Aleisha Mitchell hops in a kayak to collect rubbish. Photo / Supplied
A group of Ohinemutu residents working to protect the historic Maori village have spent a half day gathering a skip bin worth of rubbish.
About 30 people spent up to four hours on Saturday picking up rubbish from the shores along Ohinemutu, including general household rubbish and tyres.
The working
bee followed a similar cleanup at the start of last week were a small group of volunteers, led by local man Nathan Fletcher, collected five bags of rubbish from near the area.
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Saturday's cleanup was organised by the Ohinemutu Development Plan Working Party, which is a group set up by Ohinemutu residents to consult with the Rotorua Lakes Council and other representative bodies regarding the development of Ohinemutu in line with other major projects in the area.
Group chairman Guy Kingi said the group decided to clean up the area known as Te Ruapeka, a site of significant importance to Ohinemutu residents and Ngati Whakaue.
The rubbish had been accumulating there over a period of time as a result of storms and rubbish that flows down the Utuhina Stream ending up on the foreshore from the mouth of the river right down to the lakefront.
"Various residents from Ohinemutu have taken it upon themselves to routinely clean up this area for many years."
The cleanup is part of a wider plan to work with the council on helping to maintain the village, preserve its heritage and improve the state of the area for its residents.
It is of particular importance for locals to look after the village not only for the residents but also for the many tourists who visit the area on a daily basis. Those visitor numbers were expected to increase in years to come once the $40 million upgrade of the Lakefront was carried out.
