27 May
Offenders on Community Work sentences in Kaitaia are helping to restore Taipa Beach.
The offenders are helping look after Taipa Beach’s ecosystem and enhance erosion protection by assisting the Taipa Beach Improvement Society in its Dune Restoration project.
Since work on the project began last year, they have spent over 1000 hours clearing weeds in the sand dunes, planting the native sand binding plants spinifex and pingao, as well as erecting wooden barriers and building seven new walkways to protect the dunes.
The Dune Restoration project is part of a larger project, aimed at making Taipa beach a safe and inviting place for the community to enjoy. A number of local people, including Taipa Area School students, have also undertaken dune planting.
“Without the help of the community workers and their intensive labour input, this project would not have been able to go ahead. The supervisors were very obliging and worked alongside Taipa Beach Society volunteers with commitment and professionalism,” says the Society’s Project Manager Graeme Lutz.
“We are absolutely rapt with the results. It has been a huge undertaking for all those involved in the project and the result has been a huge improvement to the beachfront.”
Community work sentences require offenders to do unpaid work in the community for non-profit organisations as reparation for their offending.
“Projects such as this are a great way for offenders to give something back to the community,” says Kaitaia Community Probation Service Centre Manager Michele Beazley.
“The offenders have been humbled by members of the public who have come up to them to express their thanks and acknowledge the work that they’re doing.”
Annually, New Zealand communities benefits from almost three million hours of free labour supplied through Community Work sentences.
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