Decades of support for young people

Recently, Hurunui District celebrated some of its best community serving members at the annual Community Service Awards in July.

For the next few weeks, Hurunui District will be highlighting the Award recipients, filling you in more on their background stories, and what makes them tick. Enjoy.

Dr Tim Kelly.

Recipient of the Adult Volunteer for Youth Award.

From the outdoors, to sport, to putting out fires, Dr Tim Kelly has dedicated decades of service to creating opportunities for young people across the Hurunui District.

For around 20 years Dr Kelly has volunteered with the Hawarden Volunteer Fire Brigade, for the past two years has served as President of the Hurunui Rangers Football Club and been a committee member for eight years.

With close to 200 members, this football role has become his largest volunteer commitment, providing leadership and creating opportunities for young people to participate, grow, and thrive through sport.

Dr Kelly established the Nina Valley Restoration Group in 2008, giving generations of young people the opportunity to explore the outdoors while contributing to conservation efforts. In 2014 Dr Kelly also played a key role in organising the Nina Valley ECO Blitz, an extraordinary project that brought together 176 senior students from 23 secondary schools to work alongside scientists, university students, teachers, and volunteers to discover and document the incredible biodiversity of the valley.

The Waitaha Positive Action for the Environment Youth Conference was created and chaired by him in 2024, where more than 300 Canterbury secondary school students were brought together for a day of learning with sustainability experts, inspiring and equipping young people to make positive environmental change within their schools and communities.

Beyond these initiatives, Dr Kelly has generously volunteered his time mentoring students through Enviroclub, encouraging young people to care for their environment and reach their potential.

Thank you Dr Kelly, it's people like you who create the future.