NEWS 14 <strong>Ashburton</strong> <strong>Courier</strong>, <strong>April</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2022</strong> 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 <strong>Ashburton</strong> 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 <strong>Ashburton</strong> Volunteer of the Month emailmanagermidmc@vmsc.org.nz www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz Lake Clearwater in the <strong>Ashburton</strong> 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 <strong>Ashburton</strong> District Counciltowork collaborativelywith landowners and otherstakeholderssuch as DOC and Environment Canterbury (ECan) on ashared vision for the area. Anumberofsubmitters spoke to <strong>Ashburton</strong> 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 20<strong>21</strong> 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 <strong>Ashburton</strong> 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 <strong>Ashburton</strong> 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.
AVAILABLE NOW Strowan Fields -Titles Due Mid <strong>2022</strong>! BED 2 3.8x3.0 GARAGE 6.0x6.0 BED 1 3.5x3.8 . BED 3 3.0x3.3 LIVING 4.8x4.4 DINING 3.8x3.9 FAMILY 3.8x3.9 MS5 Price: $715,000 186m 2 3bdrm LIVING 3.6x4.1 DINING 3.6x4.1 BED 1 3.8x3.5 GARAGE 6.0x6.0 BED 3 3.2x3.4 BED 2 3.0x2.8 MS8 Price: $655,000 151m 2 3bdrm
Change language