Foot It campaign is getting results nationwide - how about in our neighbourhood?
It's going to be a beautiful morning pretty much everywhere in the country - so let's get as many kids and their families as possible out of their cars and walking/riding/scooting for this morning's school run. Tell us about it: what are you going to do; how does it work for you? How does it differ from your memories of footing it to school as a kid?
An important plank of our Foot It campaign this year has been to encourage councils to lower speed limits outside schools. Families and schools have been enthusiastic about our initiatives to make it easier for kids to get out of the car. And when we wrote to all New Zealand's mayors in February, they offered resounding support: many wrote back promising to do their best to lower speeds, but cautioning that their hands were tied by NZ Transport Agency rules that (extraordinarily) stood in the way of lower speed limits.
Now, the Government has stepped up too: Associate transport minister Craig Foss has announced new Speed Management Guidelines that will make it simpler for councils to lower speeds on the roads that are busiest with cyclists and pedestrians. Read more from this weekend's Sunday Star-Times: www.stuff.co.nz...
We welcome this. So last week, we wrote to the mayors again (many of whom are new to the roles after the local body elections) challenging them to commit to putting lower speed limits outside schools on their council agendas in the first half of 2017. The Sunday Star-Times and Stuff will report their responses, whether they be good or gutless.
It's not just about the Government and councils, though: it's about taking responsibility as communities and individuals. So take the initiative: bylaw or no bylaw, if enough of us voluntarily slow down as we drive past schools in our towns and neighbourhoods, that will slow other traffic and make our streets safer for our kids.
TODAY'S WEATHER: We've attached the MetService rain map for this morning. In short, it's a great day to walk, ride or scoot to school with your kids, anywhere in the country. But this afternoon, a pile of rain is going to land, splash, in the middle of the North Island and Hawke's Bay. Don't say you weren't warned ....
THE FOOT IT PLEDGE: We're all busy - but many of us can find ONE day a week when we can scoot or walk with our kids to school. So make the pledge!
Join one of our Neighbourly Foot It clubs - the Monday Club, Tuesday Club, Wednesday Club, Thursday Club or Friday Club – and you'll go into the draw to win one of 50 Micro scooters, valued at up to $179.95 each. www.neighbourly.co.nz...
THE SUNDAY STAR-TIMES SAYS:
* Families: Choose one day a week when you walk, scoot or ride with your kids to and from school.
* Schools: Set up walking buses, with parents and volunteers helping local kids get to class safely.
* Councils: Create and enforce lower speed zones outside every school.
TELL US YOUR STORIES: What's the most memorable experience you or your kids have had while commuting to school? Share your story at Stuff Nation and go into the draw for 20 more Micro scooters. www.stuff.co.nz...
BE SAFE: Tips for a safe school run. www.microscooters.co.nz...
Poll: Is dumping an issue in your neighbourhood?
There's nothing worse than strolling around the streets in your neighbourhood and seeing dumped rubbish.
Have you noticed this in your area? What could we do to combat this around the country?
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43.1% Yes, I've seen some illegal dumping
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56.3% No, our neighbourhood is pretty good
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0.7% Other - I'll share below
Neighbourly challenge: Who can solve the daily riddle?
I have a crown but am not a king.
I'm prickly on the outside but sweet within.
What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Successful pest control effort to seek charity status
By local democracy reporting:
West Coast Regional councillors have agreed in principle to hand over the management of its successful Predator Free Te Kinga project to a charitable trust.
Over the past four years the council has led the pest control mission over 17,000 hectares of public and private land around the mountain, funded by a $4.4m Provincial Growth Fund grant in 2020.
The project has had strong buy-in from local farmers.
And the council’s Resource Management committee heard on Tuesday that the project involving Lake Brunner landowners, DOC and local schools is nearing its goal of eliminating possums from Mount Te Kinga.
The last one should be gone by early next year, the council’s environmental science manager Shanti Morgan told the meeting.
The network of self-setting traps, bait stations and cameras managed by the council company Vector Control Services had proved highly effective and native species were returning including kaka, fernbirds, New Zealand falcon.
A bittern and a lone female great spotted kiwi had also been sighted, Morgan said.
But plenty of other pests remained in the area including rats, stoats, feral cats and deer.
A 1080 aerial drop planned for the mountain soon should bring a high rate of kill, she said.
But Predator Free 2050 had confirmed it had no funding for the future maintenance of the Te Kinga project, and the remaining $1.6 million PGF money had to be spent by July next year.
“We need to expand the funding options, and be part of a charitable entity,” Morgan said.
As a non-council enterprise, the Te Kinga project would be eligible for funding from charities and philanthropic sources, and could still contract the council’s business arm, Vector Control Servies to manage the pest control.
Councillor Peter Ewen said he was sceptical that the Predator Free 2050 goal could be achieved and asked if the lone kiwi on Te Kinga should be moved before the 1080 drop.
Morgan referred the councillor to the 1080 investigation by Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright in 2011 which had found the biodiversity benefits of 1080 far outweighed any risks.
“I am confident we can make Te Kinga predator free by 2050,” Ms Morgan said.
The two iwi reps on the committee weighed in with differing perspectives.
Makaawhio representative Jackie Douglas said the iwi was not keen on 1080 but cooperated reluctantly with its use.
Te Waewae chairperson Francois Tumahai said his iwi fully supported the use of 1080 and the setting up of a trust to continue the Te Kinga project after 2025.
The committee voted to approve in principle the setting up of the charitable entity.
*LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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