Terawhiti/Makara Beach Clean-up 2016

What a fantastic day! The weather finally cleared and despite being a week postponed the Makara Coastal Cleanup was a huge success. This was the final event in our Love Your Coast Wellington Education and Clean-up project. 50 dedicated volunteers of all ages met at our basecamp at Makara beach on Saturday morning. There were many familiar faces from previous years, but it was really good to see plenty of new faces too.

After a Health and Safety briefing from Programmes Manager Oliver Vetter, the capable Meridian staff led the convoy of eight 4WD vehicles over the hill to Opau Beach on the West Wind Meridian Wind Farm to show some love to an almost untouched bay.

Those with young kids, or those feeling more like a walk in the wind, grabbed their gloves and bags and headed out around the points of Makara Beach to see what treasure they could find.

After only a couple of hours everyone returned for a tasty BBQ with more than 3,000 litres of rubbish in their utes and trailers. They picked up hundreds of kilos of fishing gear, buoys, crates and line but also the old culprits; thousands of pieces of single-use plastic, straws, cigarette butts, water bottles and microplastics.

Huge thanks to Meridian Energy as well as our sponsors Phoenix Drinks for hydrating us with their amazing juices, Whittaker’s Chocolate for the energy boost and The Makara Cafe handing out coffees for the volunteers.

Special thanks to Carly Anderson of Meridian Energy for always bringing such amazing energy and supporting our work.

Due to the nasty weather forecast for Saturday lunchtime we are postponing this event to SATURDAY 17 DECEMBER. Due to the nature of the 4WD tracks, we need to make sure that everyone gets in and out of the private beaches safely. Heavy rain and wind will not only make these tracks more difficult to navigate, but will make the day way less fun. Apologies for any inconvenience caused by the delay.

Please join us from 9.30am to 3.00pm on Saturday 17 December 2016 for a fantastic day of adventure and exploration, all the while cleaning up 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. Meridian has been working with Sustainable Coastlines to raise awareness and support coastal clean-ups around Wellington since 2012.

Meet at the Sustainable Coastlines ‘Education Station’ container on Makara Beach at 9.30am, Saturday 17 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 and Opau Bays.

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 plastic rubbish washes up.

Bring your own lunch or join us for a free sausage sizzle from 12.30pm at Makara Beach.

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 – New Zealand weather is unpredictable, especially out here. Bring at least one warm top (ideally 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.

Any questions, please contact Project Manager Oliver Vetter at [email protected]