Items of current interest

DUCKS AT THE AGM

24 May

We're very fortunate that Dr Murray Williams, a devotee of ducks, will be speaking to us at our AGM. We expect a large turnout of members and prospective members for this fascinating, lively talk. We will have the formal AGM at 7.30, then settle in to expand our knowledge of ducks.

ALL WELCOME - PLEASE COME

Pauatahanui School hall 7.30pm

Cheryl Cameron, an award-winning documentary maker, has now finished her very exciting project for the Inlet and wider harbour. Living Waters is a series of documentaries commissioned by the Pauatahanui Inlet Community Trust (PICT). There are twelve episodes, dealing with subjects as diverse as shags, pollution, riparian planting and Ngati Toa's relationship with the harbour. GOPI's educational resources team has started producing units of work to accompany the documentaries as part of the educational resources we are currently developing.

The documentaries were officially launched by Mayor Nick Leggett at Porirua's Festival of the Elements in February 2011. Standing room only and hearty congratulations to Cheryl and photographer Matty Warmington were the order of the day.

You can buy the complete DVD for just $15 at Pataka, or you can see all twelve episodes, along with fascinating extra material from the interviews, at:

http://www.livingwatersdoco.co.nz/

The 2010 cockle survey was held on Sunday 21 November, with over 100 enthusiastic volunteers turning up for the 3-hour task.

This very important Guardians activity is a three-yearly event.

NIWA has now analysed the data and you can read the report here.

Porirua Harbour and Catchment Strategy and Detailed Action Plan

UPDATE COMING SHORTLY

Our educational resources are being revised and expanded. Our popular resource for schools, Pauatahanui Inlet – a living resource, is being revised. We are very pleased to be able to announce that Let's visit the Inlet is available now on this website. We're sure teachers planning Inlet visits will welcome the 11 activity worksheets in Let's visit the Inlet.

We also have an ever-increasing number of worksheets available for class or independent work, some of which are designed to go with the Living Waters documentaries. Teachers should keep checking to see the latest additions.

Longer term, we are also planning community education resources, particularly for those working with refugee and migrant groups. These are exciting projects that we know will be warmly welcomed.

We still have a few copies of Pauatahanui Inlet – a living resource. If you would like one for your school, please contact us on pauainlet@gmail.com.

Inlet Pathway progresses, but slowly. Porirua City Council's plan to extend the Inlet Pathway Te Ara Piko from Ration Point to Pauatahanui village was approved more than a year ago, but so far only the small section around Ration Point itself has been completed. The next stage will be the boardwalk and bridge over Ration Creek, which the Council would like to do by the end of the year. We understand that construction of the expensive, technically more difficult and environmentally more sensitive section through to the village may take considerably longer.

Meantime the Council is considering how to extend the pathway westward from Motukaraka Point to Camborne. Council expects to start consulting with GOPI and other community groups and interested parties later this year on two important questions related to this section. One is how to graft a safe pathway on to the edge of Grays Road and the other is how to cross the salt marsh at the mouth of the Kakaho stream.

Keith Calder has put together an attractive YouTube show of scenes from Porirua Harbour. Very good for seeing where Pauatahanui Inlet fits into the harbour in relation to the Onepoto Arm, the city and the surrounding villages. Do look at Keith's show, and share the link with your friends who are not lucky enough to live here. They'll understand why we're so passionate about the Inlet and they'll be wild with envy!

Last Updated: 06/04/2012 4:45pm