A stroll in the park

Join us for a stroll in the park, as we shine a spotlight on the people, their work and their experiences here at the park.  Today, we're thrilled to have Julie Thompson, from Reconnecting Northland, share her insights and experiences with us.

Great to be chatting with you Julie, what can you tell us about Reconnecting Northland and your role?

Reconnecting Northland is a not-for-profit organization, it has been around for over 12 years and we work to connect up organisations and communities, to support them in the rejuvenation of waterways and whenua.

My background is in education, adult education and training and I came on board with Reconnecting Northland in 2020. My role supports the training aspects for the different groups and organizations - from skills or certification for health and safety to project-specific skills such as spraying or chainsaw training. More recently through the implementation of Te Kete Honongawe we now have a centralised basket and kete of services, tools, resources and training that can support all of our communities.

What's your connection to the Park?

We've been using the Mahinga Innovation Centre at the park for training courses and meetings.

What made the facilities stand out?

The great thing about it is that it's central, our attendees can drive down from Kaitaia, from The Kaipara and from the Bay of Islands. The facilities are great, for one course we needed to use outdoor space, and the training room had doors straight into the outside and people could move in between the two spaces really easily. So that was brilliant.

Also there is Flo's Cafe where we can order catering as well, which we have done on a number of occasions.

Have you had feedback from your attendees and colleagues?

Yes, about the wifi! This has been really good as some Northland venues don't have reliable wifi. Here everyone can get online and those not participating in training can work throughout the day in the shared spaces - that's a real plus.

Have you used the shared working space?

Yes, I have used the shared area, and what's also really lovely is that you see people! You see people that you're not expecting to see, they're doing their things, but it's in one space.

So that whole shared area is excellent as well.

How would you sum up your overall experience?

It's been great, from the website through to easy booking the whole experience is welcoming and accommodating.

We're always thrilled to hear feedback on how the park and its facilities are supporting organisations just like Reconnecting Northland, stay tuned for more stories from more people here at the park.