The Community Advisory Group for the Whaka-Ora Healthy Harbour project has had a busy first few months.
The group was formed in July and has met regularly since its inception to help shape the direction of the programme.
Meet the community advisors
The group is made up of people from the Whakaraupō/Lyttelton Harbour catchment, including:
- Karen Banwell, Whakaraupō programme manager
- Jenny Healey, Cass Bay
- Graeme Fraser, Diamond Harbour
- Helen Chambers, Governors Bay
- Heba Mashhour, Living Springs
- Denis Aldridge, Living Springs
- Christina Henderson, Ngāti Wheke
- Isaac Fahey, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke
- Gina Waibl, Bank Peninsula Zone Committee
- Hamish Fairbairn, Conservation Volunteers New Zealand
- Tyrone Fields, Banks Peninsula Community Board
- Paul Dahl, Purau catchment
Healey works as a teacher in the area of special needs and has lived in Cass Bay for 30 years. She has been involved in community planting events from Pony Point to Corsair Bay.
Fraser is the chair of the Diamond Harbour Reserve Management Committee, while Chambers has spent time on local boards in Governors Bay and is passionate about monitoring sediment levels in the harbour.
Duggan joined the committee because of an involvement in many re-vegetation projects at Living Springs and she felt being involved would be a natural extension of that work.
Fairbairn said he saw the catchment having the potential to become a bustling hub of cherished biodiversity and was excited to be a part of its development.
Aldridge, Fahey, Fields, and Waibl have strong links to the catchment through their existing work in the community.
Craig Pauling (Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke) was on the committee but left after he was elected as a councillor for Environment Canterbury.
Whakaraupō programme manager Banwell chairs the group and said it was great to have so many corners of the catchment represented.
“We have assembled a diverse group of people who bring a wide-range of skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm,” Banwell said.
“They care deeply about the Whakaraupō/Lyttelton Harbour catchment and will advise on some constructive steps for where we can take the Whaka-Ora Healthy Harbour plan to ensure the long-term health of the area.”
Core functions of the advisory group
The core function of the group is to set the direction for community involvement to achieve the actions set out in the Whaka-Ora Healthy Harbour plan.
Recently, the focus has been on revegetating the catchment’s streams, which directly relates to the hills and lowlands, and streams plan actions.
This group operates separately to the governance group that meets quarterly and features representatives from the partners of the Whaka-Ora Healthy Harbour plan, including Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, Lyttelton Port Company, Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City Council and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Anyone who wishes to contact the Community Advisory Group can do so by emailing info@healthyharbour.org.nz
