Canterbury Resource Management Awards

Nominations are now being sought for Canterbury's top enviornmental award; the 1998 Resource Management Awards.

An initiative of Canterbury Regional Council, the awards were established in 1991 to encourage and promote the sustainable resource management of Canterbury's natural and physical resources.

The awards which are held every two years, in even numbered years, recognise and reward companies, communities and individuals for their efforts in developing projects that do use those resources sustainably. Resource management issues in Canterbury include water quality, soil conservation, air quality, conservation and preservation of natural areas, efficient regional transportation, pest management, rural and urban planning and civil defence.

The awards are jointly sponsored with Landcare Research, an independent Crown Research Institute. A judging panel, convened by Richard Johnson chairman of the Canterbury Regional Council, will include representatives from industry, media, tangata whenua and Landcare Research. Each entry is judged on its ability to fit specified criteria which include the practicality and sustainability of the project; the consultative process undertaken during the development of the project; and the way the project impacts on other resources. A supreme award may be presented to an entry which excels in meeting these guidelines.

Awards are presented in four categories:

• Community/Interest - community based groups or single interest groups.
• Commercial/Industrial - established projects administered by companies.
• Professional/Institutional - non profit organisations.
• Individual - projects that have been initiated by a single person but show a consultative or co-operative approach.

Application forms and further information is available from the Canterbury Regional Council, phone (03) 365-3828, fax (03) 365-3194. Applications will be received until 31 August 1998.

Past Winners:

1996

• Trees For Canterbury (voluntary native tree planting organisation) - Overall Winner
• The Drainage and Water Services Unit of the Christchurch City Council (environmental approach to waterways management)

  - Winner Professional/Institutional Category

  - Winner Landcare Research Study Award (with the Coast Care section of the Christchurch City Council Parks Unit)

• Rolleston's Centralised Sewage Treatment Plant - Winner Commercial/Industrial Category
• Jim Ackerley (waste oil collection project) - Winner Individual Category

1994

• Isaac Wildlife Trust - Overall Winner
• Christchurch City Council (Composting Facility)

- Winner Professional/Institutional Category

- Winner Landcare Research Award

• Banks Peninsula Walking Track - Winner Commercial/Industrial Category
• Mark Webb (Temuka urban wetland) - Winner Individual Category
• Liffy Domain (Lincoln, stream-side restoration) - Winner Community/Interest Groups Category
• Willowby Primary (Nature & Wildlife Reserve) - Winner Schools/Youth Groups Category

1993

• ECNZ Waitaki Working Party - Special Award
• Drinnan Tank Services Limited - General Winner
• Hawarden Area School (Moa Swamp revegetation) - Winner Schools and Youth Groups Category
• Birdland Nature Reserve - Joint Winner Community/Interest Groups Category
• CTV's "What On Earth" - Joint Winner Community/Interest groups Category