Because the NRG Youth were meeting at the Birkdale Intermediate School Hall, and they had been incredibly helpful in accommodating us, they were the first place to look when  considering what kind of community project they could take on. Ps Ian and Byron met with the principal, who rather amusedly took them for a walk around the school and showed them a few small jobs that needed doing (repairing old seating, etc). As they walked past the large, muddy courtyard area he casually mentioned that he had landscape plans sitting on his desk, in fact they had been there for 6 years, because they had never had the funds to tackle it. This is just what Ian and Byron were looking for. 

 

So, Saturday 20^th January was set for the D-day, hoping to have everything organised with precision, so the makeover could happen in one day. It was a HUGE task, with the guys setting to before Christmas, pouring over the plans and listing with precision everything that was required to accomplish it, then beginning to approach businesses for materials and sponsorship before everyone went on their holiday break. Every Sunday morning after church, found all the guys sitting around the table with plans and lists being drawn up, and scratching their heads. But one of the cultural values at NSCC is “whatever it takes” so they rolled up their sleeves and persevered through all the obstacles, rejections, disappointments and let downs, at times wondering if they had bitten off more than they could chew. Even all through his holiday break in January (while everyone else was relaxing) Ps Ian was still making phone calls and lining up materials and business sponsorship.

 

Quite a bit of preparation had been done on the Friday with a bobcat operator scooping out all the old gobey blocks and digging out the required areas, truckloads of them being carted away to create a dam on someone’s property, the old seating was dismantled, the levels were shot, the concrete areas marked out and the boxing in place. Truckloads of nutrasoil and mulch had been brought in, as well as timber and other materials all for the big day on the Saturday.

 

7 am on the Big Day, the first troops started arriving with shovels, rakes and tools. At the same time the concrete trucks were arriving, one after the other and the wheelbarrow loads of concrete just kept coming, people running to keep up. To cut a long story short, there was a lot of sweat and hard work, but also fun. The place was teaming with people, all working on their assigned areas. Well done to the project managers who kept everything progressing accurately with so many workers….everything from compacting, digging postholes, sawing, posthole boring, concrete smashing, laying the concrete, screeding, washing down, concrete cutting, wheelbarrowing, moving topsoil, mulch and clay, demolishing, building seating, planting, gardening, building the pergola…the tasks were many and varied. Then came the team of food preparers, cooking sausages and providing refreshments and food to refuel the troops on such a hot day. A massive day enjoyed by all, although many blisters and sun kissed bodies at the end of it. A few more Saturdays saw the pergola completed to specifications and all the plants in the ground, to finish the job (see before and after photos).

 

Many thanks to the sponsors: Atlas Concrete, Lidgard Building Supplies, Palmers Garden Centre, Mitre 10 Mega Garden Centre, John T Builders Ltd, Jim Ferguson ‘Concrete Construction’, Leonard Haupapa ‘Concrete Construction’, AOK All Outdoor Kare, Betta Bobcats, Bark N Firewood Bin, Central Landscape Supplies, Neville Bros General Carriers, Jan Woodhouse (Landscaper & Ellerslie Flower Show Judge), Harcourts Birkdale, Ramset NZ, A1 Carpet Valet, Just Diesels Ltd, Coffee Club Glenfield (who supplied  coffee, coffee mugs and bodums to bless the staff room) and Briscoes (who donated a coffee machine for the staffroom). Plus all the North Shore City Church folks who willing gave of their time, energy and finance. All up around $30,000, not counting all the manpower hours and the tradesmen from within our church. They did far more than was on the plans, did it with excellence, and enjoyed the special bonding times of working side by side, shoulder to shoulder and all the hi-jinks that went with that.

 

The Headmaster, Richard Coote, plus the staff and teachers of Birkdale Intermediate School were just so appreciative. Richard himself, said he still wanders out there (its directly outside the staffroom) and has to pinch himself….can’t believe how it just appeared…one day it wasn’t and the next it was! Has never witnessed anything like it ever before. We honoured the Principal at a special church service in April (one of the unsung heros in our community), where he also expressed his incredible gratitude and showed a video presentation from the children.

 

Once it was an uninviting, muddy area under large shade trees…. it is now a lovely, attractive community area, especially designed for the kids to chat and enjoy great social times together. The plan is that in time the jasmine will be climbing the pergola and the white ground cover roses will spread over the barked area under the trees, giving off their scent and making it an even more inviting communal area.