Keep New Zealand Beautiful Annual Awards winners announced

• Dunedin wins Beautiful Towns & Cities Award 2014

• Our Seas Our Future wins Tidy Kiwi Award

The Keep New Zealand Beautiful Annual Awards were announced last weekend in Wellington at the KNZB National Conference and Dunedin successfully secured two awards for the city, including the prestigious Beautiful Towns & Cities Award.

The Beautiful Towns & Cities Award recognises and celebrates positive actions taken by communities in local and urban areas to protect and enhance their local environments.

They encompass initiatives as diverse as litter prevention, recycling, protection of the environment, preserving heritage, community action and leadership and environmental sustainability programmes.

Dunedin was the stand-out winner with a wide range of projects and initiatives that enhance their local environment. Their achievements are a testament to the hard work and vision of Keep Dunedin Beautiful Coordinator and Dunedin City Council Community Development officer, Darlene Thomson. Project highlights for the past year included:

• Coordinating 2,468 participants for KNZB Clean-Up Week across 29 groups, 23 schools and 24 individual or family clean-up events

• A further 27 large-scale clean ups during the year with groups and schools

• A volunteer awards programme that recognized 67 local groups or individuals

• A ‘Beautiful Accommodation Provider’ competition that encouraged hotels, motels and holiday parks to showcase their efforts in beautification and recycling

• Innovative information programmes for students during orientation week

• 100 hanging baskets in the city centre

• A Trees for Babies event that resulted in 50 native trees planted

• The established theatre group performed 68 shows across 47 schools, delivering messages on recycling and sustainability

• A mural and bus shelter programme

• Recyclia – the 5th

• Anti-graffiti initiatives and support of Task Force Green volunteers

The judging panel were understandably impressed by the extent of the work undertaken in Dunedin to inspire and empower the local community to care for and enhance their city.

The KNZB Tidy Kiwi Award recognises and rewards an individual or team who have distinguished themselves as truly extraordinary and serve as an inspiration to us all. The Award honours outstanding and exceptional leadership in litter prevention, waste reduction/recycling and beautification activities.

The award was won by Dunedin based ‘Our Seas Our Future’, a group of motivated volunteers passionate about protecting New Zealand’s coastal and marine environment. Under the direction of dedicated marine biologist, Noel Jhinku, they coordinate regular clean-up events around the region, engaging with the local community and groups to inspire people to take action. Their efforts to
educate and raise awareness make them the worthy recipients of this year’s Tidy Kiwi Award.

ends

© Scoop Media