Porirua neighbourhood comes together for clean-up event

The event was part of Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Clean Up Week, and Te Rā Nui worked alongside members of the community to make the event a success. Te Rā Nui is the Eastern Porirua Development partnership that consists of Kāinga Ora, Porirua City Council and Ngāti Toa Rangatira.

The event was sparked by an idea raised in community engagement meetings where residents expressed a desire to see their neighbourhood cleaned up. As a result, Te Rā Nui organised the event to bring the community together and create a cleaner, more liveable neighbourhood.

Throughout the event, community members worked together to collect rubbish throughout the four neighbourhoods that form part of the project precinct – Cannons Creek, Waitangirua, Rānui and Ascot Park. Te Rā Nui provided rubbish bags and skip bins to help with their efforts.

As well as the clean-up itself, the event also provided the opportunity for people to bring items they no longer needed, but that still had plenty of life left in them to pass on. These donated items were placed in special marquees where other members of the community could have a look and take home things they needed. Anything that wasn't claimed on the day was given to a second-hand shop for redistribution within the community.

Abbie Mckoy, Manager of the Community Engagement and Partnerships team for Greater Wellington said “the community's response to the event was fantastic. Many people turned out to get involved on the day, which was a great opportunity for people to connect with their neighbours while doing something positive for the neighbourhood.“

The success of the event shows what can be achieved when a community comes together – and was a great reminder of the importance of looking after our local communities and helping keep New Zealand beautiful.