Keep New Zealand Beautiful welcomes Paeroa branch

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic which is affecting us all on a global and national level, Keep New Zealand Beautiful continues to focus on celebrating the achievements of the individuals, schools, businesses, councils and community groups who work tirelessly across Aotearoa to keep our country clean, safe and beautiful.

To that end, Keep New Zealand Beautiful is excited to announce the launch of a new branch – Keep Paeroa Beautiful. The branch will be headed by former Keep New Zealand Beautiful ‘Tidy Kiwi Volunteer of the Month’ winner, Quinn Barker.

Quinn, who won Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s ‘Tidy Kiwi Volunteer of the Month’ in January 2020, made national media headlines when he spent his summer holidays picking up 360 bags of rubbish from the Karangahake Gorge between Paeroa and Waihi.

His motivation to start a branch stemmed from the positive feedback he received following the massive clean-up he did, proving that the spirit of a community comes alive when supporting good causes that help to Keep New Zealand Beautiful. Quinn says, “By creating a branch we as a community can make a difference all around our town.”

Quinn is looking forward to engaging with his local community, however with the postponement of public volunteer events during these trying times, clean up events cannot take place until later in the year. In the interim, Keep New Zealand Beautiful invites the public of New Zealand to celebrate the first Digital Earth Day on 22 April, a global digital mobilisation in a collective call for climate action.

As part of Digital Earth Day, you can take part in the Earth Challenge 2020, an initiative which integrates existing citizen science projects and builds capacity for new ones — all to grow citizen science worldwide. Using mobile technology and open citizen science data, the challenge empowers people around the world to monitor and mitigate threats to environmental and human health in their communities, all from the safety and comfort of their own home. To be a part of this global initiative, simply visit the Earth Challenge website.

For 53 years Keep New Zealand Beautiful has educated, inspired and empowered the next generation of Tidy Kiwis. During these uncertain times, they continue to work behind the scenes to support New Zealanders like Quinn to do beautiful things.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO, Heather Saunderson says, “We will come out of this pandemic a stronger community, and a stronger nation, and we look forward to serving you for the next 50 years.”

By starting a local branch, you can help Keep New Zealand Beautiful to create a better New Zealand. For more information on Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s existing branches, or how to start one in your local area, please click here.