Ngā Wai Ngahere

There is a trash problem in the native forests behind the Waikare inlet in the Bay of Islands. Illegal dumping is compromising the water quality below the dumpsites. One of the worst spots is on the forest road section of the Russell Whakapara road, where rubbish from old cars, broken glass, used nappies, and everything between, has been building up for decades just above a beautiful natural spring of fresh water. These pure waters are being badly contaminated. The site is dangerous and difficult and clean-up and has traditionally been put in the "Too Hard" basket by everyone. Enter one Aroha Cope, who rigs up a system to get down the precipitous bank and back up with the rubbish. She is single-handedly transporting the rubbish up to the road, sorting it and getting it to the local re-cycling centre. She is currently incurring costs she cannot afford for rubbish bags, petrol and transport costs, let alone the time she is putting in to get the job done.