The first chapter

grow KAIKOHE

This document was prepared by:

Ruby Watson and Ana Heremaia of ĀKAU LtdMike Shaw Secretary of the Kaikohe Business AssociationChris Saunders the Commissioner of Northland College

This document was funded by the The Ministry of Prime Industries

01 Executive Summary

02 The Vision

03 Impact

04 Concept - The Taonga Trail 05 Projects

06 SupportersCONTENTS

00 CONTENTS

01 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Grow Kaikohe stemmed from a proposal to enhance employment prospects for the large number of unemployed young people in the Kaikohe area.

The working group of Grow Kaikohe was appointed at a community meeting called by the Ministry of Primary Industries, held at Northland College in March 2015. It includes the Commissioner of Northland College, ĀKAU and Secretary of the Kaikohe Business Association. The group brought together and facilitated three community workshops.

The steering group for Grow Kaikohe identified that many projects both in the past and present have been attempted to tackle youth employment. Despite many worthy attempts to alleviate this serious problem in Kaikohe the problem persists. The steering group acknowledged that a fresh, innovative approach was needed to address this issue if it were to have any success. For any employment initiative to flourish, the deeper issues of Kaikohe need to be addressed.

Kaikohe is a town which has been in a state of steady decline for many years. As some neighbouring towns such as Waipapa and Kerikeri have flourished, the opposite has been the case for Kaikohe which now suffers from a negative image both from an internal and external perspective.

grow KAIKOHEThe first chapter

Kaikohe needs to become a place where people want to live, a place that residents care about and where the social fabric is stong. By incoprporating good design, building on Kaikohe’s assets, small changes can lead to large transformations like youth opportunity and economic growth.

It was this thinking that led to the direction of Grow Kaikohe and a vision :

To reinvigorate the positive spirit and image of Kaikohe.

Through the 3 community workshops the group discussed and brainstormed aspects of this vision in a fun interactive collaborative way. It was decided that outcomes from these workshops needed to be:

- Positive- Tangible- Collaborative- Living

This Report has been assembled to capture ideas and thinking generated over the past 3 workshops as well as identifying five initial start-up projects.

grow KAIKOHE

02 THE VISION

Ruby Watson’s (ĀKAU Co-founder and Director) thesis, “The Exquisite Corpse” likens cities, or towns to “A collection of stories, souvenirs, cultures, people, an interactive museum. Our achievements, our dreams, our present, our past are all weaved into this ‘exquisite’ tapestry.”

Watson researched what it was that made someone “feel engaged and inspired in a space” and developed a set of guidelines, or patterns, that “are integral to creating a physically, mentally and emotionally engaging environment.”

These patterns, in summary, are as follows:

Scale - an understanding and acceptance of our bodies; anatomically, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and their surrounds on a micro to macro level. Parts of a whole being as relevant as the big picture.

History - awareness of history in the traditional sense, as well as cultural identity, personal history and how this is tied up into story; narrative, each of us with our own perspective. Our own projections onto and out of place and space.

Sensuality - importance on the real, a tactility of the senses, arousal from materiality and thesense’s role on the body’s (mind and matter) relationship to the surrounds.

To reinvigorate the positive spirit and image of Kaikohe

Surprise - Through embodied exploration, the flaneur, derive, the environment as a classroomfor discovery. Education through engagement.

Boundaries - Understanding of boundaries, the relationships between the interior/exterior,miniature/gigantic, contained/container.

Participatory - An active, community participation brings about a sense of belonging, ownership and connection to a space, a place. Physical engagement equals emotional engagement.

Kinetics - Movement and the monument. Acknowledgment of monument and moving on from it. The real and the represented. Celebration of vitality, movement through monument and souvenir.

Like The Exquisite Corpse, Grow Kaikohe aligns with Allan Jacobs thoughts that:

“cities [or towns] ought to be magnificent, beautiful places to live. They should be places where people can be fulfilled, where they can be what they can be, where there is freedom, love, ideas, excitement, quiet, and joy. Cities [or towns] ought to be the ultimate manifestation of a society’s collective achievements.” ”

we depend on our surroundings obliquely to embody the moods and ideas we respect and then to remind us of them.

- Alain de Botton

“

grow KAIKOHE

What does a positive community spirit and image look like in Kaikohe?

Safe place for children to grow up

Smiling Happy People

Opportunities to learn and grow

Sports and Recreation

Hope for the future

Public Communication, notice boards

Public Communication, notice boards

INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE

Space for people and Ideas

Nature - green spaces

Good Coffee

Warmth

Clean Spaces eg Toilets

Law & OrderPlace for Creative Outlet

Gigs / Performance

Out of towner’s visiting

Positive news articles and press

Exhibitions - art, culture, history Museums, galleries

Whanau near-by

Places to meet friends and whanau. Community events.

