Media Release 20 October 2010

More Kudos for Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park

Wellington City Council and the Makara Peak Supporters group won the New Zealand Recreation Association’s (NZRA) 2010 Outstanding Park Award for their collaboration on Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park at last night’s NZRA annual awards ceremony. They shared the Outstanding Park honour with Auckland Botanic Gardens’ Potter Children’s Garden.

The 230ha park represents a unique partnership between the Makara Peak Supporters and Wellington City Council with most work done by volunteers. It is the region’s premier mountain bike park and also one of Wellington’s most visited reserves- soon to be protected as a Scenic Reserve.

“In addition to providing local residents with a fantastic resource, the park has seeded other community efforts in track building in other parts of the city reserve network, and it values ecological restoration with one native seedling being planted for every metre of track developed,” said NZRA Chief Executive Steve Gibling.

Gibling commented that the judging panel was impressed with many aspects of the project including the community engagement, the value placed on both recreation and conservation goals, and the park’s great financial performance.

The NZRA Outstanding Awards were presented during NZRA’s annual conference awards dinner, which was held at Wellington’s Te Papa National Museum. Recreation professionals from all around the country attended the conference, entitled “Connect…the dots”, which focussed on connecting policy and practice, politics and programmes, as well as different sectors within the community.

“Recreation is essential to our physical and mental health,” says Gibling. “We are lucky in New Zealand that we have access to fantastic outdoor parks and reserves, we have modern recreation facilities and a dedicated group of professionals who strive to deliver appealing, safe, appropriate and enjoyable recreational services.

“The awards are about thanking those people, and recognising those among them who raise the bar, develop innovative solutions and inspire New Zealanders to get active and healthy,” he says.

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