Selwyn Times: May 10, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday May 10 2016 13
Lake Forsyth
The Banks Peninsula Zone
Committee, after working with
the community and technical
experts, recommended in 2014
that, given the current state of
knowledge it was best to focus
attention on reducing further
sediment input into the lake
and understand better how
the lake works before trying
to remove and dispose of 800
Olympic-size swimming pools
of accumulated sediment.
As a consequence of these
recommendations Environment
Canterbury has proposed
changes to the Land and Water
Regional Plan which requires
stricter controls on stock
access to the river banks on
the valley floor where most
of the sediment comes from.
The hearing for Plan Change
6 (Wairewa) was completed a
couple of weeks ago.
We are hoping to see these
provisions come into effect
later in the year. The zone
committee is also supporting
the development of a sediment
management work programme
and plan a pilot project to
help landowners manage and
remediate their stream banks.
ECan has also improved its
monitoring of the lake so real
time data on a variety of water
quality parameters are collected
continuously. This will
give us a much better idea of
how the lake conditions change
throughout the year and help
us to design future actions that
don’t cause bigger problems
than the ones we are trying to
fix.
The community is also working
hard to improve management
of the main rivers to mitigate
the effects of flood events
but also manage them to reduce
sediment discharges. Stock are
already being fenced out of the
rivers and the Little River community
nursery provides native
plants and advice on riparian
planting.
There is a fine line between
management of the rivers for
flood mitigation and reducing
sediment discharges, but I am
confident everyone is aware of
these dual goals and are taking
both into account before taking
action.
Both the rūnanga and the
zone committee have been
thinking about the next big
action to take. Both, however,
are cautious about knee
jerk reactions and want to
ensure proposals are based on
good science and will work.
Currently the zone committee,
with the help of ECan, are
trying to determine whether a
sediment retention basin would
intercept sediment during
flood events before it reaches
the lake. Another idea is to
use wetland vegetation to take
up phosphorous that could be
harvested and removed from
the lake.
What is the future?
In spite of a considerable
amount of energy and
action from individuals and
organisations alike, the lake
has a mind of her own. We
thought the new lake opening
had made a difference and
we’d seen improvements in the
indicators such as the tropic
level index and the presence
of macrophytes in the lake last
summer.
But this year, in spite of our
best efforts we’ve had the algae
bloom.
Unfortunately, there is no
quick fix and no one to blame.
It will take time. There will
be setbacks and the effects
of climate change has just
made the job harder. But I am
confident that with everyone
doing their bit, Te Roto o
Wairewa will once again be
a source of food that we are
proud of and enjoy.
Terrace Downs
Pirates, Star Trek actors
come to Canterbury
EMMA-JANE MCLENNAN
A multi-million dollar movie is
set to be filmed in Canterbury
– bringing international stars
and foreign investment, and
showcasing some of our iconic
scenery.
The brainchild of Canterburyborn,
British-residing Emily
Corcoran (actress, writer and
producer for Sisterhood and
actress, Confine, among others),
the movie filming has overcome
setbacks from the earthquakes
to start filming in the next few
weeks.
Ms Corcoran tried to get the
adventure colonial western, The
Stolen, off the ground twice –
but was twice hampered by the
earthquakes.
“We were trying to get foreign
investment, so even after that,
we had to secure two highprofile
actors and a director.
We did do that and now we’re
looking to start filming.”
Starring Alice Eve (known for
playing Carol Marcus in Star
Trek Into Darkness) and Jack
Davenport (James Norrington
in the Pirates of the Caribbean
series, Lancelot in Kingsman),
the movie will be directed by
Niall Johnson (White Noise,
Keeping Mum).
Ms Corcoran wrote the
storyline eight years ago. Now
that it’s finally coming to
fruition, she says it’s a “dream
come true.”
Alice Eve
Investors from Germany
and the United Kingdom have
secured the film a $4 million
budget.
Crew are currently setting up
their base at Ferrymead Heritage
Park, with other on-set locations
all around the region, Ms
Corcoran said.
“We’re actually shooting
entirely in Canterbury, and
we believe we’ve found some
beautiful places. We’ve based
ourselves at Ferrymead, where
we’ve built some indoor sets
and we’ll be using the steam
train, but we’ve also got facades
of sets at Mt Vernon and Little
River, and a private homestead
in Rangiora.”
The film is set during the gold
rush of 1860. It is based on a
young woman and her wealthy
husband, who come out to New
Zealand from England, Ms
Corcoran said.
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