The Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet were in good heart after a productive year as they held their Annual General Meeting at the Bradey Room in Whitby on June 30. The plaques recognising their wins last year in Porirua City and Wellington Regional Community Awards programmes, in the Heritage and Environment Category, were proudly on display.
The Guardians, founded in 1991, are about to commence their seventeenth year of monitoring the Inlet, of providing opportunities for voluntary community action to sustain its health, and of advocacy that will ensure its sustainability. For eleven of those years Cynthia Petersen, lately of Paremata and now of Raumati, has served on the GOPI committee, for the last eight years as its Secretary.
Chairperson of the Guardians John Wells, in making a presentation to Cynthia to mark her retirement, commented on the Society's loss of her energy and commitment, and its loss of her encyclopaedic knowledge of the Society's affairs and of its organisational history. From the Society archives he produced a small plaque, 'Drains to Sea', one of many around the streets of the Inlet's catchment, permanent reminders of one of Cynthia's early projects as a committee member.
'It is always frightening when a long-serving secretary leaves', he said. 'Thankfully she will be able to advise her successor and the committee through the transitional period. Her service to the Guardians cannot be adequately recognised, but Porirua City Council have gone some way towards it by awarding her a Community Service Award for extraordinary services to education and to the environment.'
The meeting re-elected John Wells to the position of Chairperson and Barry Turfrey as Treasurer. Nadia Webster, a new resident of Camborne, was elected Secretary, and as Committee members, Alastair Harray, Ken Rae, Miles Deck, Tony Shaw, Susan-Jane Owen and Janet Ryan.
In his annual report John Wells paid tribute also to retiring committee members Susan Chapman, Margaret Richards, Vicky Froude and Chris Richmond. He welcomed the ongoing participation of Russell Morrison as an Observer from Paremata Residents Association and the new webmaster for the GOPI website, Beverly Fairfax.
The Society looks to increase its membership over the next twelve months, and as a follow up to the volunteer programme of stream monitoring has plans, after consultation with Greater Wellington officers, to invite members and the community to a public meeting on the significance of the findings it has now amassed over three years.
The meeting adjourned to hear a talk by Allan Munro of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand on the findings of three surveys of bird life on the Inlet, the surveys once again a project conducted by volunteers which extended through every second month over two-year periods in 1982-4, 1992-4 and 2002-4.
He advised that two species have appeared only in the most recent survey, the striking white spoonbills possibly from a colony on North Kapiti, and the Canada geese. The greatest increase over the three surveys was of the Australian wanderer, the spur-winged plover now established throughout New Zealand .
Membership enrolment forms for those wishing to join The Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet are available on the website, www.gopi.wellington.net.nz.
Ken Rae
Publicity Officer, GOPI.
4a Paua Place
Plimmerton
233 9614
ken.rae@xtra.co.nz
