Access issues put programme on hold

Waiting game: Wild Lab Tiaki Taiao programme lead Peter Jarratt with Stinky the stoat on Riverside Road, a large section of which is only accessible to residents following Cyclone Gabrielle. Picture by Paul Rickard

A Tairāwhiti education programme that boasts a one-year waiting list has bad news for schools eagerly awaiting their turn to visit. 
Wild Lab Tiaki Taiao, operating out of Waikereru Ecosanctuary, has been forced to put its popular programme on hold while the Gisborne District Council works to reinstate access on Riverside Road.
Programme team lead Pete Jarratt has been tasked with bearing the sad news to schools, many of which he said were desperate to visit. 
“At any point it’s important, but at the moment it’s become vital for the region that we keep this facility going,” Jarratt said. 
“It’s a time when we’ve got to get people feeling like there’s a place they feel good for the day, and can get out of their heads.”
The programme has been operating for six years and now reaches about 1000 local children annually.
In 2022, it secured funding from the Ministry of Education, ensuring its future for another three years. 
Young people are given the opportunity to engage with both Māori and western knowledge systems as they explore flora, fauna, predators, rivers, and natural and human history.
“In terms of us running the programme, we’re ready to go. We’ve got staff waiting and we’ve got jobs on the line if we don’t get that going,” Jarratt said. 
Dr Jennie Harre Hindmarsh looks after Longbush Ecological Trust’s community and education portfolio, and said the ecosanctuary had been on the council’s case “for years” about the section of Riverside Road between the tarseal ending and the entrance to the ecosanctuary. 
Following the cyclone, the council made progress clearing the road to a sufficient standard for four-wheel-drive vehicles, but rain last Monday and Tuesday had created setbacks.
Dr Harre Hindmarsh said it was important the road was repaired to a standard that was not just suitable for cars, but buses too.
“They (the schools) are very disappointed. The ones booked in for the next few weeks are saying it’s really important for the health and wellbeing of our kids and the school that we get back into what we’ve booked in, as soon as possible,” she said.
Wild Lab Tiaki Taiao was now waiting on the council’s website to display the road as “open”, so it could call on the bus company it uses to check the road for suitability.
Gisborne District Council journeys infrastructure manager Dave Hadfield said Riverside Road had been severely impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Access had been restored to the 7km mark, but ongoing silt removal, drop-out repairs, drain cleaning and bridge repairs were still in progress.
“While our contractors will systematically fix these faults, Riverside Road is in a very vulnerable and saturated state,” Hadfield said.
“There will be ongoing slips when we receive any rain. Unfortunately, this will impact Waikereru Ecosanctuary operations as road access may not be guaranteed especially as we go into winter.”  
There would be further discussion about resilience and future-proofing as part of the district’s cyclone recovery plan, he said.