Selwyn Times: February 07, 2018

SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Wednesday February 7 2018 17
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Local
News
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Fire rages, homes at risk
SPRUCE UP:
The Arthur’s
Pass National
Park Visitor
Centre will
undergo
earthquake
strengthening
this year.
Quake repairs planned
for Arthur’s Pass centre
SIGNIFICANT earthquake
strengthening is set to be
undertaken on the Arthur’s Pass
National Park Visitor Centre.
The Department of
Conservation will complete the
strengthening this year.
Arthur’s Pass DOC senior
ranger Chris Stewart said a
seismic engineering survey in
2013 identified weakness in four
internal structural walls of the
building.
“As a precautionary measure,
these four walls were isolated,
reducing our visitor information
areas by about 40 per cent,” he
said.
Mr Stewart said DOC is
looking forward to being able to
provide improved conservation
and recreation information for
up to 120,000 visitors a year.
“The display area has not been
upgraded since 1992, so the team
is also keen to modernise how we
tell the stories of the
area’s spectacular natural
environment and history as well,”
he said.
The detailed design stage is
expected to be completed by mid-
April.
After the completion of the
design stage there, will be a three
to four month procurement
process with construction set to
start in September.
The plan is to open the new
centre early next year.
The building will be closed
during the refurbishment, and a
temporary visitor centre will be
set up nearby.
The draft concept designs are
available for the public to view
at the visitor centre or at DOC’s
Rangiora office.
To view the plans online, go
to http://www.doc.govt.nz/news/
stories/2018/changes-to-arthurspass-visitor-centre/
Pollution check up
Who do you
call about dirty
waterways?
ENVIRONMENT: Waterwatch
Education Trust educator Errol
Wood with Lincoln children.
RESIDENTS concerned their
local river, stream or pond may
be polluted are urged to contact
the Waterwatch Education
Trust.
For more than 20 years,
Waterwatch has operated as an
outreach programme of Lincoln
University for school pupils and
students in years 7-13, and for
communities in Canterbury.
The programme takes groups
to their local waterway to assess
its condition with respect to
aquatic life, and determine the
chemical, physical and biological
status of the water.
The programme has received
significant annual funding
for many years from the Rata
Foundation.
This funding, plus the support
of Lincoln University, has enabled
Waterwatch to be delivered
at no charge to schools and
community groups.
Recently, following changes at
Lincoln University, Waterwatch
has become a charitable trust.
Waterwatch trustee Sue Jarvis
said the organisation is desperately
searching for a lockable
shed or old double garage to
store a vehicle and equipment.
She said the garage or shed
could be located on a rural
property around the Lincoln or
Prebbleton area.
The organisation operates
with up to six kits of equipment,
worth about $6000 each.
The kits provide nets, waders,
gumboots, buckets, specimen
trays and identification charts
that are used to catch and identify
aquatic macro-invertebrates,
which can be used to assess the
health of the stream.
Most of the excursions
are conducted for
school science, biology
and geography classes,
but there has recently
been increased uptake
from agriculture and
horticulture teachers too.
The organisation can
work with schools to
incorporate waterway
research into their NCEA
assessment tasks at all
levels.
The organisation
also attend events
organised by community
or farmer groups to
introduce them to water
monitoring techniques
and how we might
help them to investigate their
waterways. It is currently
assisting a rural group near
Kaiapoi to regularly monitor
their local stream.
•To help Waterwatch
find a new garage or shed
and to find out more about
the organisation, email
waterwatchnz@gmail.com
or go to www.waterwatch.
co.nz or visit its Facebook
page – www.facebook.
com/pg/waterwatchnz
Please volunteer a
few hours for the
Red Puppy Appeal
street collection.
Friday 23 – Saturday 24 March 2018
Register today visit redpuppy.org.nz
or call 0800 PUPPIES
23 - 24 March 2018
Megan and Lee have
a young family.
So we designed them a home to grow up in.
Start your own story
03 348 1994 | www.peterrayhomes.co.nz