A word from the Mayor
With the seasonal values of autumn, we have been blessed with some amazing colours and warm days which has brought exceptional growth and the need to keep the lawn mower close at hand.
At the recent strategy and community meeting councillors received a report from Rima Herber our Land and Water Co-ordinator. Rima’s role is to build and maintain effective relationships with landowners, community groups, and tangata whenua to facilitate joined-up approaches and connect projects and actions to optimise environmental gains in water and land management.
The Birdsong project in the Scargill Motunau Recreation Reserve is a great example with another 2000 plants to be planted in the upcoming season, tracks have been completed, seating installed, and the local school children are working on signage for plants and wildlife. It was wonderful to hear that some youth involved with Mayors Taskforce for Jobs spent a day planting a superb way to involve the future citizens in offering them the chance to participate and monitor the growth for this unique and special project.
The Northern Pegasus Bay Coast Care Group have received funding for trapping in the Ashworth's and Leithfield Beach track areas, fencing off some of the rare plants at Ashworth's Beach and have plans for protecting the Kowai River mouth area, where birds nest in the springtime. On the flip side to the volunteer work, it is also disappointing to read that some vehicle owners continue to flout the rules and drive through the dunes even driving through the protective fences that have been erected. It would be wonderful through reading this column we can take a more proactive approach and not destroy the amazing work of the committed volunteers.
The Blythe Catchment Group have also engaged with a programme of predator control, protecting wetlands and creating QE11 covenants with a recent field day attracting over 50 attendees wanting to learn more about practical trapping techniques the benefits of predator control and planting.
These projects and many others are superb examples of “localism” at work.
Keep up with this amazing work.
Marie
