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1721 days ago

$900,000 worth of lights destined for Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

Trees in Christchurch's Botanic Gardens will be lit up year-round by the end of next month.

The Christchurch City Council is spending $900,000 on 119 lights to be placed in the Armstrong Lawn area adjacent to Rolleston Ave.

Some members of the public were concerned about the light pollution and the effect the lights would have on the ecosystem.

Council head of parks Andrew Rutledge said the lights had almost no UV spectrum, which reduced or eliminated insects' attraction to the light. The lights could also be dimmed and would not be on all night.

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More messages from your neighbours
21 minutes ago

Kalle

The Team from Humans of Christchurch Ōtautahi

"Sports and travelling run in the family, and that's kind of what's led me to come to New Zealand."

"I grew up in a small town in Finland. My dad was involved with sports all his life, he was a shot putter, discus thrower, powerlifter, we traveled quite a bit when I was a kid. He never mentioned much of the rugby days. He just said he broke both of his shin bones playing rugby, so he said, ‘never play the sport, It's crazy.’

I started playing when I was 18. I played my first cap for the Finnish national team in 2014, we won the Finnish championship with my club. Rugby is not a big thing in Finland.

I moved here to play rugby in 2017. The club that wanted me to come over was Methven Rugby Club. They got me here and they were like, ‘what do you do for work? I’d just finished chef school in Finland. ‘We'll get you a job at Mount Hutt as a chef, you can do that while you play rugby with us.’ I said, ‘Perfect. Yeah, I'm in’.

I've always loved food. My mum was an amazing cook, and still is. When I was studying tourism I worked in some hotels in Finland, and I saw how the chef's worked. I just loved the kitchen vibe and I was like, Yeah, that’d be something I'd love to do.

I've had more of a culinary journey In New Zealand than in Finland. I started at Mount Hutt, after that I worked at The Dubliner in Methven. I worked as a senior pizza chef at Sal’s for maybe six months then worked as chef de partie at Cellar Door. At Eliza's Manor, I worked myself up to a junior sous chef. Then the opportunity came to work my first head chef job at Moon Under Water.

We're privileged to have a busy atmosphere, we can try new things and get a bit creative. There are no TV’s, just come here with your family or with your mates, play board games, to socialise.

I really want to drive the local food and ingredients through the menu. We don't mind spending more for quality ingredients as long as it's supporting New Zealand businesses. We just love to use local. And it's pub food, but I feel like it's elevated.

I play club rugby here for the Christchurch Football Club, the oldest club in New Zealand and I still play regularly for the Finnish national team, whenever they can fly me over to play."

- Kalle

View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......

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1 day ago

Poll: How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

For most of us, seeing a friendly doggo while out and about instantly brings a smile to our faces. But how do you feel about cafes welcoming pups inside?

Cast a vote and share your thoughts below.

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How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?
  • 27.5% I love it!
    27.5% Complete
  • 32.4% Only in designated areas
    32.4% Complete
  • 40.1% No, it should be outdoors only.
    40.1% Complete
1437 votes
G
2 days ago

Free final clearance of brand new clothing, kitchen items etc

Gwenda from Rolleston

Everything must go. 1:30pm-2:30pm at 293 Waterholes Road, Rolleston. Help yourself. We can't keep it all. Still hundreds of items available. All new and all free!