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Firstly, I would like to congratulate Zoi SadowskiSynnott and Nico Porteous for their terrific results in the Slopestyle, Big air and half pipe in Beijing Winter Olympics. The hard work has paid off for you both so well deserved. Also well done to those who performed their best over in Beijing. You are also champions to reach such hights in your chosen sport.

I have seen a little of the Olympics but what I have seen has been impressive. Not sure if you are all aware but one of our newer officers was one of New Zealand’s top skeleton racers not that long ago. It is a sport that looks pretty intense to me, hurtling face first at 120km/h with your chin 50mm from the ice. No thanks!!

Well done to our local athletes Braden Currie, Dougall Allen and Simone Maier who showed the strength of Wānaka sport at last weekend’s Coast to Coast.

We attended a potential water rescue on the lake where a foil boarder seemed to be having trouble in the lake on Friday.

We took a report of yet another fraud where sadly someone has scammed their way into a bank account and taken thousands of dollars. This is a weekly occurrence here so I can only imagine how many other areas are affected by this same behaviour.

We seemed to have escaped better off than some other areas with last week’s Covid outbreak so well done with healthy practices Wānaka.

We suspended several drivers’ licenses this week for excess demerits. I think it is worth thinking about when you are speeding or on your phone that you could lose your license after a few tickets. A lot of people need their licence to keep their job. Each ticketable offence can be avoided by complying with the road rules.

This week we attended a fire at a local business. Thankfully it seems this was caused more from a bad practice than anything intentional and it was caught early enough this time.

We followed up a complaint of an assault with a weapon and a potential retaliation. Do not take matters into your own hands. We will get a better result than you and it is not unusual for both sides to end up facing criminal charges when there is a better way.

I’ve spent a bit of time on the roads this week and have seen some great driving and some awful driving. Let’s stay alert and drive to the conditions.

It wasn’t all bad, however. There seemed to be plenty of romance in the air on Valentine’s Day. One young couple came to our attention when they were out in the middle of the lake on Valentine’s morning and seemed to be enjoying each other’s company on a small catamaran.

Stay safe, look after each other and remember one good deed can change a grumpy day.

PHOTO: Wānaka Sun It has been great to see people out and about in Upper Clutha enjoying the glorious weather, our lakes and reserves during the holiday season. Now, we’re back to work in earnest.

Mature pine trees have been cleared at Eely Point to make way for the construction of a long-awaited Coastguard base, which is to begin soon. Additional trees that were identified as a safety risk were also removed. Significant native plantings are planned for the area, which will ensure it quickly recovers and looks attractive.

A gentle reminder that overnight parking is not permitted at the Eely Point Reserve. Early in March, our team will begin disposing of boats and trailers abandoned at the reserve. People were warned of this plan last year and several vessels have been removed by their owners. However, if you know someone who still has a vessel at the reserve, please urge them to move it or contact the Council.

A fault in the irrigation system at Pembroke Park was detected in January. This has been fixed and irrigation is now back at full capacity. Unfortunately, the problem coincided with the driest January in many years, and we acknowledge the park has looked patchy this summer.

Money for irrigation and field improvements at the park has been allocated in Years 2 and 3 of the Council’s 2021-31 Ten Year Plan.

Many thanks to those who raised the problem with Council, as we can only fix these things when we know about them. If you are aware of other things that need our attention, Fix It forms can be found on our website at www.qldc.govt.nz/do-it-online/contact-usfix-it and general issues can also be raised via the Snap, Send, Solve mobile app.

We're installing a new water main pipe and pump station in Wānaka to improve the capacity and resilience of drinking water supply and infrastructure in Western Wānaka. The pipeline will start slightly up Anderson Road, cross the State Highway, head along Macpherson Street and Golf Course Road. Work along Golf Course Road is expected to be completed by the end of April. Following this, work on the pipeline will continue along the remaining streets. Earthworks for the pump station are about to begin. The project will cause some disruption while Golf Course Road is reduced to one lane. The team is making every effort to get this upgrade completed as quickly as possible and we’re grateful for your patience.

The arrival of Covid-19 is challenging on many fronts, but we’ve been planning for this to ensure services and facilities can continue to meet the needs of the community.

Council offices in Ardmore Street, Wānaka, remain open to everyone, so the whole community has access to a range of in-person services if they need that option. However, many things can be done online at www. qldc.govt.nz or via telephone. These include making payments, registering dogs, arranging bin collections, and applying for resource and building consents. If you can, please use contactless services to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in our district.

We also ask that everyone visiting our offices or facilities does their bit to keep each other safe–please wear a face mask correctly, maintain 1m physical distancing, and be patient.

Our libraries also have a great array of online resources, ranging from eBooks and free film subscription services to education programmes. Go to https://codc-qldc.govt. nz/library-online for more information.

For those who do not want to visit a library for whatever reason, MyBookBag is a free clickand-collect service. Place an order online or by phone, and library staff will fill a bag with items to suit your taste, then let you know when it is ready to collect. Wānaka Library also offers a delivery service for housebound members.

