Keep Richmond Beautiful, a branch of Keep New Zealand Beautiful, has been making a positive impact in the Richmond area for over 20 years now and have no plans to stop their dedicated working bees anytime soon.
Every Wednesday for three hours, a group of dedicated community volunteers get involved in Keep Richmond Beautiful projects. From building, maintaining, and repairing walking tracks, planting native trees and weed control, to coastal clean-ups, the group is diverse in what they commit to. Every project is community-based and focused on enhancing the local environment or improving walking trails.
“I’ve always been into conservation, gardening and plants, and I knew when I retired I would like to do something along those lines,” Keep Richmond Beautiful chairman Greg Pickford says.
“I also found when retirement came around that I needed to find a new group of people who were around during the day, so I joined Keep Richmond Beautiful, that was eleven years ago now.”
The projects are often completed with the support of the Tasman District Council (TDC) and its rangers.
“For example, the TDC might provide the trees and we will provide the labour,” Greg says.
Greg loves to walk the hills and says he gets great satisfaction from working on the walking tracks and receiving positive feedback and appreciation from the community. He says these favourable comments and thanks have been a tremendous source of motivation for the group.
The group is a great avenue for those looking to connect with others and a good motivator to get out and do something during the day.
Greg encourages anyone wanting to give it a go to get in touch with him at gregandalisonpickford@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.
