North Canterbury News: June 15, 2023

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NEWS 8 The North Canterbury News, June 15, 2023 Wetland reserve welcomed Locals are swinginginbehind the developmentofawetland reserve at Scargill. Theimmediate goal of the BirdsongProject is to restore700 metresofthe 1.7 kilometre wetland stream in the Scargill Motunau Reserve, back to native vegetation. This includes athreekilometre loop track. Dave Nicholls, who chairedthe inaugural community meeting to discussthe project, displayed a handdrawn sketch of the stream detailing proposed plantingareas andrest spots, resulting from a walk by agroup. Feedbackfrom those attending themeetingincluded looking forwardtocleaner waterways, seeing an abundance of birdlife, andhaving aplace for children to collect cockabillies. Aphilanthropic fund of $100,000 hasbeen donatedtothe Project, meaning planting,fencing, some paid work and administrative dutiescan now be fasttracked. Mr Nicholls is in the process of setting up acharitabletrust, regular meetings with trustees and volunteers, as away to ensure work will happen graduallyand surely. ‘‘Initially the planistohave just enoughworktoget everyone started,not to exhaust the volunteer efforts.’’ Thecharitable trust application focusesonproviding an indigenous ecosystem through the partial involvement of volunteers, inclusivityand encouragement throughthe community,education opportunities for the community Project Birdsong ... Part of the wetland reserve at Scargill the community will help develop. PHOTO: SUPPLIED and schoolchildren, andamultigenerational asset. Historyand information boardscould also formpart of the project. ‘‘The Birdsong Projectisabout having aplace wherepeople can cometogether, and inspire local landowners to do the same at their place, Mr Nicholls says. So far, five places have been identified for seated areasand planted areas, focusedaround rockoutcrops, shelteredtwists and turns on the track, and alongside the TipapaStream.Willowswere removed from the Reserve in January. Environment Canterbury has donated 6000 wetland plants, the goalbeing to establish4000 plants ayear throughecosourcing, and nurseries, includinganewly established one at Hurunui College.Itishoped to restore more thanfive hectaresofland to native vegetation and with some areas of native forest,inthe next few years. Hurunui District Council’s Water and Land coordinator Rima Herber is working closely with the community,and believeswithout the great work of the reserve committee overthe years,the projectwould not havebeen possible. ‘‘It’s great when the decisions comefrom your heart, not from a piece of paper.It’sfantastic to see the communitysodelighted and engagedinthisventure,and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it develops.’’ Amatch made in rural NC paddock By RACHEL MACDONALD Tucked away in asmall paddock on oneofNgai Tahu’s Eyrewell Forest farms is apairofunlikely best friends. One is arising twoyearoldsteer who wentlame, so was separated from the rest of his herd to recover, says Summerhill local Peter Rae, who works for Ngai Tahu. The other is awild pig, found as an orphaned piglet on one of Ngai Tahu’s BalmoralForest blocks, which needed a newhome. ‘‘I’dsay it’sprobably a Culverden area pig, with thelonger neckand snout. ‘‘It was brought here andput in with the steer, andthe two bonded. They’ve been together a year now and they’re inseparable. ‘‘I guess it’s natural, giventhat cattle are herd beastsand pigs do best in small groups, but to watch them running around and playing together is very cool.’’ Mr Raesays he was watchingthemwhile he wasdrillinginanearby paddock one day last summer. Best friends ... The steer and pig keeping each other company. PHOTO: RACHEL MACDONALD ‘‘The steer was grazing and the wee pig was just standing there underneath him for shade. They’ve got something really special there.’’ The pig has also domesticated itself, says Peter —itdefinitely knows thehandthat feeds it. And the good news is that the pairwill be together for the foreseeable future. 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YES programme By DAVID HILL, Local Democracy Reporter Recruiting young people into emergency services is back on the agendafor two North Canterbury councils. The Hurunui District Council is bringing back its Youth in Emergency Services camp in July, while the WaimakaririDistrict Council is looking to replace its successful cadet programmewith aYouth in EmergencyManagement course. Youth in Emergency Services (YES) was anationalprogramme to introduce young people to volunteering in emergency services, until funding ran out five yearsago. The programmeisbeing reintroducedinthe Hurunui district thankstothe efforts of the Hurunui Youth Council ‘‘I was informed about the YES camp concept last yearwhen Itook the lead on the emergency services portfolio,’’ youth council deputychairperson and Amuri Area School year 13 student Sam Bush says. ‘‘I decided it was something worth looking into and,through our youth council processes, it was voted on to proceed and planning began.’’ The youth council has joined forces with Police, CivilDefence, Fire and EmergencyNew Zealand, Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR), St John and the Red Cross. Funding has come fromthe Ministry of Youth Development, the Rāta Foundation and CivilDefence EmergencyManagement (CDEM). The YES camp will run during the July school holidays, from July 10 to 14, at the Hanmer Forest Residential Camp and is open to young peopleaged 16 to 19years. ‘‘The camp is agood pathwayfor youth who are interestedinbecoming avolunteer or are looking at one of the emergencyservices as their future career,’’ Sam says. ‘‘It will providethem with an opportunity to experiencesome of what is involved with these organisations.’’ After running the YES programme for several years in collaboration with the Hurunui and Selwyn District Councils, the WaimakaririDistrict Council’s CDEM teamdeveloped its own cadet programme. But the programmebecame difficult to sustain during Covid19, WaimakaririMayorDan Gordon says. ‘‘It was an initiative that we were very proud to have developed, however, the past coupleofyears have provided adifficult environment in which to operate the programme.’’ Council staff reviewed it last year, and decidedthey could not continue it in its present form. ‘‘After engaging with the cadets, their families and key staff, it was decided the best optionwould be to replace the CDEMcadetprogramme with asustainable longterm programme for Youth in Emergency Management,’’ Mr Gordon says. The new initiative will run for eight weeks, instead of for the school year, with the potentialtooffer it up to four times ayear. The focuswill be on Civil Defencetraining. To applyfor the Hurunui District Council’s YES Camp, go to hurunui. govt.nz/yescamp2023. Public interest journalismfunded throughNew Zealand on Air. IAMFEELING deflated and disappointed by thelackofGovernment foresight andinvestmentinflood protectionfor ourregion. As theregionalcouncil in NewZealand’s largest region,itfeels like we are beingneglectedwhen it comestofuture-proofing Canterbury.Iknowothers feel thesame. That’snot to saysupportisn’t needed forareas badlyimpactedbyCyclone Gabrielle–wereceivedconsiderable supportduring theearthquakerecovery, so we know theresponseupnorth is critical –however,tonot invest in protection of otherat-riskareas in Waitaha is short-sighted. Floodingisthe number onenatural disaster in NewZealandand,withthe impactsofclimatechange becoming more significantand frequent,weare at risk here in Canterbury. Alongwithother regional councils, EnvironmentCanterburymade ajoint submissiontothe Government askingfor co-investment in amajor flood protection programme. Ourproposal wasfor central andlocal governmentstoco-invest $257 millionoverthe next three years,tofund92urgentfloodprotection projectsacrossAotearoa. NEWS The North Canterbury News, June 15, 2023 Surprise overGovernment decision not tofund flood prevention plan Environment Canterbury Chair Peter Scott 9 We have been askingcentral Government to co-invest with us in flood preventionmeasuresand river management since 1989, however it has been ratepayers acrossthe country footingthe bill. The recentdevastation of Cyclone Gabriellecould happen anywhere in the SouthIsland, andweshouldn’t wait for that to happen before taking action.Preventionisstill better than acure. We thoughtwehad astrongcasefor fundinginthe 2023 Budget, especially givenwhat’satriskifthere is significant floodingalong our78,000 kilometres of riversystems.That includes national assets such as Waka KotahiNZTransport Agency roads, KiwiRailbridgesthatrun near rivers,power andinternetinfrastructure–whichwould all be impacted, anddisrupt oursupply chains in the eventofanother majorfloodevent. And that doesn’t factorinour ongoing abilitytolive in some areas, or people’s abilitytoget insuranceorhow events might impact on premiums –asad realitythatsomefamilies in thebadly affected areasinthe NorthIslandare grapplingwith. Iamhoping this decisionbythe Government isn’tfinal. Iwill be working over thecomingdaysand weekswith my regional colleagues around thecountry to make sure ourconcerns areheard in Wellington. WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY 15 JUNE #WEAAD If you’re concerned about how someone is being treated, it’s OK to help CALL OUR FREE HELPLINE
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North Canterbury News: June 15, 2023

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