Bay Harbour: February 20, 2019

Wednesday February 20 2019
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 17
Your Local Views
David Cox supported
people in a quiet way
Port Hills
MP Ruth
Dyson
pays
tribute to
former
city
councillor
and Hagley-
Ferrymead Community
Board member David
Cox
We are very fortunate in
New Zealand to have so
many people in our communities
who are “givers”
– whether it’s people who
serve on school boards,
coaches and referees of
our sports teams, people
who run our residents’ and
community associations,
or people who visit and
support those who are
otherwise isolated in their
homes.
It’s part of our culture
that should be celebrated.
The celebration of that
community giving was the
theme at the funeral service
for David Cox, whose passing
the Bay Harbour News
acknowledged last week.
David had an “ABCs” of
giving – arts, business,
community and sports. He
supported so much within
our area and the wider
Canterbury community –
driven by a sense of returning
to our country – his
adopted home – because he
felt so fortunate to be able
to make this his home.
This drive made me
reflect on how much we
take for granted if we
were born here and how
much we should actually
value what we have as New
Zealanders. We have access
to so many opportunities
here that many from other
countries dream about –
we should make the most
of them!
I want to add my reflections
on the life that David
Cox lived and celebrate
the fact that he had this
drive of returning his
good fortune. So many organisations
and individuals
benefitted from his generosity
of time and spirit. He
supported so many people
in a quiet way, connecting
people and groups, and
always with a manner of
impeccable respect and
politeness.
At his funeral, our mayor
reflected on the demise of
David Cox
these manners with the advent
of social media, where
hurtful and unnecessary
comments are accepted.
But I am not as despairing
as her words, as I see the
continued community activity
and others who have
followed in the example
set by David Cox – we are
all better off when we give
our times and skills to our
community.
May his family be
comforted in their loss and
may he rest in peace.
ADverTOrIAL
Sustainability key
to organic farming
There’s something for
everyone in the realm of
organic farming but as far
as Bill Martin is concerned,
it’s all about sustainability.
The Training College
Manager at Lincoln
University’s Biological
Husbandry Unit Organics
Trust (BHU) is happy to see
a surge in enthusiasm for
organic food production
as younger generations
become more aware of
environmental concerns.
He says the growing
popularity of organic
production in recent years
means that graduates are
now taking what they have
learned into a broader
range of sectors.
“It’s not just about
growing, wholesaling
and retailing food anymore. They’re
going into schools and teaching primary
and secondary schoolers about the
importance of sustainable farming and
gardening and really starting to embed the
philosophy into the education system.”
As far as conventional agricultural
practices are concerned, he says farmers
should be encouraged to optimise their
production, rather than maximise it at the
expense of the environment.
“We need to change our agricultural
paradigm and re-evaluate our priorities.”
Mr Martin says those interested in a
career in organics should enrol in the
one-year Diploma in Agri-Food Production
course, which is open to students either
with or without university entrance.
Introduced last year, it includes Tikanga
and Mahinga Kai components and can
lead to employment in organic primary
production or other sectors related
to organics, especially education and
hospitality.
“The course offers a good grounding
in the principles of organic agriculture,
teaching the philosophies and histories
of organics and providing practical
knowledge of how they are applied,” Mr
Martin says.
Apply now for the Diploma in Organic
Agri-Food Production and begin studying
in February 2019.
Lyttelton resident
Alison Ross QSM
writes about the
repairs to Evans
Pass Rd
BOTH Lyttelton and
Sumner residents will be
delighted that the Evans Pass
conduit will be completed
and open for traffic
movements in March.
I must say, I thought
Lynette Ellis, the council
spokesperson,was
somewhat mean-spirited
in not acknowledging
the contractors and
stonemasons by name. So,
bouquets to Fulton Hogan
and their workers for a
magnificent job. Well done
to you all.
I note, however,
within the list of
accomplishments and
factual detail there is one
glaring omission, the
return of our geckos and
skinks.
Much was made of the
temporary relocation of
the reptiles at the time “to
protect the population”
yet now, in spite of the
completion of road and
infrastructure they remain
in the darkness and cold of
the Deans Bush leaf litter.
The reptiles are a Port
Hills colony with a genetic
memory and history extending
back to the last
interstadial approximately
8000 years ago.
Let’s have no
prevarication, delays or
excuses; immediately
return our fauna to their
home amongst the warm
rocks of the Port Hills
where they belong and not
repeat the sorry saga of
Powelliphanta Augusta,
(NZ native giant land
snail), some 4000 of which
were removed from the
Stockton and Denniston
plateaus only to languish
to this day, the majority
deceased, in a chilled
container somewhere on
the West Coast.
LIN2813
Grow a career
in organics
Lincoln University’s Diploma in Organic Agri-Food Production will prepare
you for work in the organic sector or your own garden or smallholdings. It’s
a full-time, one-year programme that covers the theory and practice behind
contemporary organic agri-food production.
Join us in February to find out what growing organically on an agricultural
scale really means.
Learn more at www.lincoln.ac.nz or call 0800 10 60 10.
Students
are eligible
for a fee waiver