News Roundup: June 2020

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First, a big shout-out to our ‘team of 10,000’ who, along with the island’s suppliers and providers, came together to support one another and sustain the Waiheke community through alert levels 3 and 4, and find creative solutions to lockdown problems. Special mentions go to:

· Fullers360, which ran a regular schedule throughout the lockdown period, and allowed free travel for everyone who needed to get to and from the city, or to visit family on Waiheke

· Kai Conscious Café, which turned into ‘Kai Conscious Takeaway’ during level 4, making sure that nobody on the island went hungry

· Waiheke Budgeting Services, who provided food parcels to more than 200 South Americans stranded here with no jobs or financial assistance

· Piritahi Hau Ora, who distributed around 200 care parcels to whānau in need during lockdown

· The nurses who ‘got up our noses’ and conducted hundreds of Covid-19 tests at each of Waiheke’s three medical centres

· The staff at Countdown, who worked long hours and extra shifts to keep the shelves stocked throughout lockdown

· WISCA, who found foster homes for all the animals in their care while they were closed at level 4, (many of which have become permanent homes)

· Waiheke Couriers, who worked overtime to deliver all the goods we ordered online

Although we have now moved to level 1 relatively unscathed from the health crisis posed by the coronavirus, we know the economic impacts are far from over. Tourism is particularly hard-hit. However, the rapid creation of a nationwide digital, outdoor and print campaign “Waiheke: a world apart, not a world away” may already be having an effect. Certainly the amount of traffic on our roads is similar to pre-Covid levels – and the island has been so busy at weekends since level 2 that we have even seen the return of the double-decker buses, much to many islanders’ dismay.

But instead of rushing back to business as usual, a local and national goal now is looking at resetting the tourism industry to focus more on environmental sustainability and community engagement. “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence — it is to act with yesterday’s logic”– Peter Drucker, management guru. Even during lockdown, the Ministry of Tourism was working on a major review of how NZ tourism can better take into account community needs and a greater community share of the benefits of tourism.

With this focus in mind, Project Forever Waiheke recently convened a meeting with key Waiheke organisations involved in tourism and sustainability, including the Local Board, Waiheke Island Tourism Forum and the Waiheke Sustainability Centre, to think creatively about future alliances and a shared vision for both sustainable and restorative tourism on our island. The Local Board is planning for a broad community engagement on this theme in the near future – keep your eye out for notices about that.

This new focus is echoed in a recent report from the University of Auckland’s Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures. Sir Peter Gluckman and colleagues point out that: “Tourism is a huge industry, and one with significant effects on our most iconic landscapes. The sector also generates a huge amount of CO2 emissions from long-haul and domestic air travel (including helicopters) and heavy domestic transport by road… [Despite successive reports on the negative impacts] New Zealand has not significantly diverted from an extractive path with regard to tourism… Is there now an opportunity to pivot to higher-value, lower-volume tourism, as the tourism sector reinvents itself? And beyond this, can tourism focus on Aotearoa values over volume?

The concept of ‘restorative tourism’ – going beyond sustainability to contributing actively to help regenerate damaged landscapes and ecosystems – is gaining momentum internationally. To what extent could we expand on this in our tourism sector, offering more meaningful nature tourism experiences?”

Read more about restorative/regenerative tourism
See how restorative tourism is working in Cuba

Here on Waiheke, we are in a great position to offer more meaningful visitor experiences, and already we are seeing some businesses reinvent themselves for a post-Covid world. Waiheke Walking Festival, for instance, is planning a longer, 18-day schedule, aiming to give walkers a more intimate experience, enticing them to stay longer and support local businesses.

Then there’s On The House, an innovative campaign that gave visitors free accommodation for the weekend of 19-20 June, while pumping what they saved back into local visitor experiences and other island businesses.

Potiki Adventures is also reassessing its visitor experiences for domestic travellers: “Māori concepts that are thousands of years old already hold the key”, says owner/director Bianca Ranson. And EcoZip has partnered with Waiheke Resources Trust to give visitors the chance to offset all their ferry and vehicle transport emissions by planting an eco-sourced native tree.

Another special experience is the night sky above the island, which recently included colourful displays of scintillation. Because light pollution is relatively low, we are lucky to be able to see these awe-inspiring displays without a telescope, says Gareth Davies of Dark-Sky Waiheke.

In summary, the global pandemic and all its horrors has brought us to a turning point. This is our chance to advocate for meaningful change for the sake of all the inhabitants and resources of Waiheke (and indeed of Aotearoa)… Our communities, our wildlife, our forests, our waterways and oceans.

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PFW Spring news roundup

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Spring has sprung, and already the island is getting busy, with noticeably heavier traffic on the roads and already large numbers of visitors on the ferries. Fullers has continued to “navigate choppy waters” with delays in the rollout of their two new vessels, while Chris Darby’s petition to bring their ferry services back under the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) gathered nearly 6000 signatures.

