Community Events

Welcome to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's web pages for the community. In this part of our website you will find information, links and contacts to support your community in actively protecting the environment.

There are many ways you can get involved in community projects to make your environment better. Planting days, great events, and learning opportunities.   Get into it!

For more information contact us at Hawke's Bay Regional Council - Environmental Education.

On this page:

• LEAF - Local Environmental Action Fund
• Sustainable Living Programme
• Sustaining Hawke's Bay Trust
• Seaweek
• World Environment Day 
• World Wetlands Day

LEAF -  Local Environmental Action Fund

Community groups can get a helping hand on a local project to enhance or protect the environment with the LEAF - the Local Environmental Action Fund. You can apply to the Regional Council for grants of up to $500 to help you get started or progress an existing project. Projects should have an environmental benefit for the wider community, and applications are welcome from community groups, schools, individuals, and whanau, iwi or hapu. You need to apply at least 8 weeks before funding is required to allow time for your application to be processed.

Some examples of what LEAF can be used for are purchasing plants and compost, or for buying spades or fencing materials.  You can apply at any time of the year, but you need to secure a LEAF grant before you purchase materials.

If you think your group’s project may qualify, contact Environmental Education at leaf@hbrc.govt.nz for more information and a copy of the funding criteria.

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Sustaining Hawke's Bay Trust

The trust operates a public facility (The Environment Centre, 220 Russell Street, Hastings) that promotes community well-being by actively raising awareness on important issues such as climate change, energy efficiency, safe food, sustainable land management, waste minimisation and water quality.

The Trust also works in partnership with other environmental groups and initiatives in the Hawke’s Bay region.  It aims to provide an essential link between government agencies, local authorities and the community.

The Environment Centre can provide tutors and speakers for a variety of environmental courses, workshops and events. For a full list of courses for 2007 please click here.

For registrations and further information on courses look on their website or contact Environment Centre, 220 Russell Street, Hastings, ph (06) 870 4942 or email Sustaining Hawke's Bay Trust.

Seaweek

Seaweek, held the first week in March, is an annual week-long celebration of our marine environment and a great opportunity for everyday New Zealanders to get involved with projects that help protect and enhance it. New Zealand's marine environment covers 430 million hectares, that’s more than 15 times our land area, and more than one per cent of the earth's surface. With New Zealand's coastline stretching over 15,000 kilometres, all New Zealanders live within 140 kilometres of the sea. So it’s no wonder that we spend so much of our time at the beach and in or on the ocean.

And as we all know Hawke’s Bay has some of the best beaches in New Zealand.

To date about 15,000 marine species have been identified in our oceans these include: 61 seabirds, 41 marine mammals, over 1000 fish species, more than 2000 molluscs (snails and shellfish), 1700 arthropods (crabs, lobsters and other crustacea), 440 sponges, 530 echinoderms (kina, starfish) and 690 species of seaweeds.

Seaweek Hawke’s Bay is a very happy collaboration of organisations including Ministry of Fisheries, National Aquarium of NZ, Department of Conservation and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

Many other groups and organisations such as Marineland of NZ, the Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of NZ Inc., Hawke’s Bay Cultural Trust, Environment Centre Hastings, Creative Napier and Ngati Kahungunu’s Aquatic Specialist support and take part in local activities.

Seaweek Hawke’s Bay is sponsored by Dive HQ Hawke’s Bay.

For more information on Seaweek, contact Emily Rockwell by email or phone her on (06) 833 8036.

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World Environment Day

World Environment Day is commemorated each year on 5 June.  Here in New Zealand, that's the same day as Arbour Day. It’s one of the main ways that the United Nations encourages worldwide awareness of the environment, as well as political attention and action.

In New Zealand many events happen around the country. One main event is the announcement of the Green Ribbon Awards by the Minister for the Environment and each year a number of Hawke’s Bay projects and people are nominated for this.

Each year, a different country is selected to host World Environment Day, and a new theme is chosen.  See the official UN website for more details.

Celebrate with Hawke's Bay Regional Council

Come and celebrate World Environment Day "hands on" with our annual planting week.  Each year we spend the week of World Environment Day planting natives with schools, community groups, businesses and residents as part of the Te Karamu restoration project.  Everyone's welcome!  Just bring a spade, your gumboots and a drink (it's thirsty work).  For more information, email restoration@hbrc.govt.nz.

What else can you do?

It sounds simple, but it makes a difference: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (According to MfE, for every tonne of paper we recycle: 26 trees are saved, 5000 litres of water are saved and 5.4 tonnes of CO2 is not released to the atmosphere).  Check out the World Environment Day website or sustainability.govt.nz for more tips.

Remember to think globally, act locally, respond personally. Every little bit helps!

World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day Internationally

For more information about what is happening internationally see www.ramsar.org/.