Letter to the Editor - Tuesday March 12, 2013

The best

The NZ Association For Environmental Education has a fantastic programme called Seaweek that was run all over the country last week. I doubt if it had a better showing anywhere than at Te Ahu.

It was amazing to see so many activities in the one space. There were art exhibitions, book and poetry readings and art classes. You could listen to inspirational stories about coast care groups and learn more about the bird life on our beaches. There were marine biologists talking about how we can protect our seas, and others talking about whale strandings. The pingao weaving demonstrations showed why this tough little plant is so important and valued by weavers.

To top it all off, the award-winning The Last Ocean was shown in the Little Theatre.

This is what Te Ahu was built for! The whole place was buzzing and literally full of school kids.

Several community groups contributed: REAP, Ahipara Coast Care Group, Far North Whale Rescue, Kaitaia College students and of course local DOC staff. It was a fantastic effort by all, and really showed off what could be accomplished with some dedicated people and the right space.

Please don't be confused by the recent articles concerning the Te Ahu Trust and council in this paper. We do have some issues to work out, and we are trying to find the best way forward. It is important that Te Ahu remains a community facility and is allowed and encouraged to function as it did so well over the last week.

M J ARDLEY

Te Ahu Trustee