The recovery of Thames-Coromandel’s storm-battered coastlines is being given a boost from a group of new cadets learning how to take care of dunes to support their long-term resilience.
Three community members have taken up coastal kaitiaki roles with Thames-Coromandel District Council, getting stuck into work on dune restoration and storm recovery as part of Mayors Taskforce For Jobs (MTFJ) and Council’s Recovery Fund – granted by central government.
Shelly Balsom, Geordie Wilson, and Roman Carley are all employed as Coastal Kaitiaki, working alongside senior council staff on dune care projects.
“We’re planting to enable self-repair following erosion, so it’s really important work. It’s a change of scenery every day, going to different places, meeting different people,” Geordie said. “It’s awesome to be working outdoors, plus we get to jump in the ocean on our lunch break.”
The community employment programme sees the cadets employed on six-month contracts. Their positions are jointly funded through council’s Recovery Fund, and MSD Projects in Community Funding.
The Mayors Taskforce For Jobs covers their training costs, including help with attaining driver licenses, first aid courses and training to use agri-chemicals safely.
District Mayor Len Salt met with the cadets recently at Whitianga and said he was “so impressed” with the way they had “seized the opportunity”.
“They’re very quickly coming up to speed with some of the big challenges for our coastlines, and are learning skills to help deal with those,” he said.
“They’re making a local impact in their own communities, which sets them up well for future work in our region as we all grapple with how to create resilient, sustainable environments to live in.”
The Coastal Kaitiaki roles are recovery-focused to address dune erosion that occurred along the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, as a result of three stormy winters, including Cyclone Gabrielle. Natural dune repair depends on a good cover of native sand binding grasses. The cadets have been clearing dunes of weeds that washed in during the storm, as well as collecting seed for future plantings. “We’re seeing the impacts of these weeds taking over, our native plants need space to be healthy. There’s already been a positive impact from the work our cadets are putting in and they’ve only been here a couple of weeks,” council’s coastal restoration coordinator Andrea Whitehead said. “They’re learning a huge amount about the dynamics and natural processes of our beaches.”
At the end of their contracts, council will support the cadets to update their CVs and identify further employment opportunities in the region.
Mayors Taskforce For Jobs is a movement of mayors around Aotearoa who are working together towards the vision of all young people 16-25 being engaged in employment, education, or training in their communities.
