Award for fastest paintbrush

Keep Levin Beautiful chairperson Victoria Kaye-Simmons and Colin Brown with his environmental award.

Levin's Colin Brown has won a prestigious national award for his work helping beautify the town.

Mr Brown's voluntary work over the past seven years has included removing tags from Oxford St, keeping tidy an area at the southern entrance to the town and the Weraroa Mall garden, and providing education resources to the local Junior Neighbourhood Support group.

For that effort he took home Keep New Zealand Beautiful's Ruud Kleinpaste award this month.

Named after television personality, entomologist and former KNZB patron, Ruud Kleinpaste, the award is given to the KNZB member whose efforts go beyond what many volunteer KNZB members might do.

Mr Brown got started after walking up Oxford Street, counting 47 tags between the traffic lights and deciding to do something about it.

It also took a stern word from his wife after he moaned to her about all the rubbish he saw lying in his street.

"She said why don't you stop moaning about it and do something, so I did."

Mr Brown said keeping a town looking good was good for people's pride.

He said Horowhenua had so many things going for it and "with a bit of effort we can make it a stunning part of the world".

He enjoyed working with school children and getting the anti-rubbish message to them as they were the future of looking after the town.

Mr Brown was seen as the busiest tag buster in Levin, the person with the stocks of paint-out paint and the fastest paint-out brush in town, said former district councillor Tony Rush, who nominated Mr Brown for the award.

"[His work is] part of the passion that Colin displays for Levin, and how we present ourselves to our citizens and visitors. That's why Colin has such a positive influence of change and improvement in Levin," Mr Rush said.

Keep Levin Beautiful chairperson Victoria Kaye-Simmons said Mr Brown was very deserving of the award as he was passionate about the district and making things happen.