Far North news in brief: Daylight saving ends; tsunami siren tests; and wellbeing fest

Clocks will need to be put back an hour from 3am on Sunday as daylight saving ends.

Daylight saving ends

The clocks will go back an hour on Sunday morning as daylight saving ends.

The clocks go back from 3am to 2am on Sunday, which means an extra hour in bed. Daylight saving will begin again on September 29.

Sunday is also when Northland’s six-monthly tsunami siren test will take place. The network of 200-plus outdoor tsunami sirens in coastal communities, from Te Hapua in the north to Mangawhai in the south and Ruawai in the west, is checked twice a year — at the start and finish of daylight saving. The sirens sound twice — at 10am for 10 minutes and again at 10.30am for 30 seconds — and will be monitored for any faults. Indoor sirens will also be tested at the same time.

Wellbeing festival

Te Hiku Hauora will be hosting the Muriwhenua Wellbeing Festival on Saturday at Te Ahu Centre, Kaitāia.

The aim of the festival, which runs from 10am to 1pm, is to bring together services, supports and resources that are focused on wellbeing for people in the Far North. There will be a range of kaupapa occurring on the day and, with daylight savings ending on the weekend, it is a good way to check out local options and strategies to take care of ourselves and whānau as we head into the colder months.

3 Angels visit

The funders of a charity that aims to stop human trafficking will be in Kaitāia next week.

Dr Rajendra Gautam and his wife, Sarah, who founded the organisation over 15 years ago, will visit the town to publicise the work of 3 Angels Nepal.

It is estimated 54 young women and girls are trafficked out of Nepal and into India every day to enter a life of slavery. That’s over 20,000 every year. Many are drugged and abducted from their villages on the promise of a good job, schooling, or marriage. 3 Angels Nepal operates booths on the long border with India and is able to rescue many of these girls.

They will talk about their work at a public event, hosted by the Kaitāia Seventh-day Adventist Church, 14 Bonnett Rd, on April 10, from 5.30pm.

Mindful awareness workshop

A two-day trauma-informed mindful awareness workshop is being held in Kaitāia this month.

The workshop will look at mindfulness, polyvagal, internal family systems and other informed approaches for greater clarity, creativity and connectedness.

People will learn how to harness inherent capacities for a better world, and better understand trauma and its effects on mind, body, community and more.

The workshop is on April 19-20 from 9am to 5pm at Ngāwha Innovation & Enterprise Park, Kaikohe.

To register, email Debra at debrafraser@xtra.co.nz or phone 0272830059.

Seed gathering and cooking

A community group set up to revitalise neglected green spaces around Kaitāia is having a sort hikoi to collect seeds for planting and pick leaves for flavouring preserves on Friday.

Tuituia te Kahunuku, a group seeking to rediscover and revitalise neglected green spaces around the town, will meet at the front of Te Ahu from 8.45am on Friday.

The group will then move into the Te Ahu kitchen to make things from what they have collected and brought from home gardens.

People should take their excess fruit and veges, a big pot for cooking as well as knives and chopping board. They will make food such as pickles, chutney, and relishes.