8th October,

Today marks one year since my election to the role of Canterbury Regional Councillor, and what a year.

I left my Environmental Trust GM role of twelve years early in February to concentrate fully on “being a Councillor” and I’m glad I made that call.

It has been a year of numerous briefings, meetings, engagements, field trips and reading, lots of reading and I have thoroughly enjoyed it (even when in any given moment, I think I’m not)

Over the year I have literally met hundreds of people involved with everything from climate change, civil defence & consents to public transport, wallabies & wildings to sabella & seaweed, the future of local government to the future of Canterbury, manuka, kanuka & festuca and everything else from the plains & trains to moraines and rain.

In the Christchurch Central ward, the tension between city living and industry is a constant with odour and dust, along with spills and sediment into the city rivers to the fore. Public transport and the ability to move around our communities and city are also significant.

Some highlights of the year include the people and projects I have engaged with through my role as Chair of the Biodiversity & Biosecurity Committee, engaging with our Youth Roopu and education team/events and having a heap of new places around town where I can call into for a cup of tea and chat.

My main disappointment to date is that I have not managed to get the review of the “A Biodiversity Strategy for Canterbury” underway. At the very least I hope this calendar year we can open the strategy and make the call to all of the organisations identified on the inside cover and say “we’re getting the band back together”.

There are too many people to thank by name but I do want to acknowledge my fellow Christchurch Central Councillor Genevieve along with Paul, Jackie and Yani from my local community board.

Bring on this next year.