Holiday activities at the Wānaka Recreation Centre pool were a big hit, with many enjoying the toys, pod racers and more. Unfortunately, the pool has had to close early some days because of a shortage of lifeguards. If you know of anyone looking for a great job with a fun team, encourage them to apply for a lifeguard position!

We’re keen to hear from the community, so we are going to try a new venue and time for our next WCB drop-in session. It will be held at Ritual Espresso Café, 18 Helwick Street, from 45pm March 2. QLDC will soon be consulting on its Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan and 2022-23 Annual Plan, so we’d love your thoughts on these or any other issues.

February 20, 2022

There’s been a bit of shenanigans at number 11. In may seem rather morbid that from time to time I put out a reminder to report any grebes found deceased in any lakes around this area. The following best provides why we do this.

A new science paper has just been published in one of the foremost journals in the world. The short title of the paper (my version) is “discovery of two new species of parasites found in Lake Wānaka Grebes”.

The full title is: “Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the threatened Australasian crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus australis Gould 1844) in New Zealand, with descriptions of Baruscapillaria kamanae n.sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae) and Cryptocotyle micromorpha n.sp. (Trematoda: Opisthorchiidae). Bronwen Presswell and Jerusha Bennett. Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O.Box 56 Dunedin, New Zealand. The paper is published in the Journal of Systematic Parasitology”

This is the third new species of parasite described from the three grebes by Bronwen and her colleagues. So it’s not just me that has made this possible, it’s you folk out there who have discovered the dead birds and brought them to me. This is not the end of this journey. It continues because this is the first time ever that the parasites of this grebe species have been investigated and I gather there are more yet to be found. I recently mentioned in one of my diaries how much I enjoy the language of science and its methodology and I seriously enjoyed reading this paper.

Some of you will be aware that for a time I collected and restored early microscopes and of course these were light microscopes (objects illuminated by light, artificial or natural) as opposed to the many varieties of the modern electron microscopes. Part of this paper outlines the preparation of parasites to be examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and I quote below:

“Specimens chosen for SEM were preserved in 4% buffered formalin. They were then transferred to 2.5% gluteraldehyde in 0.1M phosphate buffer, then post- fixed in 1% osmium tetroxide and dehydrated through a series of ethanols, critical point- dried in a CPD030 Bal Tec critical point dryer using carbon dioxide, mounted on aluminium stubs, and sputter coated with gold/palladium (60:40) to a thickness of 10nm in an Emitech K575X Peltier cooled high resolution sputter-coater”.

I can assure you that there are no spelling errors in the last para, but I just want to show that work like this is more than peering down a microscope or gazing at a video screen; it encompasses a huge range of fascinating technologies, disciplines and skills. Finally, the paper cites some 60 plus references, even citing one of the diaries published in the Wānaka Sun. So congratulations to Bronwen and Jerusha, this is a great piece of work.

We still have a number of birds to hatch their young, 12 all told covering 39 eggs. Nests 8, 9, 1, RC, 15, 11B and 3 have hatched their young over the last week and a half. For much of the summer we have had 16 to 18 nests under observation until a pair decided to share nest 11. That seemed OK for a while, and then things fell apart. And this is where things get a bit complicated. Note that 11B also hatched two chicks this last week. Question. Was one of those from the egg that was abandoned on nest A, or were both chicks from nest B? There remains on nest B what appears to be two complete eggs and the remnants of a third. I am keen to get to them before the Black- backed gulls beat me to it.

I am rapt by the fantastic paintings of grebes on the transformer on Lakeside Road just above the Boardwalk. I am reliably informed they are by Chrissy Wickes with the approval of QLDC and Aurora and supported by the Upper Clutha Community Arts Council. They are so cool.

John Darby, Markus Hermanns and Dave Thomas contribute to the regular diary.

Message on a bottle: the new plant-based bottles come with a bit of self-promotion. Anchor’s plastic plant

Anchor has launched its plant-based bottle, which is recyclable, in the South Island. The availability of the bottle in the South Island demonstrates Fonterra’s commitment to have all packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Anchor Blue 2L in the new plant-based bottle, landed on shelves across the South Island at the beginning of this month.

The bottle is made from sugar cane.

The sugarcane used in the plant-based plastic is natural, renewable, and sustainably sourced and is an alternative to non-renewable sources like fossil fuels. In addition, sugarcane captures CO2 from the atmosphere as it grows, resulting in a milk bottle that also has a low carbon footprint. The sugarcane is made into plant-based HDPE plastic in Brazil and the bottle itself is made in New Zealand and is recyclable in kerbside recycling collections.

Fonterra Brands New Zealand, Marketing Director, Mike Boness said the plant-based milk bottle was an important component in Fonterra’s wider sustainability strategy.

“We have also committed to moving towards renewable energy in transport and manufacturing and finding ways to manage and reduce our emissions over the whole supply chain.”

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