Love Your Coast Terawhiti/Makara Clean-up | Sustainable Coastlines

Event impacts

Event Details

Sun
01
Dec 2013

Participants need to bring:

  • Sturdy shoes: this area has some challenging coastal terrain with rocks that can be sharp, loose and slippery. You’ll need closed-toe, sturdy shoes (such as sneakers, sports shoes or tramping boots).
  • Warm and waterproof clothes: NZ weather is unpredictable, especially out here. Bring at least one warm top (ideally old woollen) and a rain jacket.
  • Sun hat and sun cream.
  • Reusable water bottle (filled-up and ready to go).
  • Camera (optional) – this is a unique and beautiful location and we would love to see your photos after the event.
  • Your own 4WD (optional) – this is a rare opportunity to explore an amazing area that is usually closed to public access.

Around 80 volunteers managed to collect more than 10,500 litres of rubbish on Sunday 1 December at Makara Beach near Wellington as part of our Love your Coast Wellington initiative.

The haul saw many single-use plastics and rope recovered. Even a message in a bottle – that appeared to have been dropped in Lake Taupo (as revealed by the note inside) and travelled to the ocean through the Waikato River – was found in Ohau Bay on Terawhiti Station, which picks up large amounts of rubbish from the strong Nor-Westerly winds that make the site such a good area for a wind farm.

Meridian Energy is principal sponsor of the Love your Coast Wellington educational roadshow and coastal clean-ups this year, which included the special Terawhiti/Makara volunteer day.

“As a company that puts a lot of emphasis on sustainability, we’re proud to lend our support to this event,” says Meridian GM external relations Guy Waipara. “It was a great result for the Makara community and we had a good windy day to see West Wind Farm in full flight in the background,” he says.

Last year, the team removed a staggering 23,150 litres during the same event, more than twice the amount picked up on Sunday. Sam Judd, the charity’s co-founder said that a drop in the amount of rubbish found this year was a good result because it shows that their educational presentations, combined with regular clean-ups like this can help reduce the impact of rubbish on our coastlines and wildlife.

 


 

Event details

Join us from 9.30am to 3.00pm on Sunday 1 December for a fantastic day of adventure and exploration, all while giving back to the beautiful Makara Beach and the coastline surrounding Meridian Energy’s West Wind Farm. This wild piece of spectacular coastline, although well looked after by the locals, is affected by a regular flow of waste, so we are going to give it a good pre-summer clean-up.

Meet at the Sustainable Coastlines ‘Education Station’ container on Makara Beach at 9.30am on Sunday 1 December to sign-in and collect equipment, for a 10.00am start. From there we will split into teams and head out along the coastline on foot and by 4WD vehicle to clean-up the area from Makara Beach around to Ohau Bay and all the way to the Karori lighthouse on the South Coast.

Bring your own 4WD or jump in one that is provided to join the convoy. This will be a unique opportunity to explore the incredibly beautiful bays that are usually closed to the public where unfortunately, tonnes of littered plastic rubbish washes up.

Bring a packed lunch and join us after for a free sausage sizzle from 12.30pm at Makara Beach provided with the support of Meridian Energy, whose staff will be mucking-in to clean-up too.

Any questions, contact Event Director Sam Judd at [email protected]