Hawkes Bay Environmental Award Winners Announced
The winners of the Hawke’s Bay Environmental Awards 2009 were announced tonight, as well as two highly commendeds.
The awards are an annual event to encourage positive change and environmental leadership in the region and are a combined council initiative supported by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Hastings District Council, and Napier City Council.
“All the winners are to be congratulated. This year, once again, we were really pleased with the standard, but each year the bar seems to be lifted and people are aiming for and achieving more in environmental care in Hawke’s Bay,” said Dave Pipe, Napier Councillor and chairman of the awards joint working group.
The Community award category was won by St Vincent de Paul Society Recycling Hastings. This community organisation is recycling computers and associated equipment, preparing them for resale where possible, and chipping plastic and other elements for reuse or for export where other countries are able to recover materials. Computer recycling is one of the most difficult and labour intensive waste minimisation operations. St Vincent de Paul is working to a business plan and uses a mix of paid, work experience and voluntary labour.
A Highly Commended certificate for the Community category was presented to Hastings & Havelock North Forest and Bird Society for their development and restoration of Blowhard Bush (alongside the Napier –Taihape Road) including new visitor facilities, planting, tracks and pest control.
The joint winners of the Ede Award (pronounced Eddie) environmental education category were Taikura Rudolf Steiner School and Havelock North Playcentre.
Both of these learning centres have developed environmental education programmes that include students participating and learning from a native plant nursery and vegetable garden. They also learn about healthy eating options and take part in community planting projects. Taikura is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and has always had an ethic of environmental care, whereas Havelock North Play Centre developed their initiative with parents and children during an 18 month period.
“The judges found it very difficult to choose between the achievements of the play centre and the school, as despite their different age groups, they had both achieved a significant amount in connecting children with the environment, whether it’s growing, cooking or curriculum studies. So a joint award was made for the first time in this award programme, and congratulations go to both organisations,” said Councillor Dave Pipe.
Highly commended in this section was awarded to Hastings Intermediate School for further developments of their in-school environmental programme which includes a Fresh Tastes Best Cafe serving food grown in the school gardens. This EnviroSchool is a past Environmental Award winner.
Winner of the Business Resource Efficiency category is Quantum Laboratories Ltd, a Waipawa based company helping farmers to improve nitrogen and other elements in farm soils to increase productivity and animal health. This company offers an alternative approach to farmers wanting to improve their farm performance.
The Product and Service category award was won by BBE Architects Ltd (Building, Biology and Ecology) for their contribution to more sustainable housing and buildings in the region, using a range of techniques and services. The company also provides education programmes on sustainable building and living.
The event was hosted at Hawke’s Bay Opera House by the Chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Environmental Awards working group, Napier Councillor Dave Pipe, and the awards were presented by guest speaker, Dr Susan Krumdieck, a sustainable energy specialist from the University of Canterbury. The Audience also enjoyed a short performance by Kids 4 Drama, a group of students touring schools in Hawke’s Bay with a theatre presentation on waste.
The winners were presented with art awards designed by Julia Godfree of Havelock North which are Oamaru Stone with a blue glass inset this year to mark the 2009 awards. Winners also receive a certificate and a cheque for $500 to assist with the further development of their project, while Highly Commended receive a certificate.
No winners were awarded in either the rural or individual/family categories this year.
Hawke’s Bay Environmental Awards 2009
Winners and Highly Commended Notes
Ede Award, environmental education category
The Ede award (pronounced ‘eddie’) is for ‘education to the power of the environment’. This award is for schools and educational institutions which have a crucial role in teaching children, young people and adults about the environment and the possibilities for the future.
For the first time in the awards the judges have decided to have joint winners. This is an extraordinary circumstance due to the extremely high quality of each applicant and yet some clear differences between them – while the judges tried their best to find a clear winner, they found it impossible to judge one project over another.
Joint Winner - Taikura Rudolf Steiner School, Hastings
Taikura Rudolf Steiner School is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year ... 60 years of an ethos of education bound up with environment care. The judges were impressed by the commitment of the students to environmental care and community action. Each class has its own vegetable garden and they manage composting and soil care. The school also has a native plant nursery. Younger students have the task of raising plants, often from seed, and bagging up the growing plants, while older students take on the task of planting these alongside the Maraetotara Stream as an important contribution to this community restoration project
Contact Lynne Trafford, ph 878 7363, 021 302 261
Joint Winner - Havelock North Play Centre
The other joint winner of the Ede Award category is Havelock North Play Centre. In comparison with Taikura’s 60 years, the play centre has achieved everything within 18 months which is proof that real commitment can make a great change in a small amount of time. A year and a half ago Havelock North Play Centre wrote up a timeline for themselves and their children under 5. This focused on a fruit and vegetable garden and native plantings. The children are involved in the whole process from growing to eating the fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks with excess crops sometimes taken home for mum and dad. The playcentre has been involved in planting natives at the Karamu Stream Enhancement Project, further involving their children and families in environmental care and community action. Families inspired by what was happening at the play centre, were encouraged to try out gardening at home ... extending the learning into a more sustainable way of life well into the future.
