Nelson Named New Zealand’s Most Neighbourly City

The friendliness of Nelson neighbours has seen it top cities around the country to win the first ever Neighbours Day Aotearoa - City of the Yeartitle.

More than 65 streets in Nelson organised events, from street BBQs to inviting neighbours over for a cuppa, as part of the Neighbours Day Aotearoa 2016 campaign earlier this year, giving it the highest per capita participation of any city in the country.

“Hundreds of Nelson residents reached out and got to know their neighbours, and we want to recognise and celebrate the effort they’ve made to help turn their streets into communities.” says Neighbours Day Aotearoa national project manager, Ashlee Gross.

In appropriate community-focused style, instead of an awards ceremony, everyone in Nelson is invited to a free public celebration at the local Burrell Park Community Gardens on 25 September.

Katie Hughes from the Tahunanui Community Centre, who are co-hosting the award celebration, says “We are proud to be part of such an awesome community, our project Tahunanui Connects is about bringing people together creating a sense of community, events like these are such a great way to meet people in our community in a friendly informal atmosphere, we encourage people to bring whanau and neighbours. This is a chance for the whole community to see the great work that the Burrell Park Community Gardens volunteers have been doing.”

Neighbours Day Aotearoa is an annual, nationwide campaign that saw over 1100 streets around the country take a weekend in March to get out and get to know their neighbours.

“Saying ‘hi’ and getting to know our neighbours is a simple thing, but it’s been shown to have powerful effects - for mental health, social isolation, safety, and community resilience” says Ms. Gross.

The Neighbours Day campaign is led nationally by a team of six NGOs: Lifewise, the Mental Health Foundation NZ, Inspiring Communities, Neighbourhood Support NZ, Christchurch Methodist Mission, and Public Libraries of NZ, and supported in Nelson by Neighbourhood Support Nelson and community groups including the Tahunanui Community Centre.

Earlier this year, Neighbours Day Aotearoa also awarded a Town of the Year title to Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast, which had 38 streets take part in Neighbours Day 2016. The City of the Year title is based on per capita participation for areas with more than 45,000 residents.

The City of the Year title will be officially awarded at the “Spring Fest” event on Sunday, 25 September, from 12pm-3pm at the community gardens in Burrell Park, Nelson.

For more information on the celebration, contact the Tahunanui Community Centre or email kiaora@neighboursday.org.nz

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