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“We haven’t made much progress this year because of
the awful weather,” says Hood, “things will pick up over
summer. But we’ve been surprised by the approach we’ve
had from the local community. Members of the public
who want to help – they’ve read about the programme on
Facebook. All they need is the transport to get there – and
we are delighted to oblige.”
As an aside, it is thanks to one man that Browns Island
is in a position to be rehabilitated at all. Older readers
may recall that one of Auckland’s more environmentally-
aware and visionary mayors – Sir Dove Myer-Robinson- successfully (and almost single-handedly) prevented the
island becoming a permanent environmental disaster in the
early 1960s. The Council of the period planned to use the
island as a dumping ground for Auckland’s sewage and offal
from its slaughterhouses.
Thank you Dove!
BLUE FLAG ACCREDITATION
OBC’s conservation efforts have also earned it Blue
Flag Accreditation – an internationally-recognised
environmental programme geared specifically to
the marine industry. New Zealand has two other
accredited facilities – The Landing haul-out facility
in Auckland’s Hobson Bay, and Westhaven Marina.
“To qualify,” says Hood, “we’ve had to
implement and monitor a variety of programmes.
This includes – for example – making sure club
members don’t discharge contaminated bilge water
into the marina. So we’ll be asking all boat owners
to introduce a filter between their bilge pump and
hull outlets, and the bilges of all new boats will be
inspected. Another alternative technique is placing
an ‘absorption’ mat in bilges – to take up any spilt
oil or diesel.”
Initial accreditation involves a 12-month
programme – independently assessed – and the Club
is re-assessed every year.
“I like to think that accreditation is part of
the OBC ethos,” says Hood. “We want to be able
to show our local communities that we are being
good guardians or custodians. And ironically, it’s
not particularly difficult. It just requires a little
extra care.” BNZFOCUS ON THE DESTINATION
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