Thinking well ahead Tamahere Lions are appealing for people to get in the Christmas spirit early and plan their Christmas cake purchases.

This year the club is working with the Salvation Army to enable people to buy cakes and donate them to brighten a needy family’s Christmas.

It would be a double act of generosity as $5 from the $18 price of the Ernest Adams cakes also goes toward community projects.

Increasingly people with savings, whether in a bank account or the share market, want their money to do good for the environment and society as well as themselves.

Tamahere woman Janet Natta, an Authorised Financial Adviser, is one of New Zealand’s few experts in ethical investment – the tricky business of navigating what is a good investment and what is investing for good.

Natta will demystify ethical or socially responsible investment at an afternoon event in Tamahere on Sunday, July 23.

Gordon McLauchlan, author and social commentator, will inform and entertain with insights on New Zealanders (the Passionless People of his famous book title) in Tamahere on Sunday, July 2.

Best known as a cultural critic and a social historian, the popular and prolific writer’s latest book is Great Tales from Rural New Zealand.

He has written a number of best-sellers including The Passionless People, a social commentary on New Zealanders (1976), and The Farming of New Zealand, a history of NZ agriculture (1981).

Tamahere Community Committee members have been digging in for a good cause this week in the interests of a lovely and leafy environment.

Committee members including deputy chair Sue Robertson and Leo Koppens, pictured, planted around 160 trees and shrubs to screen an unsightly industrial site from the new recreation reserve.

Also pitching in to beautify the reserve with kahikatea and ribbonwood trees were TCC members Ro Edge and Graham McAdam, and local Keith Robertson.

Tamahere Market – on this Saturday – is a great meeting place and a meaty place, too.

The market sports an impressive range of meat products, including artisan Hungarian salamis, venison salami, bacon, sausages, and patties.

The meaty treats go well with market-bought chutney, Pandoro breads or with a little Mount Eliza Cheese on the side.

The Tamahere Playcentre is hosting a market with a mainly child and family theme on Saturday, June 24 at the Tamahere Community Centre.

From 10 to 2pm, the market will feature babies’ clothes and toys, cakes, beauty products and massages and even something for the family pet.

The family friendly event will have a dedicated kids area and being completely indoors will be warm and dry whatever the weather.

Tamahere School’s eco warriors have been waging war against rubbish around the school block.

Recently, the dynamic group set off along Wiremu Tamihana Drive with their wheelie bins to carry out the term’s block clean up. Their efforts were well rewarded.

They filled a large bin with recyclable items such as glass and plastic bottles.

New Zealanders are being challenged to plant a native tree on Arbor Day (June 5) to set a record for the most trees ever planted on one day in New Zealand.

The challenge comes from Trees That Count, an ambitious new programme which aims to increase native tree planting in New Zealand – to help restore and enhance the environment, encourage biodiversity in cities, clean air and waterways and make a tangible difference to climate change.

Tamahere locals also have the option of supporting the Tamahere Reserve, the area’s premier native tree restoration project.

Tamahere Market, where we get NZ made, produced, created or home grown goodies is on this Saturday, May 20.

The weather forecast is for sunny but brisk autumn weather so the advice is to wrap up warmly to go looking for more warmth among the fine woollies, recycled fashion, pies, pastries and coffee cups.

The market is renowned for its wide range of produce, craft, art, plants and awesomely creative stall holders.

The Tamahere Lions Club will look back on two busy years when it celebrates its second birthday next month.

The list of events and activities the club has helped locally and further afield includes the Tamahere Reserve, Allan Turner Memorial Walkway, Tamahere School pumpkin night, Tamahere Market, Matangi School and Dynamo cycle events.

And the club has distributed more than $3000 to a number of community groups.