Jennie Harré Hindmarsh (Pākehā) grew up in a rural community near the Rangitīkei River, during which she loved visiting coastal cousins in Te Tairāwhiti. to which finally relocated 20 years ago, fulfilling a lifelong dream. After (considerable) decades of working interculturally in strategic and programme development roles in national and regional organisations (including universities, the College of GPs, Te Papa Tongarewa, and latterly Ngāti Porou Hauora), Jennie is now enjoying the chance in her ‘retirement years’ to draw on skills and networks developed whilst employed across the education, social services, health, research and heritage sectors to contribute to community-led ecological restorations initiatives.
As a community member, about 15 years ago Jennie co-initiated the Wainui Beach Coast Care group and ‘by default’ continues to voluntarily co-coordinate and encourage community coastal restoration activities – which are now expanding from the dunes and stream mouths to include wider coastal catchment initiatives. As a Longbush Ecological Trust trustee, Jennie also has co-developed Waikereru Ecosanctuary’s Wild Lab Taiaki Taiao programme for schools and small groups.
Other current roles include as a Tairawhiti Museum and Art Gallery Board trustee and as an advisory group member for Gisborne District Council’s Waimatā-Pakarae Catchment Plan Project, Te Mātai Medical Research Institute, and the Te Tāhuna Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission’s Community Network. Jennie’s educational qualifications include a PhD in education and a Tohu Maoritanga (completed whilst a Victoria University of Wellington academic), a London School of Economics MSc in social policy & social work (completed as a Commonwealth Scholar in the 1970s), and a BA Hons in social sciences from Massey University.
Community-led coast care: Musings from the beach
Around the country, more and more community-led coast care groups are initiating and taking responsibility for the restoration of remnant dune systems, estuaries, wetlands and stream mouth ecosystems along our beaches and coastlines. Many are proactively engaging the support of their local authorities in this endeavour, and sometimes other organisations. And increasing numbers are collaborating with or morphing into catchment-wide community groups in response to coastal challenges associated with cumulative impacts of decades of in-land mismanagement and climate change. In this interactive session we will reflect on this increasingly critical phenomenon of ‘community-led coast care’ - sharing the outcome of our musings from the beach about:
What triggers a community to set up a coast care group?
What empowers and sustains coast care groups to be effective over time? And
What frustrations or issues challenge coast care groups the most over time?
In-a-brief-nutshell, I will summarise my musings about these questions in relation to the ebbs and flows of our Wainui Beach coast care group/network over the last 15 years. And from musing on your experiences with community-led coast care groups, conference participants will be invited to share your (brief bullet-point) observations of key factors associated with triggering the establishment of coast care groups, and key factors that empower, sustain and challenge groups over time.