After she connected with a few like-minded people, the HCP was formed officially in early 2012. Today, we would be without the Halswell monthly E-letter and printed newsletter, the website, the blog, the community garden, the community market, and the welcome bags had she not had that vision six years ago. There has been a remarkable amount achieved in a short time thanks to the hard work of everyone involved with the HCP.
Chrys' love for this area has come from growing up here and her work here has most likely come about because she came from a family who modelled strong community values. Chrys' mum (Philippa) was involved in Brownies, Guides, the Halswell Swimming Club and started up the Halswell Library. Philippa still works for St Mary's Anglican church, mostly in Prebbleton, these days.
Chrys
has worked in a variety of places and jobs around New Zealand, with
seasons of study in between. After high school, Chrys completed a
science degree majoring in Botany at Canterbury University. From there
she went to Gore and for the next 6-7 years, Chrys tried her hand at
tailing, woolshed rousing, and working as a hut warden, for DOC in
Glenorchy, and in the Youth Hostels Association in various places in the
lower South Island. It was here that Chrys built a house with her
partner. Canterbury began to beckon again, when she moved here with her
partner. She enrolled at Lincoln University, and ended up staying
longer than she had anticipated completing a Masters degree and then a
Ph.D in Social Science. She then worked for Landcare Research for a few
years, working to see how communities could manage their natural
resources and deal with environmental change.Inspiration to start community work in Halswell came to Chrys because she had been working in many other people’s communities while at Landcare Research and felt that she should do some work in her own community. Her professional work made her aware that communities everywhere will have to change and need to be resilient to weather shocks such as drought flood, wind and so on, that are occurring because of climate change. Of course, as we all learned, building resilience is also important for managing earthquakes as well. The Halswell Community Project is Chrys' brainchild and all of the projects under its umbrella have been started with the intention of building closer social and economic connections here.
Chrys feels all of the projects are going well, although she would like to see more people involved in them. Her vision has also been inclusive. She tries to work alongside other long established community groups such as schools, sports clubs, churches and the Halswell Residents Association. Chrys wants to build a stronger Halswell, and living in a post-earthquake city, few would argue with this aspiration. Chrys, who is seen biking far more often than driving, would like to see a more walkable, bikeable community – something that she thinks would mean fewer traffic jams for those who need to use their cars. On top of that good walking and biking opportunities makes places more attractive and means that people are likely to meet and talk to each other more often. It also makes a community safer to get around for all that live there.
Working in a part time job at the Addington Timebank, Chrys is developing a Halswell branch. Again, the idea behind the Timebank is to build a resilient community. The Timebank is a good way to connect people with each other and find what skills are available locally. Chrys also works as a social scientist and does contract research for a range of organisations. When Chrys is not working she likes to read, walk, bike and spend time with friends.
Most definitely a person of vision and action, Chrys Horn has helped to make this community far more connected and more of a home for us all and a place with a much stronger identity than it would have had otherwise.
Words: Deb Harding-Browne
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