Beach abuzz with forum event
Biodiversity Hawke's Bay's first BioBuzz forum event was held at Aramoana Woolshed, on the coast in Central Hawke's Bay on October 27.
It was one of the final events in the Central Hawke's Bay's Spring Fling calendar and drew in both locals and those from further afield, with more than 80 adults and a dozen children taking part in a range of activities.
The day's key objective was to connect with the community through biodiversity education and engagement.
“We learned about the incredible gems we have on our Central Hawke's Bay coastline — and a lot about the things we are missing for sustainable ecosystems,” Central Hawke's Bay Mayor, Alex Walker, said.
The day included a walk along the beach to the estuary and expert talks about the bird life, sand dunes and estuary ecosystems. The activities were lead by local biodiversity experts — Kay Griffiths, from The Conservation Company, Rod Hansen of the Aramoana Environmental & Education Charitable Trust, Bernie Kelly from The Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Matt Brady from Department of Conservation and Marie Taylor from Plant Hawke's Bay.
“BioBuzz was a chance to celebrate some of great successes being achieved within the CHB community while highlighting the work still needing to be done to protect and restore our precious biodiversity,” said Dr Amelia McQueen of the Biodiversity HB Guardians committee and the event coordinator.
The event was supported by Department of Conservation, Hawke's Bay Regional Council, Central Hawke's Bay District Council and the Aramoana Environmental & Education Charitable Trust.
“We couldn't have done it without our wonderful volunteers and sponsors. It was a great day and we are already planning for the next forum event,” Biodiversity Hawke's Bay Project Manager, Genevieve Bennett said.