Te Awamutu: Clean-up day way to get to know community

Te Awamutu/Kihikihi Community Board member invites the public to join him for the community clean-up day at Te Awamutu Rugby Sports Club on Sunday, March 17. Photo / Dean Taylor

A community clean-up is being held on Sunday, March 17 - the brainchild of Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board member Kane Titchener.

He says other communities hold clean-up days and they have become annual events that are well supported.

He is hoping if the first clean-up day in Te Awamutu is a success it can be expanded into Kihikihi and also become a regular event.

Titchener says when he saw how well it worked in places such as Taupō and Waitomo, he thought why wouldn’t it work for us?

Board members agreed and the date was set.

He is encouraging anyone with a few hours to help join in by meeting at Te Awamutu Rugby Sports Club carpark from 8.30am.

“We will be working in parks, reserves and walkways and not on roadways, so people just need basic working gear and not special safety vests,” he says.

“A team from the board will be on hand with gloves and black bags for collecting the rubbish.

“We’ll allocate areas for people to work, so obviously the more people that turn up, the more rubbish we’ll be able to collect.”

Titchener says the clean-up day isn’t a reflection on council performance.

He says it is just a fact that some high-use areas end up with more litter and rubbish than others, and a clean-up day is a good way to get on top of the situation.

Titchener says it is a good way locals can contribute to their community, and they may even discover some hidden gems they didn’t know about.

The plan is to work until 11.30am, returning the rubbish to the starting point where volunteers will be treated to morning tea for their efforts.

He says it will also be a good opportunity at that point for members of the public to tell board members their thoughts on council business and the direction they are taking.

“The board is all about connecting with the community and we are keen to engage with people and get their views.”

Registration is not required, and the team will be on-site throughout the morning, so volunteers can make a start at a time that suits them.

Dean Taylor is a community journalist with more than 35 years of experience and is editor of the Te Awamutu Courier and Waikato Herald.

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