Palmerston North AGM
Key note speaker
Helen Lehndorf, author of A Forager’s Life, was our keynote speaker at the HFNZ AGM in November. Helen grew up in Taranaki and has always been interested in plants and herbs and writing. She was able to write this amazing memoir, peppered with recipes and ways to use herbs, because of her constant journaling over the years. Her talk began with a thought-provoking poem about activism using the images and feelings we experience when planting garlic, drawing us into the bleakness and hopelessness of winter and then helping us recognise our determination to persevere in our hopes for eventual harvests.
She read from her memoir about Dandelion which embodies the magic of resistance and tenacity. “…beauty of the commons, disruptor of monocultures. A symbol of resistance around the world, it’s able to grow in the smallest cracks in the concrete an
d thrive in the most challenging of settings…” Helen spent some years in the UK where she learned more about herbs and hedge-witches and herbal remedies. Helen talked to us about foraging and “inconvenience food” and the many ways to forage. It was a heady mix of poetry and down to earth experiences, lifting us out of our ordinary too-busy lives, and allowing us to soak in the sunshine of our herbs and their true meanings in our lives. Helen sold all the copies of the books that she brought along and gave away all the mixed herb tea packets that she had made for everyone.
Beth Lew
Social activies during the weekend
Outside of the actual interim-AGM/Conference on Saturday 9th Nov, those who were staying in Palmerston North had a great social weekend. We checked out a couple of local restaurants - “Kapadokya Mediteranean & Turkish Cuisine” on Friday night, and “Yeda” (Asian cuisine) on Saturday. As well as being able to enjoy delicious food, these were great opportunities to catch up with old friends and get to know others.
It was a busy day on Saturday with the main event at Caccia Birch House. It is great to see several new HFNZ members at these events as well as the regulars who try to come each year. We had a good turnout to hear the guest speaker, Helen Lehndorf, talk about Foraging. The caterer provided us with a delicious menu of herb-infused foods. Thank you to everyone who attended the AGM, and to the new members of Herb*larking who, while we held the AGM, had a workshop making sachets of scented bath salts to give to all attendees. Many of us also came home with a new plant or two from their plant table. (See photos in Events Photos section of News)
Caccia Birch House was the site used for meetings by the original Manawatu Herb Society. Today the remains of the herb garden, developed in 1992, is still there. It is great to see the new group, Herb*larking, ready to renovate these garden, keeping alive a link to the earlier group while adding their own touch. Our best wishes to this new group.
On Sunday morning several of us explored Victoria Esplanade, a 26-ha public park bordering the Manawatu River on the edge of town. The park comprises play areas, formal gardens, bush walks, a small wildlife recovery centre, etc. The rose garden was beautiful with all the roses in full bloom; a lovely place to wander and enjoy. All in all it was a wonderful weekend.
Shonagh Hopkirk