Ashburton Courier: April 21, 2022

NEWS
14 Ashburton Courier, April 21, 2022
VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH
Satisfaction from
helping families
Somepeople, likeHeather van
derKley, have volunteering in
their DNA.She isthis month’s
Volunteering Mid&South
Canterbury and the Hotel
Ashburton Volunteer of the
Month.
Heather has been
volunteeringwithSharing
Everyday Experiences and
DrawingonSkills(SEEDS) for
four years now.
She gotinvolvedafter seeing
an advertisement callingfor
morevolunteers.
SEEDSmatches trained
volunteers with families who
have pre­schoolers and are
currentlylookingfor more
volunteers.
Heather is assigned afamily
bythe co­ordinator of SEEDS
and shemeets withthefamily.
Her role is to findout what
issues thefamily wants help
with.
Listening is abuild part of
buildingatrustingrelationship
which is so vital to the role.
Heather could be helping
parentswith budgeting skills,
organisingchildren’s meals,
developingsleeppatternsfor
thechildren ormany other
parenting issues.
Familiesdon’t always have
close extended family to help
and support or families can be
estranged and Heather provides
parenting advice basedonher
personal knowledge and
experienceasamum.
Thesupport sheoffers
generallyisfor aroundtwo
months butthatcan be
extended.
Over her timevolunteering
she has worked with ten
families to help them grow in
their confidence.
Heather has had agreat
successrate with herfamilies
and helping them find theirown
solutions.
She freely offers her advice
and wisdom and it over to the
families if they take it.She loves
it when theycomeback to her
and saytheyhave tried
something she suggested, and it
worked.
She quickly buildsarapport
withafamily andfeels really
privileged they trust her, as a
stranger, to come into their
Heather van der Kley
home andguide them. They
move frombeing strangers to
Heather beingpart of their
family at this part oftheir
journey.
Heather feels an immense
satisfaction from volunteering
and it’s not her onlyrole.She,
andhusbandWalter, have
fostered many children, helped
with Meals on Wheels andare
actively involvedinRotary.
Volunteeringiscertainly in
theirDNA with bothsetsoftheir
parentshavingbeenvolunteers
which laid strong foundation for
them.
Afoundationwhich has been
passed on to Heather and
Walter’stwo daughtersalso
involved with Rotary; oneisthe
current president of Rotary
Club at Rolleston.
For Heather, volunteering
with SEEDS is about sharing
her ownparentingexperience
andbecause she has been
through the joys, challenges,
high and lows of parenting she
canshare howshe managed
parentingwithother parents.
Ifyou are aNot forProfit
organisation and have a
volunteer/s who you would like to
nominate for the
Volunteering Mid &South
Canterbury/ Te Rōpū Tūao ite
waengaoWaitaha andthe Hotel
Ashburton Volunteer of the
Month emailmanagermidmc@vmsc.org.nz
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
Lake Clearwater in the Ashburton Lakes district.
Public focus for lakes
BY MICK JENSEN
Key themes emergingfrom public feedback
on the future of the lakes Camp and
Clearwater include requests for more public
rubbish and toilet facilities, restrictions on
future development and adesire to retain a
natural, pristine environment.
Bachowners and the widercommunity
were askedwhat they valued about the area
and their aspirations for the future of the area
during consultation in February and March.
Morethan 150 peopleoffered feedback.
Nearlyall submitters wanted Ashburton
District Counciltowork collaborativelywith
landowners and otherstakeholderssuch as
DOC and Environment Canterbury (ECan) on
ashared vision for the area.
Anumberofsubmitters spoke to Ashburton
District councillors at hearingheld last week.
Adair Bruorton said she had beencoming to
the Lake Clearwater/Camp area for the last 60
years and three generations of her family
loved the area.
She valued the naturallandscape and the
fact the settlement retained the original
character of it's basic bachcommunity.
Volunteers spent hours looking after the
public space and playground areas,she said.
‘‘It has acommunity feel and kidscan run
around, explore and play safelyand learn
about the high country land and
environment.’’
Mrs Bruorton said the area’spopularity had
increased and meant more people and traffic,
more rubbish, more damagetotracks, and
increased freedom camping numbers.
She was sad by the deterioration of water
qualityinthe lakes and supported council’s
actionstodecommission long drops at all
baches.
‘‘A thrivingLake Clearwaterand Lake
Camp means we all look after what's there.
We don't let it grow any further as it won't be
sustainable, and we continue to ensure that
it's awonderful, safe area that can be enjoyed
by many.’’
Hutholder Ben Tothilltold councillorshe
and his wife valued the simplicity of the
village, its scale, its uniqueness, its character,
and the fact it hadn’t been commercialised.
It was vitally important thatthe risk and
challenges of the environmentwere carefully
considered, planned and managed, including
the substantial fire risk.
Also of importance was to ensurehuman
interaction at the lakes carried on without
making an adverse impact on the
environment.
Mr Tothill also suggested engaging closely
with the local farmertoshare scientific study
in ordertowork to resolve the issues of water
quality in LakeClearwater.
Keith Gunnfrom Save the Rivers Mid
Canterbury said the 2021 ban on Lake
Clearwater activities after the discovery of
toxic algae served as amajor wake up call.
It was short sighted to limit aplan to just the
two lakes because hut holders and the public
visited other Ashburton Lakes and all of the
lakes impacted on the values of the area.
His group wantedarecognised group to coordinate
and take responsibility for the
implementationofaplantothe restoration of
water qualityinthe Ashburton lakes, he said.
There was concern different interest
groups, like council, DOCand ECan,
appearedtohave theirown patches.
He said the main contributing factor to the
decline in water quality was aresult of
nutrient run­off from agricultural land.
The Lake Clearwater village started out in
the 1920s as afew baches for fishermenand
picnickers.
There are now 180 dwellings, as well as a
camping ground and public toilets.
Council will draft adevelopment plan then
consult with key stakeholdersbefore
adoption later this year.