15 December 2014

Ashburton Zone Committee appoints two community members

Craig Fowles has been appointed to the Ashburton Zone Committee as part of a process to ensure a wide range of views are reflected.

Craig is a Technical Manager for ANZCO Foods Canterbury where he has a frontline presence in its day to day management of water and water-related issues (see below for more).

Gordon Guthrie has been reappointed to the committee for three years. Gordon is General Manager of Electricity Ashburton and runs a small cattle stud with his wife on their Winchmore property.

Ashburton is one of 10 water management committees set up in 2010 and 2011 as part of the collaborative Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) to develop community-led recommendations to provide sustainable benefits from our water resource.

The Ashburton Zone Committee is a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Ashburton District Council. Each of Canterbury’s ten zone committees has four to seven community members, an Environment Canterbury Commissioner, Councillors from the relevant district Council, and representatives from Ngāi Tahu Rūnanga.

The other community members on the Ashburton Zone Committee are Donna Field, Sheryl Stivens, Ben Curry, Jackie Wright, and Chris Allen. Biographies for zone committee members can be found on the Ashburton page at www.ecan.govt.nz/canterburywater.

Christina Robb, Programme Manager CWMS, said the selection process focussed on finding people who can see others’ points of views and work collaboratively to find solutions for water issues.

“The CWMS is an innovative approach to managing fresh water. It’s about finding the best ways to restore our environment and provide for viable farming and communities throughout the region.

“We are pleased with the quality of the applicants and we’re sure the committee has a good balance of community representatives who are passionate about making a positive difference to local water management.

“Each of Canterbury’s ten zone committees is focused on local actions to deliver the gains envisaged by the CWMS. This includes encouraging good management practices from all land users, working to improve biodiversity and ecosystems, improving urban stormwater quality and the reliability of water for irrigation, as well as making sure there is a safe supply of water for local communities,” she said.

A key focus for the Ashburton Zone Committee has been on working closely with the community to develop water quality and quantity limits for the Hinds Plains area. A Hinds Drains Working Party has also been established to improve cultural, ecological and economic outcomes from the Hinds drains. A number of practical projects are underway to improve the opportunities for gathering mahinga kai, ecological health of the drains, and reliability of supply for water users.

Looking forward the committee will be focused on working with landowners to develop a nutrient model for sensitive lakes in the zone to improve their systems and practices to ensure they are farming in an environmentally responsible manner.

There are six water management committees refreshing their membership this year. The remaining committees were exempt from the process as they either had recent community membership changes or are undertaking the process early next year.

Craig Fowles
Craig Fowles has a senior management position at ANZCO Foods Canterbury. As Technical Manager for this organisation he is in charge of environmental compliance, with a frontline presence in its day to day management of water and water-related issues.

Part of his role involves neighbour liaison work, in which he visits neighbours and runs liaison community meetings to enable them to voice and resolve any issues in a professional environment.

ENDS

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