Green glamour was out in force for the new-look Environmental Action Awards at Lindisfarne College Auditorium on Wednesday night, reflecting the growing conservation movement in Hawke's Bay.
The awards, held every two years, applaud those who do the back-breaking work behind the scenes, often going unrecognised, unpaid and unthanked, but who say "it's all about getting on with the job".
The seven judges had a difficult task. How do you pick a winner when the projects are so diverse, vary in scale and funding and range from corporate and local government projects to schools, landowners and grass-root volunteer groups? Overall it was the environment which came out winning.
The first of the winners in the six categories announced was Simon Hall, who won the DOC Natural History, Heritage Conservation Award. Mr Hall, who established the Forest Life Restoration Trust, has a personal commitment to restoring endangered species and ecological work. Te Mahia School, was highly commended for "walking the talk" with its many environmental projects and its "think global, act local" philosophy.
Camberley Kindergarten, nominated in two categories, missed out on the the Sus'd Programme Excellence Award to Curtain Bank, which provides pre-loved curtains to homes to help give the residents a better standard of living, but came out tops in the Local Environment Action Fund (LEAF) Project Excellence Award.
The group of young preschool leaders have a school garden overflowing with food, supported with cooking lessons using eggs from laying hens and now take their environmental practices home to teach their whanau.
The winner of the DOC Catherine Tiffen Volunteer Award, Teresa Hurst, said her biggest reward was to get out into the bush to hear the sounds of the restored dawn chorus.
Perhaps the hardest category to judge were the nine entries in the Community Environment Award. The prize went to the ambitious Cape Sanctuary Project, which started as a dream 12 years ago and has only been achieved through the generosity of its three landowners and 600 volunteers. Five years down the track, the large-scale restoration project protects 2500ha of Cape Kidnappers Peninsula and sand dunes along Ocean Beach and is also now home to endangered species and 75,000 reforested native trees. Ventures are ongoing and the project is looking at setting up New Zealand's first bug park with Ruud "The Bug Man" Kleinpaste.
Winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the Environment Award was Kepa Toa, for his commitment to planting and caring for the river margins of Maraetotara River, involvement in Cape Sanctuary, teaching youth in environmental protection and championing traditional Rongoa - Maori medicine using native plants.
Highly commended went to longstanding and tireless environmental worker John Cheyne, who said his work was "a sport, hobby and a religion". He added that satisfaction was gained, not just working with endangered species, but with the people involved.
He said there were some big challenges in Hawke's Bay and water was going to become a big issue, both here and nationally, and it was important the economy was managed carefully with an environmental framework in place.