Submission to Draft Long Term Plan Taupo District Council 2015-25 Name: The Enviroschools Foundation Contact person: Kristen Price, Operations Manager Postal Address: PO Box 4445, Hamilton, 3247 Physical Address: Lockwood House, 293 Grey Street, Hamilton Phone: 07 959 7321 Email: [email protected] We do NOT wish to speak to this submission Recognising your support for the Enviroschools Programme We would like to acknowledge Taupo District Council (TDC) for supporting young people in your region to be part of the Enviroschools network since 2004. The Enviroschools Programme is a nationwide action-based education programme where young people plan, design and implement sustainability projects and become catalysts for change in their communities. Enviroschools was originally developed in the late 1990’s by councils in Waikato as a non-regulatory tool and has now been adopted by 51 councils, including most larger councils and two-thirds of the total sector. The programme is managed nationally by The Enviroschools Foundation (a charitable trust). The Foundation has funding from the Ministry for the Environment and works closely with the Department of Conservation. Regional implementation of Enviroschools is through partnerships with Local Government and other community agencies. Nationally, this multi-sector collaboration enables nearly 1,000 schools and early childhood education (ECE) centres to be involved – representing 30% of the school sector and 5% of the large early childhood sector. Locally, 60% of Taupo schools are part of the Enviroschools network. This submission encourages TDC to maintain its involvement in Enviroschools along with the other regional partner agencies – Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton City Council, all district councils in the region - Waitomo, Thames-Coromandel, Waipa, Waikato, Hauraki, Matamata-Piako, South Waikato, as well as Veolia Water and Kindergartens Waikato. Highlights from recent programme evaluation The Enviroschools Foundation has been working with a team of external evaluators to quantify the beneficial outcomes of the programme. A nationwide survey of all Enviroschools was conducted as part of the evaluation process. The survey had a 73% response rate and highlights include: • Wide participation - Schools were equally able to participate in the Enviroschools Programme across all deciles, sectors and regions. • All age groups (early childhood, primary and secondary) are taking environmental action – across a wide variety of areas including waste, water, biodiversity, food production, energy and eco- building. • Community collaboration - Enviroschools fosters significant community collaboration, creating leadership pathways for students and real connections to families, outside agencies and communities. • Zero Waste - Nearly all Enviroschools have waste minimisation plans and actions in place (98%). • Food production - Most Enviroschools (97%) are growing and harvesting produce from their gardens/trees for cooking, selling and gifting. • Biodiversity projects are well developed, with clear links to community – over 90% of respondents had biodiversity projects with 86,859 trees planted in 2014 (86% of which were native trees). • Tackling energy usage - Two-thirds of Enviroschools are involved in energy projects, including actions for sustainable transport (47%) and energy conservation actions (34%). • Successful water projects - Two-thirds of Enviroschools are undertaking a range of actions for water quality and conservation, including 19,264 meters of riparian planting in 2014. Page 1 of 2 629 • Enviroschools is contributing to a range of other outcomes including citizenship, health, cultural understanding, motivated learners and community participation. • Depth of practice is related to the extent of outcomes - Results showed that the depth of practice increases with the length of time a school or ECE centre is involved in Enviroschools. Nearly two thirds of participating schools/centres report ‘quite well developed’ or ‘deep embedded’ practice. Further, the survey results show a clear link between depth of practice and the extent to which the programme is contributing to outcomes. This reinforces the value of the long-term approach of the Enviroschools Programme. “The strength of Enviroschools lies in the collaborations and multiple relationships that have been established and continue to be nurtured through it’s model of facilitated, networked and distributed leadership, engaging communities, schools and other stakeholders in action aimed at creating sustainable communities.” The evaluators, Kinnect Group Conclusion The Enviroschools Programme has a proven track record of being an effective approach for engaging schools and communities in environmental and social action. With the backbone support of The Enviroschools Foundation, and a network of councils around the country, the programme catalyses learning and action among thousands of young people, their families and communities from early childhood to secondary school. By connecting and coordinating resources and people, openly building and sharing knowledge across communities, widespread action is enabled on a broad scale. As a funder, the partnership with Enviroschools provides TDC with multiple points of leverage across the Taupo community, extending the possible impact of its funding beyond what might be expected with a more traditional approach. Page 2 of 2 630 7th April 2015 Ella Howie Taupo District Council Private Bag 2005 Taupo 221 Subject : Market rents for the Nukuhau Boat Pens. Dear Councillors, I request that you reconsider your proposal to charge “market rents” for the Nukuhau Boat Pens. In support of this I make the following points. 1. I would question whether a “market rent” has yet been fairly established as there are few local alternatives for long-term storage of masted boats near the lake, there are examples from other districts with considerably lower rents and there has already been evidence of responsiveness to higher rents by Lake Taupo Yacht Club (LTYC) members. 2. I would question the equity and consistency of applying higher charges to LTYC members, being a major portion of leases, for the use of the Reserve relative to charges made and support given to other sporting groups in the district. This inequity would be even greater if the revenue gained from use of this Reserve were being applied to management of other Reserves. 3. The inequity caused by high rents for use of this Reserve by LTYC members appears even greater given that LTYC members have long used this Reserve for storage and launching, effectively using the Reserve for many years as an adjunct to the clubhouse and storage buildings off Ferry Road. 4. I would also point out the significance of maintaining use of the Reserve by LTYC members. As the club loses trailer sailer members, due principally to age, migration or cost, the club loses both the persons required to conduct local racing and, importantly, the ability to host regional and national events and teach and coach children. The club these days revolves around a children’s sailing programme and brings hundreds of visitors to the town each year. I request that the Council rethink's if market rents are appropriate in these circumstances. I would like to present my submission in person, either along with other LTYC members or individually, as suits Council. Yours faithfully, Anthony Byett 34A Charles Crescent, Taupo Leasee of pen Rate payer Vice Commodore of LTYC 631 Subject: Fwd: my submission From: April Smith <[email protected]> Date: 7 April 2015 12:37:58 pm NZST 222 submission. from April Smith Hello Councillors….This is my submission about the issue of the addition of a toxic waste product of the phosphate fertiliser industry, hexafluorosilicic acid, commonly referred to as ‘fluoride’, into our public drinking water. With the 10 year plan now in review I feel strongly that this needs to be considered fully in relation to our water quality. Those of us giving submissions on this subject have given a significant amount of personal time in gathering information and presenting that information to you ‘Our Councillors’ for your consideration, both sides. This is the beauty of our democratic processes here in NZ…everyone can be heard. Sometimes IGNORANCE IS BLISS because what you don't know you don't have to worry about. However, once we know something we cannot 'unknow ' it. We then have a choice as to whether we act on that knowledge .....or not. That is our human free will. After attending both meetings over the last 6 months that have been held here in Taupo, organised by Fluoride Free NZ, to inform the public, you and me, about the detrimental effects of having fluoride in our drinking water, I was no longer ignorant of these things and I have chosen to act on this knowledge, hence my submission , and I consider it of enough importance to speak to it as well. Thank you to the few councillors who attended those meetings as you also are now informed. Part of my action was to find a way of helping to inform those of you who couldn’t come, about some of the main concerns of the scientists and dentists who talked to us so I emailed you all some points I regarded as very important…..in ‘bite size’ bits. You may remember them. I appreciate that your job as a councillor requires copious amounts of reading and listening to become informed about a large number of issues and it is very understandable that there is a limit to how much you can humanly take in….hence