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CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT 2008

Looking back over the past year I have two major impressions. The first is of the hours spent in Working Bees and we have had many. I don’t so much remember the work itself as the satisfaction gained when looking at the progress in weeding, clearing and planting and the companionship in working with others who share a similar vision and values. Lots of laughs, some good morning teas and shared ideas have been incidental to the overall achievement which brings me to my second major impression – the changes. The area we call Totara Flat (adjacent to Morgan Park) is now a lovely area to walk through, green with mown grass and new plantings. Speaks Quarry is open and accessible for exploration and enjoyment. The Mill Stream Extension walkway has bedded in and the edges greened up. Mill Stream walkway is as beautiful as ever. The lower half of Pylon Paddock is now showing well defined cleared and planted areas. Our feature trees, native and exotic are doing well. Further down on the banks of the Ohinemuri the Riverbank Terrace walk is now in regular use by sheep and walkers. Coffey's Creek walk is now much easier to access with an area mown and maintained. This may sound as if work has been completed but there is still much to be done and of course, more Working Bees are needed.

None of this would happen without a lot of background work – organisation, consultation, discussion, visioning and funding so we have many people to thank as the enablers of this.

Our funders over the past year: Valder Ohinemuri Charitable Trust, Hauraki District Council, Trust Waikato, Jim Say Foundation, DoC - Weedbusters, NZ Lottery Grants Board, BOC Gases – Where there’s Water, Creation Spirituality Group, PowerCo, Newmont Waihi Gold, Lion Foundation. Without your willingness to support our vision, not a lot would be happening – Thank you.

Our two main contractors, Ruth Ordish and Eric Lens keep things moving along. The quality of their work is reflected in the results we see out there – Thank you.

The Committee who front up on cold nights, make decisions and wrestle with issues when necessary, who keep the nuts and bolts of the organisation going – Thank you.

The Volunteers who also double as Committee members and Contractors and others. You have provided energy in practical ways, operating and maintaining machinery, digging, mulching, weeding, planting, chainsawing, transporting and providing sustenance – Thank you.

All the others who have supported us in less direct ways providing advice, expertise, information and general support – Thank you.

Waihi Walkways has been around for 10 years now and while I have been involved for the last 4, my impression is that we have matured quite a lot as an organisation over the last year. Some of us have had the benefit of engaging in workshops on Governance, Volunteering and Values. While we are still a work in progress, we now have in place clearly articulated values and visions. Policies and processes for working efficiently are following and a Code of Ethics is currently being formulated.

I haven’t covered all areas of our work in this report thus far but will briefly mention the work on the Ohinemuri Regional History Journals, now nearly all on a website, and our own website which is updated regularly. Both of these are available to anyone able to access them. Planning and feasibility for new and existing projects continue. Work on signage for Mill Stream is a current project and you will enjoy the presentation of some of that shortly. On a celebratory note we recently won an award from Weedbusters for "Weedbusting on Public Land".

We hope that all who wander and walk our paths enjoy the experience and appreciate the beauty created by partnerships between people and this wonderful environment.

Beryl George July 2008

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Waihi District Walkways Inc. PO Box 241 Waihi New Zealand

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