An expo in Arrowtown at the weekend promoting clean air and warm homes exceeded expectations, Arrowtown Clean Air and Warm Homes Trust chairman Gerard Hall said yesterday.
About 500 residents took the opportunity to visit the expo at the Athenaeum Hall, where a variety of businesses displayed energy efficiency and clean heating options, including pellet fires, gas fires, heat pumps and double glazing.
Mr Hall said the trust, which had been operational for only about three months, was the culmination of about three years of work to address the town's problem of air pollution.
Arrowtown was the "jewel of the Wakatipu" and the problem of air pollution was a serious one, Mr Hall believed.
If the problem was to be fixed, every resident not only needed to be aware of the issue, but also of how they could help.
One focus for the trust was to involve all members of the community, including some of the youngest - pupils at Arrowtown School.
The pupils had been working for the past month on developing a logo for the trust.
"We will involve a graphic designer who will work with the children in coming up with the logo which will be a [combination] from the three best of the best.
"The children's work will then be [used] by the trust."
Mr Hall said the children of the town were its future, so it was vital they understood what the problem was and how to fix it.
