May 2nd 2023: Good people

Have you ever noticed the native trees that are being planted around at Whakahekerau – Second Beach in St Clair? What used to be an old quarry site (hard to believe I know) turned into a jumble of weeds for many years and now it's being replanted in endemic species.

It has been beautifully done and I always wondered who was behind it – the mahi that has gone into it is impressive. On Sunday I came across a string of tree fairies assembled to plant another trailerload of natives. Among them was the leader behind the vision for Whakahekerau, Steve King. He'd managed to rustle up a working bee that included a bunch of local surfers and residents including: Dave Agnew, Johnny De Graaf, Matt and Katie Jenks and a heap of other whistle-while-they-work crew members.

I love how we have these amazing people in our community who give up their time to make our spaces and beaches so much better for all of us. Whakahekerau is a real hidden gem for St Clair and made even better with the wildlife returning to the native trees and shrubs thanks to Steve and his team.

Another legend of our coastline is Jim Fyfe, who was recognised with a Wild Hero award as part of Wild Dunedin. Jim is the man responsible for our coastal areas in Otago through his work with DOC. He is dedicated to the marine environment and has been instrumental in guiding the re-population of the mainland by sea lions. He's also the guy who is first to stand up to help humans and sea lions co-exist along our beaches and estuaries. His work with the surfing community has been superb – as it has been with other beach user groups who regularly encounter the curious mega-fauna.

These people go about their work and seldom look for acknowledgement or recognition, but their work improves all of our lives every day and adds something special to the place we all call home. These are good people. I'm glad we have them in our community.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS Speaking of good people we're pretty blown away to be working with the team at Dive Otago who are celebrating their 25th anniversary as a PADI Dive Centre. Founders Dave and Mary Watson had a vision for diving in Otago and made something truly special in the dive world and right here in Dunedin. Now, their daughter Virginia has the reins and, with her team, is determined to lead Dive Otago forward with that same vigour and flair. Check out the Dive Otago website and follow them on socials to see just a few of the awesome things they are doing in our coastal community. We'll be joining them on more adventures soon ...