Email 28 February 2017
Hello Everyone.
After each working bee in the cemetery I send a brief report to Jeff Paris, Cemetery Manager. I'm now circulating the one covering January and February to all of you, so that those who are not able to participate in any or some of the events but are interested in the project can keep in touch with developments and progress.
Thanks to Gareth Watkins, one of our volunteers, we now have Lynn Freeman of RNZ National interested in the project. She is currently working on an item which will be played during her "Standing Room Only" programme later in March. I will let everyone know when she advises the date when it will "go to air".
Best regards
Barbara
1918 INFLUENZA PROJECT KARORI CEMETERY REPORT ON WORKING BEES
SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2017
Barbara Mulligan, Project Co-ordinator, 28 February 2017
Hello Everyone.
After each working bee in the cemetery I send a brief report to Jeff Paris, Cemetery Manager. I'm now circulating the one covering January and February to all of you, so that those who are not able to participate in any or some of the events but are interested in the project can keep in touch with developments and progress.
Thanks to Gareth Watkins, one of our volunteers, we now have Lynn Freeman of RNZ National interested in the project. She is currently working on an item which will be played during her "Standing Room Only" programme later in March. I will let everyone know when she advises the date when it will "go to air".
Best regards
Barbara
1918 INFLUENZA PROJECT KARORI CEMETERY REPORT ON WORKING BEES
SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2017
- 21 volunteers attended, and were registered on a list as they arrived and departed.
- Graves in Anglican 2 section were cleaned, and after two hours dedicated activity all those of interest had received attention. Graves of interest had been identified with a spray of blue “dazzle” on the ground in front of the plot, and this worked well as a means of ensuring the volunteers worked on the plots of those who died in the influenza epidemic.
- Removing leaf litter and accumulated deposits on the beds of graves, and cleaning headstones and plaques were the main focus of activities, finishing the work begun in December 2016.
- Equipment provided by WCC was satisfactory and well used.
- New arrangements for rubbish removal agreed with Cemetery management worked well. Woolsack/fadges were only partially filled and then dragged to a nearby bank, where the contents were tipped out, ensuring all paths nearby were left clear. Glass and other hazardous items were gathered into a safe storage area and have been appropriately disposed of.
- All volunteers were receptive to the safety briefing and provided their own good quality gardening gloves for protection. There were no safety or accident incidents during the working bee.
- 18 volunteers were present throughout the working bee. Amongst them were two new volunteers.
- “Dazzled” graves in the Catholic section were worked on.
- The mowing and clearing work done by cemetery staff in advance of the working bee was much appreciated.
- The safety briefing focussed on slip hazards on damp, steep grass covered slopes, and on a number of very broken ledgers. It was agreed no-one would work on the Oben plot, which has been propped by cemetery staff.
- The addition of a comprehensive first aid kit was appreciated, particularly by the volunteer who suffered a large blister on the palm of her hand which benefited from a plaster dressing.
- The working environment in the Catholic section is very different from the Anglican section and less rubbish was generated, most of which, as agreed, was spread out on the bank which staff had cleared.
- Volunteers tended to focus on cleaning headstones to make them readable though a few plots which were filled with earth and grass were thoroughly weeded.
- The range of tools required for the Catholic section was smaller, and spray bottles, scrapers, and small weeding tools were deployed, rather than rakes, shovels and secateurs. The larger tools will be used again when work starts in the Public section next summer.
- Lynn Freeman, journalist from RNZ National joined the volunteers after finishing her Sunday afternoon programme “Standing Room Only”. She intends to make a mini-documentary about the project which will go to air during March, and accordingly interviewed most of the volunteers on-site. She will advise the broadcast date in a couple of weeks and I will circulate the information. I noted when interviewed the project was supported by WCC.
- Arrangements had also been made to provide refreshments during the working bee. Hot water dispensers have been purchased and these were taken to the Karori Recreation Centre to be filled. The staff at the Rec Centre were most obliging. The volunteers were delighted to take a break and have the opportunity to chat amongst themselves.
Barbara Mulligan, Project Co-ordinator, 28 February 2017