Fruit Picking Pole is a device the community can use to pick fruit from their neighbour’s lemon trees when the fruit is just out of reach. It is a garden tool that belongs to everyone and comes with instructions on how to use it. It also comes with a map of the lemon trees in the area and encourages that any fruit that is picked should be shared with your neighbours.
Approaching and connecting with our neighbours can be difficult with the way our neighbourhoods have been designed, however with an object that is communal, it acts as an excuse for breaking the established boundaries of our neighbourhoods and meeting our neighbours.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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10.3% Yes! New Year, New Me
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20.3% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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69.3% Nah - not for me
🎉The Riddler wants to hear from you 🫵
🧩 Got a riddle that can stump your Neighbourly community? Share your brain teasers with us and watch your neighbours scratch their heads 😕🤔❓
Send us your tricky puzzles!
Witnesses sought in relation to mass disorder on K-Road Auckland
Police are appealing to the public for any footage they may have of the mass disorder that occurred on Karangahape Road in Auckland in the early hours of Sunday 28 December.
Emergency services were called to the disorder around 3.41am where it is estimated around over 50 people were present.
A Police investigation is underway after there were three serious assaults on and around Karangahape Road during the mass disorder.
A portal has been set up to allow the public to upload any footage they have of the disorder and the serious assaults.
The portal is https://dahr.nc3.govt.nz/
Police have arrested one person but are asking for help to identify and locate others involved.
• Around 4:15am there was a serious assault outside the Crown Bar on Queen Street.
A 33-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised.
The offender is still unknown, and the Police file number is 251228/4647.
• Around 4:30am there was another serious assault on a Cobden Steet just off Karangahape Road.
A 27-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised.
The offender is still unknown, and the Police file number is 251228/4462.
• Around 5am there was third serious assault at the Mobil Service Station on the corner or Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Road.
A 46-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He has been bailed to appear in court again on 16 January 2026.
The Police file number is 251228/4774.
Police would like to speak to anyone who has witnessed or filmed the assaults.
Witnesses can call Police directly on 105.
Please quote one of the above file numbers.
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