A Dunedin conservation organisation laid down its shovels yesterday - just long enough to let the dirt dry - to receive one of the top Keep Dunedin Beautiful awards.
A Rocha (Dunedin), established only last year, won the Keep Dunedin Beautiful Pod Award for its part in several beautification and environmental projects throughout the city, including plantings and litter clean-ups at Craigieburn, Tomahawk-Smaills Beach, Orokonui, Kaikorai Stream and the Sinclair Wetlands.
A Rocha chairman Selwyn Yeoman was both surprised and delighted with the award.
"We really didn't expect this - we're quite blown away.
"We feel that it's an affirmation of what we're on about. It shows we're going in the right direction."
Mr Yeoman said A Rocha - which was Portuguese for "the rock" - was a Christian nature conservation organisation which carried out projects with a focus on science and research, practical conservation and environmental education.
Today, the organisation would be back at work on its latest conservation project at Tirohanga Camp on the Taieri, he said.
The project included stream restoration, weed removal, native tree planting, creating an interpretive walk, and sustainable gardening. Eventually it was hoped an alternative energy system could be established, he said.
The other major prize in the Keep Dunedin Beautiful awards ceremony was won by the Dunedin Amenities Society.
The society won the Taylor Community Pride Shield for its work on the beautification of Craigieburn Reserve in the Leith Valley, turning it from an overgrown and unknown area into a beautifully landscaped site.
Progress of Waikouaiti Area (POWA) was judged second for its work on the township's main street, and Portobello Inc was awarded third prize for its work on the Portobello jetty.
