Earth Day clean-up for Waimea Inlet
A group of Airbnb hosts joined Great Taste Trail members for a cleanup along Waimea Inlet on Saturday. Photo: Supplied.
A community clean-up along Waimea Inlet to celebrate Earth Day kicked off a new partnership between the local Airbnb community and the Great Taste Trail at the weekend.
Top of the South Airbnb Host Community leaders Ellie Hoddinott and Basia Mackenzie say it was an opportunity to celebrate Earth Day, but also demonstrate the group’s commitment to its environmental responsibility as well as its support for regional tourism activities.
“The event was such a success and we ended up filling five big black bags of rubbish. For a place that looked like it was quite clean, it was surprising and a little sad to see how much we collected. The general feedback was very positive and we all found it to be a very therapeutic and satisfying experience,” Ellie says.
Trail manager Belinda Crisp says the trust is keen to get more people looking after the trail.
A recent survey showed that 89 per cent of Great Taste Trail users are local and she says it is an especially valuable resource for older people, with more than three-quarters of local users older than 50.
She says the trail is “a connector to people, places and activities and has made it easier for people to explore Tasman on two wheels”, with loops and numerous access points providing opportunities for half, full or even multi-day rides.
“I am all about creating great cycle trails for our communities and I get excited when I see partnerships with iwi, schools, businesses, Rotary, landowners and volunteers. Environmental conservation and sustainability is important and the trust is keen to get more people involved in looking after our trail.”
She says anyone interested in helping can contact [email protected]
Belinda knows the trail is popular because in 2023, 419,000 counts including 90,000 pedestrians were recorded on the Great Taste Trail.
That was an increase of 24 per cent on pre-Covid-19 levels and she expects the figure to be even higher after this past summer’s heavy use.
Construction projects are nearing completion and she says the trust is now turning its attention to the next projects. Top of the list is constructing an off-road section for the State Highway 6 trail between Hoult Valley Rd and Wai-iti Domain.
She says central government funding for new construction has ended, so in addition to local government funding, plus trust reserves, the trust will be seeking support from the community and local businesses to raise the money for the project.