Urban group could wind up

Palmerston North residents who remember the Junk for Joy community recycling days and a range of Urban Care projects are being challenged to consider taking up the organisation’s legacy.

Urban Care volunteer Andrew Salisbury is looking for help with the group’s future following the recent death of its founder, Ann Heaphy.

He has inherited boxes of memorabilia, stickers, T-shirts, art and paper work that needs to be sorted and given good homes.

Salisbury is holding an Urban Care meeting on Thursday, which he said could be its last.

Without Heaphy’s drive and enthusiasm during a long illness, the group has slumped into inactivity, with its last event being the Segue arts and recycling awards in 2010.

Just a handful of its earlier team of committee members and volunteers remained, missing her leadership and determination.

‘‘I’m hoping enough people will show up so we can get an agreement about what happens next.’’

One option was to wind up and give any money left in its account to Keep New Zealand Beautiful.

‘‘Or we could find some enthusiastic people who want to take it up.’’

Urban Care’s slogan was care, connect, create and colour.

It grew out of Heaphy’s simple premise that when people made where they lived a better place to be, they felt better.

‘‘That was her way of building community spirit and making communities stronger.’’

Urban Care was supported with a small budget from the city council to set about fixing the sort of things that people complained about, but until Heaphy stepped in, were reluctant to get stuck in and improve for themselves, like cleaning up graffiti, or tidying up the railway station.

Its projects over the years have included Street Pride competitions, free recycling days before the city had kerbside bins, planting camellias outside the women’s rest rooms in The Square, the plaque at the ‘‘butterfly lakelet’’ duck pond in The Square, and a plaque on the Grand Hotel building honouring the memory of a royal visit.

The community meeting will be at Cafe Royale in Square Edge on Thursday, at 7pm.