PHOTO
The Guardians of Lake Wānaka has welcomed a new board, while praising the contributions of long-standing outgoing board members.
The new board comprises interim chair Nancy Latham, Julie Perry, Megan Williams, Jose Cranfield and Neil Gillespie, with Shirley Walthew installed as the board’s Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu representative and Queenstown Lakes District councillor Nicki Gladding completing the board as the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board representative.
In addition to welcoming new board members, two long-standing members have stepped down.
Dr Don Robertson has resigned from the organisation after over ten years as chair, and Jeff Donaldson is stepping down after eight years.
At an event to acknowledge the incoming board and the outgoing servants, at Wānaka Yacht Club on July 1, Dr Robertson spoke of the history of the Guardians of Lake Wānaka and the Lake Wānaka Preservation Act 1973, before laying down a challenge for the incoming board, to "endeavour to make ten-fold the difference the current Guardians have made".
Guardians of Lake Wānaka new chair Nancy Latham said: "The depth of experience and expertise on the incoming board positions the Guardians of Lake Wānaka well to accept Don’s challenge. We look forward to building on the legacy of past Guardians as we work to reverse the declining health of the lake and ensure its protection for future generations."
Speaking about the contributions of the outgoing board members after the event, interim chair Nancy Latham said it was hard to sum up in a few words the contributions made by Dr Robertson and Mr Donaldson.
"They’ve been consistently monitoring what’s going on, and the integrity with which they’ve pursued the protection of the lake is incredible really," Ms Latham said.
Asked about the challenges facing the lake in future — and of the gauntlet laid down by the outgoing chair — Ms Latham identified the gradual decline of the lake’s water quality and the invasion of biosecurity issues as the key problems, before pointing to the interconnected nature of Lake Wānaka as a key factor both in the benefit it provided, but also in its vulnerability.
"Lake Wānaka is at the heart of Wānaka’s community, but it’s also impacted by political decisions at central and local government level, as well as the decisions of the community themselves.
"It’s a very complex, integrated, interconnected situation that we sit in."