CHCH Rebuild

Christchurch has had a battering over the last 10 months with three major earthquakes since 4 September 2010 and about 8000 smaller ones. The city centre is still closed and so far 360 buildings demolished. Some reports suggest up to 1000 will be demolished. Nearly 5000 homes are on soil they may not be able to be rebuild on.

Yet all around town there is a great deal of optimism as people go about making living, starting new businesses, relocating businesses and doing things differently. Unfortunately some people have suffered a great deal more than others. The Earthquake Commission and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and the Christchurch City Council have all had their criticism.

What will our new city look like? We don’t know but let us hope that planners, landowners, developers and everyone else listens to the people and the experts.

No city can survive and grow rapidly without people talking and networking and finally working together.

Competition is not really between two similar businesses located in the city but rather how those two can develop offerings to the public which are different yet complimentary so they can both grow in the market place.

One great example I have just heard of is a group of small businesses in one location that have got together to plan new buildings, shops, car parking and public spaces which will make this area an attractive destination. All working together to get people to come to this place feel like they are welcome and proud to call it their place.

The benefits of this are repeat visits, referral to others, increased length of time spent there and more economic activity.

In developing the city, not just the buildings and public spaces we have the chance to change the way we do business and an opportunity to use technology, great working conditions, innovation, creativity, knowledge, technical expertise, Kiwi know how and everything else to make us highly competitive on the global stage.

People will visit us from all over the world to see how it is done, stay with us a tourists, buy our products, pay for our expertise and tell everyone else what a great bunch of people to do business with.

We can make a fortune if we play this right.

Garden Centres as Destinations

Recently I visited two garden centres in Christchurch to purchase some plants for the garden and one for a gift.

It was disappointing to see that there were few people there. It got me thinking. Both of these could have been a lot better if instead of being a nursery they should be destinations.

Imagine if there were fantastic displays of plants for sale or even displays of plants not for sale. A few ideas include

Home garden that changes regularly

Seasonal displays of colour similar to public gardens

Native plant garden in conservation week

Rare plants

The patio garden

The Vegetable garden

Seasonal displays for Mothers day, Christmas etc.

Art in the garden

Australian plants

Chinese plants

There are many ideas for display.

At this time of year roses seem to be the thing but they are all pruned and deciduous so are quite boring and unattractive. Fruit trees are another and I am sure a better display with information packs and sample fruit might do a better job.

It would be wonderful if a garden centre turned itself into a destination rather than trying to compete with big box retailing.

The Green Thing (you've gotta read it)

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation didn't care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  So they really were
recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an lift in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind.  We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady was right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.  We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their
moms into a 24-hour taxi service.

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.  And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then.


Please forward this on to another selfish older person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass younger person.