Litterbugs loose at memorial olive grove

WILLIAM WOODWORTH

Volunteers tasked with tidying up a memorial olive grove are annoyed and upset by people leaving rubbish and dog poo throughout the space.

A mix up in the maintenance roster saw one lot of the grove overlooked and prompted a barrage of complaints from the public.

But since getting the Taylor River RSA Memorial Olive Grove back in shape, committee members are saying litterbugs have gone from bad to worse.

Committee member and volunteer groundswoman Eileen Stewart says most people are “absolutely perfect” and treat the grove, planted to celebrate the 50th an- niversary of World War II, with respect.

“It’s those lazy few that make this space look untidy,” she says.

The committee in charge of upkeeping the olive grove have requested their landlord, Marlborough District Council, to assist by putting in public bins for path users for years with no results.

Planted to commemorate the olive trees troops sheltered under in Greece and Crete, oil produced from the 1200 trees raises money for Marlborough’s returned servicemen.

“It’s a lovely place to walk through and we love seeing the grove and walkway being used by lots of people, but we just ask for people to leave the space as you find it,” Eileen says.

The public are encouraged to use the grove, alongside the river reserve, for their walks. But those tasked with weekly maintenance increasingly spending their time picking up discarded trash.

“Miscommunication on our end meant we didn’t get to tidying Lot 4 further up the river for a while, but we’re glad to have that sorted.”

Coffee cups, food wrappers and dog poo are the main culprits volunteers are having to pick up from the grove and on the banks of the Taylor.

“Some of the rubbish is just an annoyance for us volunteers, but when you’re cutting grass and connect with a bag of dog poo it’s disgusting,” says Eileen.

“We’ve seen people bring bags to pick up after their dog then just toss it into the grove or just cover it with stones on the trail which ruins the walk of other users.

“Bins at the entrance to the trail or anywhere along the area would save so much trouble, but it isn’t

New directors welcomed to board

Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency for the South Island, has announced two new appointments to its General Partnership Ltd Board.

Dr Lorraine Eade, from Blenheim, and Elijah Pue, from Raetihi, will take the place of departing directors, Rebecca Mason and Simon Heath, whose terms expired on June 30, 2023.

Gena Moses-Te Kani, Co-Chair of Te Taumata, the governing body of Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, paid tribute to the outgoing directors, saying their steady hand and guidance had been integral to the Commissioning Agency’s response to COVID-19.

Moses-Te Kani said as the organisation was a collaboration of iwi for the betterment of all Māori, it was important directors demon- strated a strong affinity with the values and aspirations of ngā iwi o Te Waipounamu, as well as a commitment to the principles of Whānau Ora.

“We are thrilled to have Lorraine and Elijah on board. As the only Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency in the South Island, it is important to us that those tasked with guiding our vision have proven experience activating Whānau

Ora in their daily world. “We feel honoured to have had such a high calibre of candidates apply for these roles, and we are really looking forward to seeing what kind of fresh ideas and thinking Lorraine and Elijah will bring.” hard for people to just pocket their rubbish until they get home and be more considerate to the returned servicemen that the olive grove commemorates and supports.”

Eade and Pue join existing GPL Directors, Tā Mark Solomon (Chair), Renata Davis and Jymal Morgan.

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