The board was addressed by Bronwyn Lowe and Julie Gemmel, representatives of the Friends of the Taieri Willow group, in support of a funding application for $2325 towards purchase of a shed for storage of tools.
Ms Lowe said the Friends of the Taieri Willow was founded in 2013 by a group enthusiastic about weaving willow baskets and teaching others the skill, and originally had extensive willow beds at the Invermay site.
In 2021, the group had to to leave the Taieri site, and had transplanted its willow collection to Seacliff — a huge task that required about 2000 people hours.
The group and its activities had grown to the point where it was working to become an incorporated society.
"Our site is one of the few places in New Zealand that has willow beds the community can use, and we are keen to spread the knowledge and keep the botanical diversity alive," she said.
"Now, we really need a shed to store lawnmower and tools, and we have a kitset shed in mind that can be installed before our willow harvest in June."
The board was fascinated by the project and, after discussion later in the meeting, urged the society to consider a name change to reflect its new location in Seacliff.
Vegetation
Dunedin City Council vegetation control officer Ian Mann, now four months into the role, attended the meeting to introduce himself to the board and hear any concerns around vegetation issues in the Waikouaiti coast area.
Mr Mann told the board his role involved liaising with contractor Whitestone to ensure a safe road corridor was maintained, with activities including grass mowing, kerb and channel weed control, noxious weed control, envelope clearance and problem trees.
Board members made suggestions for roads where work needed to be done, including Shortcut Rd and Doctors Point Rd.
Karitane harbourIn his board chairman’s report, Alasdair Morrison shared images and discussed a project he and deputy chairman Andy Barratt were keen to make a board project — monitoring and working with authorities to improve infrastructure and water flow around the Karitane wharf area.
Alterations to rock walls in the area had changed the tidal flow, leading to a build-up of sandbanks, making it more dangerous for boats to depart the harbour, and putting the area at more risk of flooding in heavy rain events, he said.
He told the board the project was in its earliest stages, and would require more research but asked for it to be made a board project. Board members voted to support this.
