Paihia Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade won the Excellence in Project Innovation Award at the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) 2021.
Fresh from winning the country's Best Workplace Flexibility Programme at the annual HRD Awards, the Far North District Council has again been recognised with a national award.
The Paihia Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade won the Excellence in Project Innovation Award at the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) 2021. Due to Covid restrictions, the awards were announced virtually last week.
The Paihia Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade was a $6 million project that saw the installation of 552 bioshell reactors that promote biological processes to improve discharge quality at the Paihia oxidation pond. This reduces ammonia levels to comply with resource consent requirements.
CEO Shaun Clarke said credit for the win must go to the IAM team and especially senior project manager-3 waters Bill Down.
"His leadership, alongside project partner WSP and Marshall Projects, ensured the project was completed two months ahead of the deadline set by the Environment Court."
The Environment Court later commended the district council for resolving a "difficult and sensitive issue" in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Jobs for Nature is a five-month, fulltime training programme funded by the Department of Conservation.
It's a collaborative project between TriOceans Research Institute, Carino Wildlife Cruises and Ngā Hāpu o Te Pewhairangi that recently received a $627,000 financial boost.
The Marine Kaitiaki Course will have students take part in marine education, ecotourism, research and environmental government projects, in addition to attending lectures and visiting fisheries and aquaculture facilities.
The training will give the students tools to boost their careers, gain several certifications including scuba diving, boatmaster, marine mammal medic and more. In-depth career coaching and the creation of a personal kaitiaki project constitutes the final step towards reaching their marine career goals.
"The Marine Kaitiaki Course is more than a course, it aims to empower the next generation of marine conservationists, with a vision for a sustainable future for our moana and local communities," says Thibaud Guerin, course programme director.
The creation of the Bay of Islands Marine Mammal Sanctuary brought together local marine educators, researchers, ecotourism operators and coastal hapū. The need for more marine education was identified and the opportunity to transform vision into reality was provided by Jobs for Nature.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for all involved and truly displays collaboration to achieve greater conservation outcomes" says Stephanie Hayes, DoC Jobs for Nature delivery manager.
The Government's Jobs for Nature programme is a $1.2 billion Covid-19 recovery investment.
A project led by local Hōreke artist Rawinia Le Noel has come to fruition along the Twin Coast Cycle Trail from Utakura to Māngunu.
She headed up the project under the initiative Ngā Mahi Toi o Hōreke, which encouraged locals of all ages and ethnicities who live in, or whakapapa to, Hōreke to produce mahi toi (artworks).
Sixteen murals were created over six months. Each artist told their own story about themselves, their people, the place and pūrākau (legends).
Rawinia said the project has connected the community "from one end of the valley to the other" and she is already getting the next project under way.
The Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board helped with funding for the project.
R. Tucker Thompson, the gaff-rigged topsail schooner that makes its home at Ōpua Wharf, has been tied up at the wharf for several weeks. There is a reason.
The team took out the engine to rebuild the transmission. A transmission part was ordered from the US but was lost along the way so they reordered another part. Both parts turned up on the same day.
Manager Jo Lynch said it meant seven weeks out of action, but there has been a silver lining.
"We now have a new engine with rebuilt transmission and we were able to tackle several of our annual maintenance tasks we would normally have completed in the middle of the year.
"At the time there were cancellations because of Covid and tourist numbers were low so we felt it was an optimal time to do the work that had to be done."
The downtime also saw the ship inspected for marine pests by divers and scientists from the Marine Environmental Field Services (MEFS). They carried out a hull inspection and gifted their time on the Tucker. They also have contract divers for other scientific research around Northland's coastline and lakes.
The ship went back on the water on March 4, continuing the day sails and the sundowner sail every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The last weekend of public sailing will be over Easter and then the R. Tucker Thompson will move into the youth sailing season.
Anyone aged 13-18 can apply for a seven-day voyage that travels to places one normally can't reach by road. During the week-long experience participants will learn general seamanship, how to navigate and read charts, learn safety at sea, learn about the environment and marine ecology, and the lucky ones will catch a fish for supper.
The ship recently received notification that it had retained a Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Business Award. The Gold category recognises the best sustainable business in New Zealand.
For information on the youth sailing programme – www.tucker.co.nz
The Far North District Council is asking for public feedback this month on resource consent processing fees. The aim is to make them fairer and more transparent but it's just one of several proposals.
The council charges an initial lodgement fee to begin the resource consent application process, then invoices property owners for the balance once fees for engineering reports, planners and other experts are known. It says customers can be surprised when they receive their final resource consent invoice, which can be considerably more than the initial lodgement fee.
Lodgement fees do not provide applicants with an accurate indication of the total cost for processing and issuing consents. Actual costs are loaded at the back end of the process when the final invoice is issued.
Rochelle Deane, manager environmental services, says the proposal to adopt higher lodgement fees will provide a more accurate indication of the total cost.
"We want to make consent processing costs more transparent from the beginning so customers can better assess the project budgets. We have done a lot of work to assess what it costs to process various types of resource consent. Our proposal is to increase lodgement fees, so they better reflect final costs."
The council is also asking for public feedback on proposed changes to dog impound fees. It proposes simplifying charges by removing a $125 after-hours impounding fee and increasing handling charges from $7.70 to $15 a day. The handling charge covers the cost of feeding and housing impounded dogs and must be paid by owners before their dog is released.
The proposed increased daily handling fee will still be lower than similar fees charged by other Northland councils.
Further, the council is proposing an increase in cemetery fees to "better reflect changes in land values, staff and other costs". The proposal will increase fees for burial plots, interments (including ash burials), search fees, and special circumstances fees, such as when hand digging of graves is required or burials are conducted on public holidays.
Submissions opened on March 1 and close on April 4. For full details of the proposals and to make a submission, go to www.fndc.govt.nz/haveyoursay. Submissions can also be emailed to: submissions@fndc.govt.nz. Printed copies of submission forms are available from council service centres.
Both kiwi, a male and female, were wild-hatched.