Contact Louise Trent, 878 4601, 027 234 8707
Highly commended Ede category - Hastings Intermediate School
This school seems to live and breathe environmental awareness – they are a past Environmental Award winner and an EnviroSchool. This school has a wide range of sustainability work involving their students and they are great at thinking up something innovative and practical to encourage positive sustainable behaviour. This year their entry is for their new Fresh Tastes Best cafe – a new project where fresh produce from their school garden can be served for student snacks. It also boasts the use of many recycled building materials plus biodegradable dishes. The cafe was not fully operational at the time of judging so we expect to see great developments here in future.
Contact Jo Pearson, 021 217 0601
Product or Service Category
Products and services designed, developed and/or manufactured in Hawke’s Bay that assist customers to use resources or energy more efficiently, prevent pollution and/or has benefits for natural resources. The product or service may be new or may have a proven track record or a newly recognised benefit.
Winner - BBE Architects Hawke’s Bay – Building, Biology and Ecology Institute.
This company has been a pioneer in eco-architecture in New Zealand since 1990 and recently amalgamated with two Napier design groups to establish an independent Hawke’s Bay practice. The aim is to improve education on eco building and to design healthy and sustainable homes and buildings in the Bay. They have worked with the Hastings District Council, Karamu High School and Sustaining Hawke’s Bay Trust. They are leading the way with cost effective, user friendly, sustainable, environmentally friendly homes and buildings in the region, including an eco lodge as an educational and recreational facility. And they walk the talk in their own business with a ‘solid green’ philosophy in their offices.
Contact Steve Jaycock, ph 021 1704558
Business Resource Efficiency Category
For small and large businesses - commercial and industry involved in secondary production, processing, manufacturing, or servicing – which show leadership through sound environmental practices such as energy saving, water reduction, waste management, or preventing pollution, and may be doing added work such as protecting or enhancing natural resources, or involving the community in some environmental activity.
Winner - Quantum Laboratory Ltd.
This independent Waipawa company is taking an innovative approach to our soils. While this company might not fit with ‘orthodox farming’ views, they are making a difference to soils and water - their customers report better pasture and animal health, and a reduced impact from droughts. They provide farmers with the knowledge to re-establish the nitrogen cycle so that more sustainable agriculture can be achieved. They have been successful in increasing farm productivity and reducing dependence on phosphates, and restoring a sustainable pollution free environment to farms. They are taking an innovative approach to issues that are generating more and more interest within the farming community.
Contact Peter Lester, ph 06 857 7333
Community Category
For ‘not for profit’ groups, organisations, marae, neighbourhood groups and volunteers who are involved in planting, restoration, conservation and environmental education.
Winner - St Vincent de Paul Recycling Hastings
The St Vincent de Paul Society in Hastings started this project in 2007 with the lease of an empty packhouse. They take e-waste – all computers and other associated equipment – to either refurbish for resale or to dismantle. They try to match product to users. The only export is motherboards as this is best recycled in India. They crush metal and granulate plastic into chips. They are working to a business plan which takes account of government regulations and also steers funding and business development. They have an enthusiastic work force of paid staff and work experience people, plus volunteers. Their motto is “let us do without hesitation whatever good lies at our hand” which is appropriate as e-waste is one of the more difficult to keep out of our landfills and definitely needs a lot of hands to do good.
Contact Frank Newrick, 021 145 2677
Highly commended - Hastings/ Havelock Forest and Bird Society
The restoration of their 63 hectare Blowhard Bush reserve has been a project that the whole community will be able to enjoy – especially this summer. The high commitment of volunteers has improved the track and facilities including new toilets and a shelter. They have been busy restoring the bush with seedlings grown from seed sourced in the reserve, helped by a large predator control programme since 2003. The society works in well with other agencies, but it’s a keen group of volunteers who ‘chip away’ at the work needed to restore a place which will be enjoyed by today’s and future generations.
Contact Ian Noble, ph 878 5882
No award in rural or individual/family categories
There are no awards in either the rural or individual/family categories this year. Glen Farms was the only entry in the rural category and although they have done some excellent work managing their dairy farm and fencing off of bush gullies as waterway protection, they have not achieved as much as previous winners in this category. The only entrant in the individual category was considered to be more appropriate in the product/service category and the judges are looking forward to that project developing.