Everything Kāpiti
THIS WEEK IN KĀPITI – 22 December 2020
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Kia ora Kāpiti
Only three more sleeps until Santa! We’ll be scaling back our hours over Christmas but there’ll always be someone available for urgent Council-related requests. Read on for our holiday hours.
We have some lovely stories this week including the blessing of the Te Ara Tangata - Peoples Pathway, Kapakapanui children helping to keep the Waikanae River beautiful and, our Waste Minimisation Advisor explains recycling options.
There is plenty to look forward to in the new year too with our tamariki library card design competition and, for the adventurers among us or maybe those wanting to work off their Christmas pudding, find out how to take part in XTERRA Coastal Triathlon.
Meri Kirihimete Kāpiti!
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 Your Council
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Council Services and holiday hours
Some of our hours are a little different over the holiday period. Check out our website to see when our Council and community facilities and services including our pools and libraries are operating over the summer break.
Our service centres are closed from 3pm, 24 December to 9am, 5 January but you can still get in touch with us by calling our afterhours Call Centre on 0800 486 486 or emailing us at kapiti.council@kapiticoast.govt.nz.
Remember, if there is an emergency, please contact emergency services in the first instance. For everything else, please lodge your comments or concerns via online service request and our Antenno app
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Kāpiti plots course towards recovery
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We have set out a course towards our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through the Kāpiti Recovery Plan, a community blueprint for building back better.
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The Plan, approved by Council in October, sets out 42 short and medium-term actions for Council and partners that strengthen partnership and leadership, enable resilience in our economy and non-government organisations, encourage loving local, grow skills and capability, ensure our people are warm, healthy and safe, and inspire connection and kindness.
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 Work updates
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Blessing of Te Ara Tangata - the people's pathway
A small ceremony, led by Kaumātua Koro Don Te Māipi, was held in Waikanae last week to bless and open the beautiful and distinctive Te Ara Tangata cultural thread pathway.
The pathway on Frater Lane is of historic significance, linking Whakarongotai Marae to the Ruakohatu Urupā and the original Waikanae Village. Improving the lane is a key part of Council’s plan to link the Marae to heart of the Waikanae town centre.
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Hot tip
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Keep the soft stuff out!
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Keep the soft stuff out
There is some confusion about soft plastics and whether they can be recycled or not. Our Waste Minimisation Advisor explains what soft plastics are, why they can't be recycled in Kāpiti, and some ideas on alternatives! Please keep recycling Plastics 1, 2 & 5, but put soft plastics in your general rubbish bin.
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Our people and communities
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Many hands make light work
A big shoutout to Years 7 and 8 from Kapakapanui School for their help on the Waikanae River recently. Over 150 pupils joined our staff to help with weeding and maintaining restoration planting along the river. It’s great to see our rangatahi get involved in conservation work and we are hopeful that more than a few have now caught the river restoration bug.
Ka rawe kids, your awa thanks you.
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How tsunami-ready are you?
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With lots of us staying at home by the beach this summer it's important to be both sun smart and emergency ready.
As a coastal community we are at risk of tsunami so we need to be prepared to evacuate quickly in some instances – there may not be time to issue an official warning.
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If you feel a strong earthquake that makes it hard to stand up, or a weak rolling earthquake that lasts a minute or more you need to “get gone”. Other warning signs of a tsunami include a sudden rise or fall in sea level and/or loud and unusual noises from the sea.
Make sure you check where your nearest local evacuation zone is so if you have to evacuate, you know where to go. It's also important to factor COVID-19 into your emergency planning by packing face masks in your grab bag. Tsunami evacuations will override any "stay at home" COVID-19 restrictions.
Let’s get prepared and make this a great summer Kāpiti! Remember the mantra “Long or Strong, Get Gone”.
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Otaki Gorge Road: Walking access to Tararua Forest Park now open
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Attention trampers: walking access to the Tararua Forest Park from Ōtaki Gorge Road has been restored.
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Vehicle access is still closed because of the slow slip at the section of the road known as Blue Bluff, 12km in from SH1.
The Department of Conservation has confirmed that alternative public walking access to the huts and walks in the Tararua Forest Park is now open.
This temporary emergency access track has been made possible through private land, courtesy of the private landowners.
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COVID - Make Summer Unstoppable
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Let’s all do our bit to make sure our first summer with COVID-19 doesn’t stop.
Keep up the good habits and if you’re going away think about packing a few extras like hand sanitiser, face masks, cleaning products and a tracing booklet.
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Get involved
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Coastal programme survey
A newly established Community Assessment Panel (CAP) will lead a community conversation next year about what is needed to help Kāpiti Coast communities adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.
The CAP will be a working group of local people, representing a cross-section of our community, and will be made up of iwi partners, community and other key stakeholder/ agency representatives.
The CAP will be the formal mechanism through which wider community input, indigenous knowledge and technical expertise are used to develop the medium to long-term coastal adaption options for Council’s consideration. In the meantime the Takutai Kāpiti project team want to find out how you feel about our coast and its future.
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Library Card Design Competition
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We want you to design our next fabulous library card!
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Calling all 5 – 15 year olds! How would you like your art or design to be carried around in thousands of purses and pockets? We are on the hunt for creative young artists to design our next library cards.
Entries close on the 31st of January 2021.
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Dates to remember
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XTERRA
XTERRA Wellington is a completely unique, off-road triathlon, duathlon and trail running experience. There is no other coastal triathlon like it in New Zealand, or indeed the world and it’s back in Kāpiti for the second time next year on 13 February 2021.
Made up of 10 events, you can choose the one that works for you and your level of challenge from the 6km Fun Run, Whareroa Half Marathon to the full XTERRA Coastal Triathlon. Cheer on the competitors or join in!
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 #shareyourkapiti
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We want to see your Kāpiti snaps!
Do you have beautiful Kāpiti Coast photos? If so, follow us on Instagram and use the hashtag #shareyourkapiti for the chance to feature in Everything Kāpiti. If you don't use social media, you can upload your images to our website, at #ShareYourKapiti. Get sharing!
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