 Fullers introduced their summer timetable on 14 October, at the same time renaming the locals’ lane a ‘residents’ lane’, which they say will be policed more stringently this summer. A week later they announced a hike in ferry prices of two percent for commuters and five percent for visitors, resulting in a storm of protest from users and local politicians.

Meanwhile, island residents, weekenders and volunteers continue their great work in conservation, environmental awareness and community engagement. At the end of August the island welcomed Natasha Beletzky to the role of  park ranger at Whakanewha, and the Volunteer Fire Brigade celebrated their refurbished fire station . Vector announced the installation of 80 EV smart chargers  in homes across the island, furthering Waiheke’s goal of becoming the world’s first fully electric island. To that end, Electric Island Waiheke is running EV trials with Waiheke families, businesses and individuals throughout November.

Te Korowai o Waiheke continues its battle  against pests and predators that threaten native flora and fauna. Members of Extinction Rebellion Waiheke planted 21 pohutukawa at Owhanake and on Tui Road . A team of Waiheke High students formed a wildlife protection programme (‘Join the Dots’) to protect endangered dotterels nesting on the school field.

Some longtime Waiheke conservation heroes were celebrated in the Gulf News for their tireless efforts in eradicating predators, planting, clearing and weeding . And a group of Waiheke Resources Trust interns launched a new waterway monitoring project at Onetangi, Palm Beach and Oneroa.

In early September Auckland Transport presented a new plan to reduce congestion at Matiatia to the Local Board, which was later rejected by concerned locals on the grounds that it was too disruptive to current transport patterns and operators, and was also perceived to favour tourists over commuters and local residents. The Board instead endorsed an amended plan that aims to deliver a safer environment for residents and visitors alike, and an improved bus interchange. AT was also in the hot seat over Waiheke’s new bus network, which many islanders are very unhappy about. 

In late September, Save Kennedy Point Inc was back in the Environment Court carrying on its fight against the proposed marina at Kennedy Point. And a large group of Waiheke students, teachers, supporters and caregivers marched down Ocean View Road on the 27th, joining 170,000 other New Zealanders striking for climate action.

Finally, congratulations to returning Local Board members Cath Handley (voted Chair again at the Board’s inaugural meeting), Paul Walden and  Bob Upchurch (Deputy Chair), and newly elected members Robyn Tucker and Kylee Matthews. It is great to see the “tried and trusted” stalwarts of the Local Board joined by some fresh new faces (including newly elected councillor for the Waitemata and Gulf Islands ward Pippa Coom).  We look forward to a continuation of the Board’s good work, and some timely new initiatives in the coming year.

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PFW Winter News Roundup

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Lots of great sustainability action happening on Waiheke

The local community is humming with conservation, environmental protection and sustainability initiatives, mostly carried out by volunteers.  An impressive but by-no-means exhaustive list includes:

These are just the projects that have made it into the local news recently. Others continue their work quietly in the background, sustaining the community, the environment and the Waiheke spirit: the Volunteer Fire Brigade, Forest and Bird (Hauraki Gulf Branch), Native Bird Rescue, Meals on Wheels and many more.

You can find these and other Waiheke organisations right here on our ‘MAD’ (Make a Difference) website, which has been set up to help island locals who want to get more involved in the many fun activities that keep our community strong. To list your organisation , or find an organisation you’d like to engage with, click here and go MAD about Waiheke!

Does NZ need to better manage tourist numbers?

“Crowded towns, clogged roads, dangerous drivers, filthy freedom campers, congested trails: the rapid growth in tourism is causing concerns throughout New Zealand, and headaches for politicians and public alike.” In a recent North & South article Mike White investigates the growing backlash in New Zealand communities against the impacts of what they perceive as ‘overtourism’ on the health of our environment and New Zealanders’ ability to enjoy their own country.

Around the world, popular tourism destination communities are looking for ways to both protect their social as well as natural environments, while still hanging onto the economic benefits of tourism – Boracay, a tiny island in the Philippines, closed for six months to help it recover from the two million tourists it was getting each year; Maya Bay in Thailand, which featured in the movie The Beach, has been closed till 2021 because of environmental destruction; and recently Peru has further limited numbers to the wonderful Machu Picchu, not only to protect habitat for wild chinchillas, but to ensure a wonderful visitor experience. Closer to home, the Mermaid Pools near Northland’s Matapōuri Bay were closed indefinitely in April due to environmental damage from rubbish and human waste, and Queenstown’s council is seeking to introduce a 5% levy on accommodation to help address increases in waste management costs due to tourism.

With increasing community engagement and the many sustainability projects currently happening on Waiheke, we will hopefully be able to avoid extreme measures like these, and look forward to an enjoyable summer for residents and visitors alike.

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