Passion for environment rewarded with new role
Horowhenua District councillor Victoria Kaye-Simmons has always been passionate about protecting the environment — from being a parent help at kindy litter clean-ups and school tree plantings, to being on the board for Keep Horowhenua Beautiful since 2013.
This month, Victoria was appointed as the new chairwoman for the
Keep New Zealand Beautiful board, with Mandy Mayhem Bullock from Dunedin taking over the role of deputy chairwoman.
Since 2015, Victoria has been the appointed local government representative and Zone 3 representative for Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) and currently chairs the Keep Horowhenua Beautiful board as well.
Talking about her pride for her hometown of Levin, Victoria said: “Humans are basically visual beings . . . if the town looks good, it creates a passion . . . people want to get involved with keeping it that way.”
Victoria also pointed out that the decorated Chorus boxes in the Horowhenua
are acknowledged as some of the best in the country.
“Graffiti can be an art form as well, if it is in the right place,” said Victoria, who is keen to have more murals painted on the outside walls of privately owned buildings, like the giant cat mural on Novus Glass in Oxford St.
Unfortunately, the Horowhenua region also has frequent incidents of fly-tipping and tagging, which is dealt with by a small group of community volunteers along with support from Morag Collins and her recreational services team as well as Robbie Stillwell who is the council’s waste minimisation officer. “There have been many times over the years when I’ve thought ‘what’s the point?’,” said Victoria, “but working with passionate people like Mo and Robbie makes all the difference.” Victoria does have an issue with how some of the businesses on the main road through Levin are presented, though — especially as it also happens to be part of State Highway 1 and has a large amount of traffic passing through daily.
“As a local, I often feel disheartened driving through the town,” she said.
“Only a handful of the businesses actually make an effort to make their frontage pleasant to the eye.”
However, Victoria is amazed by how many Horowhenua youth show great pride and interest in keeping the area clean and tidy, with young environmentalists like the Waste Warriors inspiring others and creating more buy-in from volunteers through sharing their passion on social media.
Victoria would love to see the
Horowhenua District Council leading the way in new environmental initiatives, such as putting its hand up to be part of a pilot programme the Government is considering for a container return scheme.
The scheme would involve encouraging consumers and businesses to return bottles, cans, etc, for recycling and/or re-use, by including a refundable deposit in the price of purchase.
“Keep New Zealand Beautiful also works closely with the Ministry of Environment,” said Victoria, “and is keen to support other plans such as the phasing out of products that are difficult/expensive to recycle, which will be happening over the next three years.”
Victoria was also excited about the news announced this week, that KNZB is to receive $1.3 million from the Government to support their Educational Behavioural programmes.
“This [funding application] has been an 18-month process,” she said, “so it’s awesome to know we’re going to get funds to help us continue and expand the work we do.”
Victoria will continue in her other roles within the KNZB hierarchy.