Grassroots start for conservation
A South Canterbury young leader hopes successful coastal conservations starts at the grassroots.
Timaru Boys’ High School (TBHS) student Tim Currie, 17, joined 60 high school students from across the country and the Pacific Islands to learn about New Zealand’s ocean environments during a week-long youth environment and leadership programme.
The Sir Peter Blake Youth EnviroLeader Forum, which finished on Monday, ‘‘opened my eyes up to issues that effect marine environments around New Zealand’’.
Currie advocated for grassroots campaigns and planned to start small by hosting a beach clean up to raise awareness since returning from the forum.
He hoped it could become a South Canterbury-wide clean up day. ‘‘If we don’t do something now, it will become a bigger problem for future generations.’’
Different organisations, including the Ministry for the Environment, did not provide enough clear direction to the public to help protect the environment or promote public awareness of environmental issues adequately, he said. ‘‘The trouble is ... they’ve [organisations] got so many issues to deal with.’’
That meant members of the public were often not aware of many environ- mental issues needed immediate attention, he said.
Labour Party Rangitata candidate Jo Luxton backed ideas around beach and park clean ups as a fantastic opportunity to actively educate people. She wanted to foster awareness and new conservation initiatives.
Green Party list MP and Rangitata candidate Mojo Mathers said South Cantabrians were increasingly aware of environmental issues. She wanted to see the Department of Conservation properly funded, and planned to campaign on water quality and protecting threatened native wildlife.
National Party Rangitata candidate Andrew Falloon was contacted.
Crash victim named
The man who died in a car crash near Lake Ohau on Anzac Day has been named. He was 34-year-old Rowan Alexander Yeager, of Ohau. A police spokesperson said Yeager’s body was found near his vehicle in the early hours of Tuesday, near the Freehold Creek Bridge. A passerby came across the crash scene and contacted emergency services about 5.30am. Police said, on Tuesday, Yeager had approached the single-lane bridge, located between Lake Ohau Village and Lake Ohau Lodge, and had gone through the right hand side railing and flipped or rolled onto the creek bed below. Yeager had been ejected through the side window of the car. Police were continuing to investigate the precise cause of the crash.
Cavity fire
A fire in a wall cavity behind the wet back of a fireplace had to be extinguished with buckets of water at a house on Tamar St in Oamaru on Monday evening. Southern Fire Communications shift manager Andrew Norris said two crews from Oamaru were called to a house at 9.39pm after the wall cavity caught fire.
Rubbish fire
A fire broke out in a junk yard near a petrol station in Twizel on Tuesday morning, Southern Fire Communications shift manager Andrew Norris said. A crew from Twizel were called to the yard at Benmore Pl at 8.15am, and found a pile of rubbish on fire as a controlled burn. The tanker crew helped the owner of the yard extinguish the fire.
Police notebook
Incidents reported by police include:
Police are appealing for information after a 13-year-old boy was forced off his bicycle and beaten up. The teenager was riding his bike on North St, when at the junction with Wellington St he was forced off and assaulted at 8.30pm.
Two siblings were arrested after a fight on Monday evening. The siblings had been involved in a family harm incident on Canada St at 5.30pm.
Police are appealing for information about an attempted petrol drive-off on Monday night. The driver of a blue Mitsubishi Lancer, who had taped over the licence plate, tried to fill his car at Caltex on King St. The pump was stopped by a member of staff.
Police in Waimate are looking to speak to a man who stole petrol from a service station in the town on Monday. The man walked into Challenge on Queen St, filled a plastic container with 50l of petrol, then walked off without paying.