Porirua Harbour Trust
Love Your Coast Month
12 Nov 2013
The Porirua Harbour and its many catchments will be getting a good spring clean in the next four weeks as local schools take “Love your Coast” to heart through organized clean ups of streams, lagoons and beaches.
Region-wide “Love your Coast Wellington” clean-up and education series starting on the 11th November and running through until 14 December a concerted effort is now underway.
Porirua Harbour Trust and Keep Porirua Beautiful are working with Sustainable Coastlines who are running awareness presentations and clean ups with schools alongside renewable leaders Meridian Energy and with support from Wellington Community Trust and the Wellington City Council.
Seven schools within the Porirua catchment and over 1,000 pupils will be receiving an educational presentation from Sustainable Coastlines and over 700 pupils will be involved in organised clean-ups of our local waterways, beaches and harbour edges during the month.
Porirua Harbour Trust along with Keep Porirua Beautiful are holding two community clean up events during “Love your Coast” month both on a Friday evening at low tide. The events will concentrate on the inter tidal zone (low tide to high tide area) in the Onepoto Arm and particularly where the Porirua Stream enters the Porirua Harbour. It is hoped that over the two evenings all of the rubbish from the Porirua railway station to Whiteria Park can be cleared away.
“The clean up in the intertidal zone is a key contributor to the visual beauty of the Porirua Harbour” says Porirua Harbour Trust chairperson Grant Baker. “The Porirua Stream mouth is the first part of the Porirua Harbour that people travelling north on the train see, and keeping it clear of rubbish is a challenge as it is the main collection point for rubbish both from Porirua Stream and from the prevailing wind on the Onepoto Arm”.
Community groups and volunteers planning to be involved in the community clean ups need to meet just north of Pirates Cove in Wineera Drive at 5.30pm on Friday 22nd November and Friday 6th December. The clean ups are planned to take no more than 90 minutes and are a great way to participate in restoring our harbour. All co-ordination, rubbish sacks and gloves are provided by Keep Porirua Beautiful and Porirua City Council takes the rubbish away, just come along in sensible clothing and strong footwear for an invigorating time.