Mahi

James K Baxter in the Jerusalem Daybook translates mahi as "work undertaken for communal love". I'm with him. And there is nothing better than getting out there in your community.

We woke with the grogginess of gin this morning but were quickly out the door to the Island Bay Coast Care planting that we had heard about. This great little group protects and restores a small remnant piece of native duneland looking out over the marine reserve. The last pingao dune "between Karori rock and Eastbourne" according to local sculptor Nick.

Caspar, Penny and I planted Pingao in deteriorating weather, chatting to the locals, before heading to our personal conservation endeavours amongst the rubbish of Evans Bay, where we idled the afternoon away tearing rubbish from amongst the building debris dumped on the foreshore to prevent erosion.

We will never be able to clean this place up or keep it clean without otherwise influencing either the environment, and its ability to capture rubbish, or the rubbish disposal habits of Wellingtonians. So we spent time scheming about both. Straws are a big one, we picked up handfuls upon handfuls of washed up straws, what are the alternatives. And bottle tops. What a disgrace! How many bottle tops now accumulate in our oceans.

We finished the day off by a drive and rubbish pick around the end of Point Jerningham, checking out the potential for revegetation, and the prevalence of rubbish and disfigurement. Plenty of ideas, need to follow a few up!

Cycles

Penny hates it more than me, heaving her hefty bike up the path on cold mornings. I like pretending our path is an adventure race. It is slippery enough to be.

I was out for a Saturday morning cruise, down the footpath through Treasure Island to the Hataitai beach and round the waterfront looking for photos. It was an unusually misty morning and the becalmed yachts looked into the fugg fearfully.

Yesterday before the rain hit I had been intending to take some photos down at the "arsehole of Wellington". The gravelly beach of Evans Bay. This beach is the terminus of the body of water that sweeps below our flat. Northerly one day, southerly the next. It captures for a time any plastic debris that doesn't get sucked out the mouth of the harbour. Evans Bay Beach is the first piece of coastline any visitor drives by after leaving the international airport. Unfortunately the narrow built up verge and neglected plantings serve to shield it from their eyes...

I used to feel superior to the Guatemalans and Indonesians, in regards to their attitudes towards rubbish. Now I just feel shame. Would we do any better if we didn't have to do more than just leave it at our door. Hell no! At least they are not hypocrites, prepared to live amongst it, rather than pretend it never existed. I will never forget seeing an albatross chick vomit a plastic glove. I am reminded everytime I see plastic intermingled with the pebbles on a beach. Everytime I see another shitty single use container, or bag used in my hand. Even in the paper today, there is a report that the rare Blue Whale washed up on the West Coast was found to have a 7metre length of heavy duty fishing rope stuck in its throat. No one would have dared check its gut I suspect.

I moved on via Miramar to something infinitely more hopeful. A planting day for Forest and Birds Places for Penguins group at Tarakena Bay. Over 1000 plants, coastal and dune specific, were planted to revegetate an area to encourage little blue penguin nesting. Efforts are being made to revegetate the coast side of the road because too many penguins are being killed crossing the road to nest in the more established bush. A little video clip best shows the industrious little group at work.

And there is action around the world. Watch this video! It is one of the most surprisingly good environmental action videos I have seen. Take care out there.