Healthy good food using local produce

Good schools

Good Public Transport system, connecting rural to ‘urban’ living

A place with heart, character and celebrating culture

Good service and manners

EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE

Work Opportunities

Good Housing Options

Public Art / Sculpture

Public Art / Sculpture

Welcoming & Safe

Natural Beauty

Good coffee, food and markets

Seasonal events

Gigs , entertainment and events- that is safe and inviting

Somewhere to relax

Ease of movement

Interesting, ‘edgy’

Community that cares and has pride for their town

Positive Vibe

Colourful

Visual Excellence

Clean

Good schools

Good schools

Attractive, unique shopping experience

Green space

People smiling and saying hello

grow KAIKOHEWORKSHOP 02

grow KAIKOHE

03 IMPACT

IMPROVED SPIRIT & IMAGE OF

KAIKOHE

FLOURISHING COMMUNITY

IMPROVED PHYSICAL SPACE & SOCIAL

OFFERINGS

TALENT ATTRACTION & RETENTION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & SMALL BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT

THE REGION IS A PLACE OF DESTINATION

UP-SKILLED WORKFORCE

INCREASED TOURISM,

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY

RESIDENTS FEEL SHARED COMMUNITY

PRIDE

MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN EDUCATION & BUSINESS

grow KAIKOHE

In small towns, community development is economic development.

Small towns with the most dramatic outcomes tend to be proactive and future-oriented; they embrace change and

assume risk.

Successful community economic development strategies are guided by a broadly held local vision.

Defining assets and opportunities broadly can yield innovative strategies that capitalize on a community’s

competitive advantage.

Innovative local governance, partnerships and organizations significantly enhance the capacity for

community economic development.

Effective communities identify, measure and celebrate short-term successes to sustain support for long-term

community economic development.

Viable community economic development involves the use of a comprehensive package of strategies and tools,

rather than a piecemeal approach.

Small towns, Big ideas, Case Studies in Small Town Community Economic Development

Social and economic impact of a positive image

WHAT DOES CHANGE LOOK LIKE?

”

It’s not rocket science, it’s quality

of life: If people love where they live, the more economically vital the place will

be. Aesthetics, social offerings,

and openness of a community are what residents care about

most.

Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community

“

04 CONCEPTA taonga trail that celebrates the past, present and future stories of Kaikohe. TAONGA COULD

BE:

PEOPLE! PLACES! STORIES! OBJECTS!

CULTURAL! HISTORICAL! INNOVATIVE!

QUIRKY! FUN!

SOCIAL!RESOURCES!

IDEAS!TECHNIQUES!

grow KAIKOHE

WHAT IS THE TAONGA TRAIL?

An umbrella concept that unifies local projects and initiates.

Add up to something more than the sum of its often simple parts.

Locates and celebrates the past, current and future taonga of Kaikohe.

Allows the maker and user to learn, experience, interact and be connected to the

stories of Kaikohe.

A physical trail but also connects to the rest of the world via a digital realm.

Supports the growth of enterprise and education to ensure the sustainability of a

flourishing Kaikohe.

The youth the future leaders are integral in the design and operation of the trail.

STEP 01Identify local taonga.

STEP 02Strategies for connecting the

trail.

STEP 03Define Projects that fall within

the taonga trail.

grow KAIKOHEWORKSHOP 03

THE TAONGA TRAILIdentifying Taonga

Helping Exploration and Discovery- Students telling the story of local taonga- Treasure Map- Digital App

Markers of the trail- Pou Project- Traditional and Contemporary

Connection to the Twin coast Cycle trail.

Signage- Wayfinding- Bilingual- Shopfronts

Branding

Connecting with the rest of NZ and the world?

Utilizing technology Barcode system

I-site

grow KAIKOHEWORKSHOP 02

THE TAONGA TRAILConnecting Taonga

grow KAIKOHE

Connecting with retail, accommodation, food stops and public WC’s

START FINISH

RECREATIONALCYCLIST

LOCAL YOUTH PERSON IN TOWN FOR BUSINESS

OUT OF TOWN TOURIST

FAMILY OUTING

WHERE DO THEY START?

HOW LONG IS THEIR EXPERIENCE?

HOW DO THEY FIND OUT ABOUT THE

TRAIL?

WERE THEY ENTERTAINED/

DID THEY LEARN / SURPRISED?

WHAT WILL THEY TELL OTHERS ABOUT

THE EXPERIENCE?

WHAT ORDER DO THEY EXPERIENCE

TAONGA?

