The Vineyard Special:
Professional development that won’t break the bank

The Vineyard Special is like a mini-conference, only better. Join the Perception Planning team for a jam-packed day of presentations, field trips, good food, networking, and cycle tours. Meet local conservationists, developers and farmers. 

We tailor the content to suit planning teams, councillors, organisations or public groups. The only requirement is that you share the costs with us and participate! No registration fees, no memberships. It's a win-win as we all get to meet new people and share ideas, information and inspiration.

Creative sharing

We’ll organise everything. All you have to do is show up and be prepared to share presentation duties; with a twist. We encourage everyone to communicate in creative, fun, and informal ways, for example:
  1. Do a 5 minute share to get feedback on a new idea.
  2. Try an off-kilter topic. Some great subjects from recent meetings include: ​​Papakāinga housing, anti-fragility, using art in consultation, procrastination smashers.
  3. “Fireside chats” aka “chat-show” formats are a great way to share information without the pressure of giving a formal talk. One person interviews a specialist and takes questions from the audience.
  4. Speed debates are a fun way to challenge team members to think on their feet on a chosen topic (with some advance preparation).

Cycle tours

Part of the Vineyard Special day includes a cycle tour around Martinborough. We’ll stop at areas of current environmental interest, and meet conservationists, developers and farmers along the way to hear how resource management topics have shaped their businesses, projects and lives. ​
RELATED PROJECTS
TDC goes to Marty (website)​

Testimonials

"The bike ride was a cool way to see the area and find out about interesting projects going on in Martinborough. Overall it was a great opportunity to share ideas and learn new ways of working."
​- Nick C
"I really enjoyed the cycling tour and the diversity of the topics covered by the speakers. It was a great networking and learning opportunity in a relaxed and creative environment. It reminded me why I became a planner!"
​- Ariell K
"The presentations and discussions were great and gave me a lot of fresh ideas."
​- Kendall G