Volunteers Ross Hawthorne, Rallou Keeley, Paul Nieman, Ramesh Gurung, Willy Leferink and Andrew Saunders have been given district council community honours awards.
They were presented last week at council chambers in front of councillors and recipients’ family and friends.
Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan said the community honours awards recognised the outstanding contribution of volunteers and celebrated the dedication, service and commitment they demonstrated in the district.
‘‘Each of today’s recipients has made a significant contribution to our community through their voluntary service. We are delighted to formally acknowledge these achievements and to share this occasion with family and friends.’’
‘‘We have such a wonderful community because of all of you,’’ she said.
The awards were presented in three categories: The Ashburton Medal which recognised individuals or teams who had achieved outstanding success in their chosen field and made an exceptional contribution to the Ashburton District.
The Environmental Champions Award, at its inaugural presentation, recognised significant contribution to environmental protection, conservation, restoration and stewardship. This includes efforts that enhance biodiversity and natural resources such as site restoration, re-vegetation, and plant and animal pest management.
And The Civic Award which recognised substantial service typically of a voluntary nature that benefits Ashburton District and its people.
Rallou Keeley received the Ashburton Medal which was presented by McMillan.
Rallou has spent the last 20 years managing the Mid Canterbury Animal Welfare Centre, a passion for animals she shared with her late husband John. Rallou has helped raise funds and provided shelter and health services to animals in need, from cats and dogs to guinea pigs and rabbits.
She was nominated by Natalie Lilley and Tina Smith, from Vetlife, who said Rallou had been a constant presence at the veterinary clinic and welfare centre every day for years, feeding, handling and providing an open door for the community to surrender animals.
She has run community neutering drives, dealt with wild cat populations and provided adoption opportunities for families wanting pets.
She has helped more than 500 families with their pets and her tireless work ethic and passion for rescuing and rehoming animals.
Ross Hawthorne was presented with the Environmental Champions Award by McMillan.
He was nominated by the Kanuka Mid Canterbury Regeneration Trust for his work for the past five years on the northern banks of the Ashburton River.
He has dealt with gorse, broom, ivy, old man’s beard and other pests, and this sort of weed control is a major undertaking in river margins. This has made way for native plantings to populate the area.
Ross has cleared the planting sites, applied for funding, arranged public planting days and spent many hours there himself.
In total, Ross has been responsible for over 11,000 native plantings in the river corridor habitat, quietly enhancing biodiversity for present and future generations to explore and enjoy.
Ross is very humble, does not look for accolades, and has quietly grown a crew of volunteers around him – a great combination of leadership and outstanding work on the ground.
He is the first person to receive a new community award, for Environmental Champions, and a worthy inaugural recipient.
Councillor Russell Ellis then read out the citation for two recipients of Civic Awards, presented by McMillan.
Ramesh Gurung is the founding president of the Mid Canterbury Nepalese Association, and came to New Zealand in 2002.
He has helped unite the Nepali community here, watching it grow from a handful of members to over 300.
In the early days they could meet in homes, but it wasn’t long before they needed a bigger space, like community halls, as more people emigrated from Nepal.
The social get-togethers were where they shared joy or sorrow, including helping victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015.
Ramesh went from organising these social gatherings to leading the Nepalese community in New Zealand, as well as helping as an interpreter in hospital, immigration and social services.
He has also been involved in helping teach Nepali culture to a new generation born in New Zealand.
Willy Leferink, awarded the Civic Award, was nominated by the Carters Creek Catchment Group for his passion and commitment to improving the environment around the creek, which runs from Tinwald to Lake Hood.
The group began 10 years ago and Willy is the chair, leading, encouraging, working the problems, and happy to get his hands dirty too.
He often undertakes solo working bees to unblock parts of the creek, take a water quality samples, or go out in heavy rain to assess flooded sections.
Willy is motivated by a genuine desire to improve the health and wellbeing of this catchment and environment, and he understands the need to give back to his community to make it a better place to live.
His leadership, problem solving and advocacy skills, coupled with his boundless enthusiasm, make him a valuable member of the group because environmental outcomes take decades, if not longer, to show results.
Councillor Phill Hooper then read the citations for the remaining two recipients of Civic Awards, presented by McMillan.
Paul Nieman, awarded the Civic Award, was nominated by the Ashburton Community Garden Charitable Trust for helping set up and operate the community garden over the past two years.
He has been integral to the project, using heavy machinery, making pathways and garden beds accessible for all, and working in the garden after work and weekends.
Paul quite literally wiped the slate clean for the new garden in 2024, using heavy machinery borrowed from his work.
But he also has an eye for finer details, like custom-built raised planter beds suitable for seated gardeners, and pathways flat and wide enough for wheelchairs and prams.
The community garden trust describes Paul as a breath of fresh air.
A man who gets things done, but he’s always friendly, approachable and supportive of all who come through the garden’s gates. One of life’s good buggers.
You can check out his good work at the garden, on the corner of Cass and Wills Sts, behind the Salvation Army.
Andrew Saunders, awarded the Civic Award, was nominated by the Kai for Kids Charitable Trust for his outstanding, sustained and selfless service to the children, families and wider community of Mid Canterbury.
Kai for Kids makes and delivers 160 lunches to schools every day of the week and for the past five years Andrew has volunteered in the kitchen, packed food and transported it to schools. He can be relied upon to turn up early, work hard and do what needs to be done – and he has become a familiar and trusted face at schools around the district.
After he retired from farming, Andrew was looking for something meaningful to fill his days and he says Kai for Kids gives him a reason to get out of bed every day. He also understands that every lunch bag represents a child who is depending on Kai for Kids, and his care and accuracy is exceptional.