An enthusiastic team of 30 volunteers removed old ovens, fridges, fences, stereos, lawnmowers and more from the Pourewa Valley on September 19.
Our residents association joined forces with the newly-created Friends of Pourewa Valley to do the cleanup event, which was organised as part of ‘Keep New Zealand Beautiful Week’ (September 14-20, 2015).
The Pourewa Valley lies between Meadowbank and Mission Bay. The cleanup event was held mainly in the area behind the ASB Stadium on Kohimarama Rd, which has clearly been used as an unofficial rubbish dump in times gone by.
For years Roy Clements (see his work in this clip from TV One’s ‘Good Sorts’ segment) and other people passionate about the valley have been clearing weeds, trapping pests and planting natives. Until now they’ve not had the manpower or disposal resources to clear the rubbish.
Waste Management kindly provided two skips to supplement the rubbish bags supplied by Keep New Zealand Beautiful.
The valley will soon be home to the Eastern Path – a shared walkway and cycleway that stretches from Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive. Friends of Pourewa Valley hope that the valley can be protected from development, and perhaps one day be opened up as a recreational reserve for all to use.
Some photos from the day are below. For more, see our Pourewa Valley Clean-up page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/826432210811327/
Cleaner-uppers at briefing
Orakei Local Board Chair Desley Simpson with a bunch of scrap metal removed. Desley definitely wins the prize for best dressed!
Our metal skip filling up!
Old fridges among the weird and wonderful items removed at our clean up day
Removing rubbish with a smile – Orakei Local Board member Mark Thomas with local volunteers
A well-deserved cuppa and cookie after our clean-up day