Conservation Award winners announced

28 October 2016 - The best of Canterbury conservation were announced last night at the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board Awards in Christchurch.

Chairman, Mick Abbott, said, “It was an incredibly tough decision to decide the winners as there is so much great conservation work being done around the Canterbury region. The winners are all making a significant contribution to conservation and it’s exciting to see what they’ve achieved and what they have planned for the future. It’s wonderful to be able to congratulate all the great effort going on in conservation by all the finalists.”

The night’s three winners were decided from over 30 entries and were awarded in three categories. Each winner receives $2,000 to go towards their winning project.

Winners of the Recreation Award are 180 Degrees Trust for their Southern Alps Traverse Expedition for 10 disadvantaged youth designed to educate and empower the youngsters aged between 13-17 years. They learn that they can achieve great things when they put their mind to it and with the support of trained staff build up their confidence, social skills land mental and physical fitness.

The Biodiversity Award winners are Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust for Predator Free Arthur’s Pass which aims to rid the Arthur’s Pass area of introduced predators, namely stoats, rats and weasels to enable the native wildlife to flourish and increase in numbers.

The final award was for Young New Zealanders and went to St Andrews School in Timaru, South Canterbury for their Working Waters Trust which features the conservation of the mudfish’s natural habitat by year seven and eight students with the wetlands becoming an outdoor classroom for the children.

The Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board Awards are for people making a difference to Conservation in the Canterbury Waitaha Area. The region extends from the Conway and Clarence rivers in the north, and west to the Main Divide, including all of the Arthur’s Pass National Park. The southern boundary is the catchment of the Waitaki River at Kurow, along the river to the east coast. The coastal boundary is the twelve-mile limit for marine reserves and the Exclusive Economic Zone for marine mammals.

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