A Bay of Plenty environmental management initiative has been awarded the BERL Award for Collaborative Government Action by the NZ Society of Local Government Managers (Taituarā).
The Award, which is one of the categories of the prestigious 2020 McGredy Winder Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards®, is for Project Kopeopeo Canal Remediation, a project to safely remove dioxin-contaminated sediment from the Kopeopeo Canal near Whakatane.
The project, a collaborative effort by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Ministry for the Environment, was one of the largest successfully completed remediations and has attracted national and international attention.
Raymond Horan, Taituarā’s Chief Advisor, said that the judges acknowledged the complexity of the project.
“The approach blended science, cultural awareness and technical innovation into a successful remediation. The judges also noted the steps taken by the Council to incorporate the project learnings into business as usual activity.”
Taituarā’s Chief Executive, Karen Thomas, said that the McGredy Winder Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards® are an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of professionals in the local government sector.
“The contribution and the commitment to communities that our local government professionals demonstrate is wonderful.
“At a time when councils when are working tirelessly to provide services and support to their communities, it is great to be able to announce this news.
“Congratulations to Bay of Plenty and thank you to BERL for their ongoing support.”
Also announced today were the six category winners of the 2020 McGredy Winder Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards®, the Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year Award, several other Overseas Manager Exchanges (sponsored by Civic Financial Services, AskYourTeam and Marsh), the Skills Organisation Melbourne Business School Leadership Scholarship, the Taituarā Distinguished Management Award, and the President’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to Taituarā.
Taituarā’s annual Gala Dinner event was cancelled due to COVID-19, and so award recipients were announced online this year.