HOW MANY TAONGA DO THEY

EXPERIENCE?

THE TAONGA TRAILThe Experience

grow KAIKOHE

WHO USES THE TRAIL?How do we communicate and engage with different

users?

How do they interact with the trail?

grow KAIKOHEWORKSHOP 03

grow KAIKOHEWORKSHOP 03

THE TAONGA TRAILThe Experience

05 PROJECTS

College rebuildCommunity Skate Park Upgrade

Cycle trailFNDC LTP Hone Heke Garden Upgrade

FNDC LTP Kowhai Park DevelopmentFNDC LTP Memorial Park New Toilet

FNDC Ltp Memorial Park StageFNDC LTP Monument Hill New ToiletFNDC LTP Skate Park Improvements

FNDC Parks and Reserves (some latitude for community input)Food Hub

Footpath extention upgrade.Kaikohe Community and Youth CentreKaikohe Community Development Plan

Kaikohe Project PrideKaikohe Youth Action Plan

KBA Action PlanLibrary/Town Hall Redevelopment

Mangakahia and Te Pua Roads to become State HighwaysNgawha Springs Redevelopment

Runanga Plans for Main Street DevelopmentSignage de-clutter

SportsvilleStage 3 of the Ngawha Geothermal Plant

Swimming PoolTai Tokerau Econnomic Growth Strategy

Te Waka Tūruhi o Pēwhairangi Strategic PlanTwin Coast Discovery

01 PLACE BRANDING

Creation of a strong place brand that distills and articulates the unique positioning and characteristics of Kaikohe.

What is the story Kaikohe wants to tell?

How do we communicate and engage with different audiences - business, industry, resident, destination marketing?

02 MASTERPLAN

A masterplan that identifies and connects the key elements of the taonga trail and how it connects to the bike trail.

Key is working with the council to establish pedestrian and cyclist circulation patterns and develop more effective relationships between the surrounding retail and the activities going on in the public spaces.

03 KAIKOHE HOTEL SITE

69 Broadway, Kaikohe is the location of the former old Kaikohe Hotel, but is now an abandoned site right at the entrance of Kaikohe.

We propose a series of community design workshops and developed design of the site to design and develop a vibrant space at that welcomes locals and tourists alike to Kaikohe.

START UPPROJECTS

This design process will encourage development of social enterprise in Kaikohe, build on the regions rich agricultural, cultural and historical assets. Through collaboration with Kaikohe Cooperative Limited this will link to the Council’s Thrive Northland and Kai Ora initiatives. Chapter 02 will generate a proud and uplifting space that can be used to promote events, markets and enterprise in Kaikohe.

04 LIBRARY LANE & SQUARE

The open space adjacent to the library has been identified as a location with potential due to its proximity to the library, community drop-in space and as a naturally occurring gathering space.

05 SIGNAGE

Development of ideas detailed in ‘Signage Guidelines, June 2015’ by Town Centre Development Group.

NotesIt is important for the community to be updated and be able to provide feedback and thoughts on the process. Create an info board in an accessible location.

Support planning document Kaikohe Community Development Plan 2011

OTHERPROJECTS

grow KAIKOHE

Engaging Alumni to inspire youth

Cycle LanesLocal produce

Food Trail & Wine trail

Inspiring stories of historical figures

Youth designed and constructed

Communal Dinners

Twin Coast Discovery

Ngawha: Retreats Workshops maori healing mirumiru

Community Planting / Orchard

School, agriculture

General Clean up

Local businesses to provide projects and internships for educational

PHYSICAL SPACE & APPEARANCEFeijoa’s and

Citrus OverloadUtilizing empty buildings

Painting of houses and shop fronts

Coffee Plantation?

Public BBQ

Veggie Boxes eg Oooby

Preserve Kaikohe - Industrial Kitchen - Export - Golden Brand- Marmalade

THE LAND

Working bees on rental properties

PEOPLE & SKILLS

Skill mentoring and swapping between generations

Man shed Building and Beers

Mixed generation community space

Reinvigorating Existing spaces and facilitieseg Old Dairy Building Schools and Churches

Network of people, resources and skills. Physical and identity

TED X

Utilizing fertile land

Bi-lingual Signs

COMMUNITY

Generational get togethers

Eat Local. Manufacture local.

21st Century Pa

Providing better accommodation options

Interactive WC’s!

ENTERPRISE

Enterprise HUB - The Orchard?

PROJECTSKaikohe Idea ’s Factory

grow KAIKOHE

grow KAIKOHEWORKSHOP 02

06 SUPPORTERSPartners are critical to the

future success of this project

grow KAIKOHE