“It is our role at TEC to support and foster strong connections and ties with other community groups and organisations, so it makes complete sense to be part of the collaboration.
“Together we were able to achieve what we set out to achieve. A big mihi to Soraya Pohatu for getting the ball rolling and all of the taiao groups that joined in the celebration.”
The activities made available were user friendly with a wide variety of opportunities for people to become involved in workshops and learning opportunities.
To kick start the week He Awa Ora, He Tai Ora, Te Papa Atawhai (DoC), TEC and Taniwha Connections – Tiaki Wai Ki Uta Ki Tai combined resources, skills and knowledge to share with whānau about monitoring stream health, learning about native birds and their threats, how to trap pests safely and about the threat of Myrtle rust.
The week offered initiatives such as an interactive DIY workshop to build a “weta hotel”, hosted by Rongowhakaata’s taiao crew Ngā Huru Tikotikoiere, and the planting of 1000 Ficinias grasses to complete the dune planting at Waikanae Beach on the Oneroa walkway, organised by the Gisborne District Council, with support from DoC.
Malcolm Rutherford of the QEII National Trust provided a compelling talk about local manu/ birds and also teamed up with Sam (the Trap Man) Gibson from Landcare Trust for a unique Gray’s Bush by night experience to explore native forests after dark. This proved to be extremely popular with over 200 people turning up.
Whaia Titirangi, the dedicated kaitiaki (guardians) of Titirangi maunga, held a workshop on the summit for participants to learn about seed bombs — how to make them and why they can be beneficial for open slips and erosion-prone areas. The Women’s Native Tree Project Trust ran an introductory workshop about growing native trees from seed.
A Whatatutu community conservation morning was held, with local Sid Tamanui providing conservation adventure activities, including a native tree treasure hunt.
The GDC and mana whenua Maraetaha Inc, along with members from the Waingake Ngahere Ora team, hosted a trip to Waingake for people to learn more about the project to protect and restore the indigenous landscape there. This event included visiting one of the trap lines to experience, first-hand, taking action for nature.
The Maungarongo Wetland Restoration Project at Whangara welcomed visitors to participate in either a kayaking group or to join in the learning about rongoā Māori (Māori medicine). The latter activity also involved the planting of native trees.
Tairāwhiti Enviroschools collaborated in a food forest workshop at Kokiri Kai Garden in Ranfurly Street to introduce the next generation of gardeners to growing nourishing kai.
Enviroschools is a national programme with a large network of regional partners; in Gisborne it is led by the Gisborne District Council with support from the Williams trusts and Eastland Port and a growing number of collaborators.
It offers educational programmes to those early childhood centres and schools which commit to a long-term sustainability journey. The programme is mostly run in schools and centres but some days it is run from the GDC Rethink space at TEC, in an in-house interactive classroom and a living classroom in the form of a sustainably planted backyard.
The programmes are designed to offer fun, interactive ways to encourage children to explore and experience practical ways to reduce waste, recycle, upcycle/repurpose and to consider product consumption and the effect on the environment.
“It’s about fostering sustainable habits in kids, with an awareness whatever they do will affect the environment in which they live,” says Bridget Dick, one of the facilitators from Tairāwhiti Enviroschools.
The Farmyard in Valley Road is one of the most recent early childhood centres to commit to the Enviroschools programme.
“As a rural, discovery-based sustainable early learning environment, our focus is on the best way we can continue to do that,’ says centre manager, Caryn Preston.
“We decided a visit to TEC during Conservation Week was a way to show our commitment to the ongoing process and to review our policies and procedures around sustainability.”
Seven early childhood centres and 29 schools are signed up to Tairāwhiti Enviroschools.
As part of Conservation Week, Stephanie Temple from TEC set a “street challenge”, where members of the public were asked to adopt an area in their neighbourhood, whether that be a corner of a park, around the local shops, the pavement and/or grass verge in their street, and take a pledge to keep it clean from rubbish and debris.
“If you look around and see even the smallest amount of waste, chances are that it will end up in the stormwater drains and in turn pollute our waterways,” said Stephanie. “If we all pledged to take care of a small area, the potential to keep waste out of our waterways would increase.”
A public Facebook page, Conservation Appreciation Tairāwhiti, has been set up for community groups, organisations and individuals to share tips and ideas about how to reduce waste, recycle, upcycle or repurpose and to celebrate conservation successes.
The challenge now is to look beyond Conservation Week and make every day a conservation conscious day to ensure Tairawhiti is foremost in taking action for nature.
