Nominations for the 2010 Weedbuster Awards close on March 31. It’s now time to down tools and get nominating.
Environment Canterbury, the Department of Conservation and a number of local councils hold the Weedbuster Awards every two years to recognise people who help manage pest plants in Canterbury. This work is done in volunteers’ own time, and many also promote weed awareness or education in their community.
Entry is open to individual volunteers, and people who are part of a community group or an industry initiative. Volunteers may receive financial support from grants to cover operational costs, but time spent doing the work must be donated. There is no age restriction and people can nominate themselves.
The last awards in 2008 received 14 nominations from across Canterbury. The nomination from the Kaikoura district was an outstanding example of Weedbusting at its best, setting a high bar for future entries.
Kaikoura local Sally Blunt won the Private Land section, and also won the overall Excellence category, recognising what the judges though was the stand-out entry from the entire region.
Canterbury regional Weedbuster Co-ordinator Gemma Bradfield (Environment Canterbury) said that the low number of entries doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of Weedbusting activity going on around Kaikoura.
“There must be many under-appreciated Weedbusters in the Kaikoura district that don’t know about the awards and may be unaware there are active regional and national Weedbuster networks they could plug into for help and advice,” she said.
“Having been noted for the quality of their work, it’d be great to see 2010 Weedbusters’ nominations for Kaikoura that also reflect the quantity of work that goes on in and around the district,” Ms. Bradfield said.
Environment Canterbury Councillor and Pest Chair Eugenie Sage said that the purpose of the awards is to give public recognition to those unsung heroes who give so freely of their time to fight a dirty and unglamorous war against weeds.
“The awards seek to congratulate and encourage the groups and individuals in our communities who often work quietly and unseen on weed control. Weed busting helps our native plants and wildlife flourish. 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and so their valuable work is more relevant than ever,” she said.
If you think of a local school/group/individual to put forward for the 2010 Weedbuster awards, please visit www.weedbusters.org.nz or contact Gemma Bradfield (Environment Canterbury) 03 364 9860 to make your nomination. Entries close March 31.
Environment Canterbury Pest Management Committee Chair Councillor Eugenie Sage, can be contacted on (03) 329 3177 or 021 155 3937.