Whangārei woman Carol Peters awarded Queen's Service Medal in 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours

In between Carol Peters' community work she finds time to paint. Photo / John Stone

"We didn't say what do you want, we said what do you want to contribute?"

That is the question which has underpinned the past 25 years Carol Peters has spent supporting Northlanders with their ideas and dreams.

Peters, who has a PhD in community development, has been awarded a Queen's Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the community.

She was typically quick to defer her recognition to the people around her.

"I was quite pleased because of that acknowledgement of our whole group and whole group's work over 25 years."

That whole group is Whangārei's One Double Five Community House, which Peters helped establish. The house offers a range of services, from a law centre to crisis social support.

Through One Double Five, Peters was part of initiating a waka ama programme in the community in 2003 and helped construct the wharehui, whareiti and cyber whare room at Te Puawaitanga Marae in Ōtangarei.

She was involved in the establishment of Taitokerau Emergency Housing Charitable Trust and was an adviser from 2003 to 2006.

She managed Taitokerau Community Law between 1993 and 2018. She helped establish the Otangarei Youth Project in 2013.

Peters was treasurer of Northland Urban Rural Mission from 1993 to 2018 and helped establish Channel North TV and was a trustee and chair between 2006 and 2016.

She was chair of Regional Television Broadcaster of New Zealand between 2010 and 2013.

Last year, Peters established Northland Food Rescue in 2017 which provided 9000 meals in its first six months.

In light of being awarded a QSM, Peters paid tribute to her sister, her children and her husband Tim Howard.

"I couldn't do it without a really supportive family. They give up time I could spend with them."

She singled out Margaret Poananga, her "work partner", who has managed the paperwork and financials alongside Peters for 20 years.

Peters' efforts are tireless. This year she is stepping away from a management role and into a community development worker position. She's plunging head first into more projects, which will be revealed in due course.

"I intended to retire this year, there's no way though."