Local views will get Papakura climate ready

Publish Date : 23 Jan 2025
Gurudwara
Members of Gurdwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib Sikh Temple in Takaanini will play a role in an emergency.

Hui have already been held across the area, including with the disability community, discussing the changes people can already see around them, and ways to prepare for what everyone agrees is more change to come.

Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole says people on the ground often feel overlooked in what can be high-level discussions around major issues.

“But the people who live in the communities that are being affected have a lot to contribute and hold enormous amounts of experience.

“Few know better than the locals the effect climate change is having, because they are living with it, and the initiatives being undertaken now to prepare our community seek to harness that lived experience to benefit everyone.”

Participants in earlier hui will come together on February 22 for a workshop at the Papakura Local Board’s Coles Crescent offices from 10am to 1pm to share their ideas with each other, with Auckland Council funding available to pursue the best ideas.

Facilitator Carol McKenzie-Rex says the funding will allow groups to work on some of the ideas the community would most like to see progressed, at the same time as a climate readiness awareness campaign continues in Papakura.

Members of the disability community met at Papakura Marae to discuss their needs in an emergency.

Members of the disability community met at Papakura Marae to discuss their needs in an emergency.

“Some of the ideas that have been put forward have been clearly thought through and are quite incisive. They range from calls for work on the hydrogen engine, to simple actions that can be taken at a local level that might still have an impact on our climate.

“The best thing about the project so far is that we aren’t talking about getting a load of ‘eco-warriors’ together, rather ordinary people who can see what is happening in their own back yards, and who want to make a difference.”

Catchpole says Papakura’s geography makes it sensitive to climate and weather patterns, including flooding and sea-level rise, and because it is growing so fast, more people could be affected.

“If we plan, we’ll give ourselves more time, and we’ll also create a better life today just by talking to and helping our neighbours, moving to make our air cleaner, our spaces greener, and our waterways fresher.”

There’s more about a project that has already brought Auckland Council, Ngāti Tamaoho, the Papakura Resilience Network, the Sikh and other local communities together here, and you can register to attend the February workshop here.

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