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The Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) programme has announced its inaugural sponsorship of Northland’s Rescue Helicopters.
Less than a year into its official establishment, KMR leader Pou Tātaki Justine Daw says the team is thrilled to be supporting Northland’s life-saving air ambulance service.
“We are working with hundreds of people throughout the Kaipara so we feel an obligation to help keep people safe by supporting the amazing work the Northland Rescue Helicopter crews do,” she says.
Northland Rescue Helicopter chief executive Craig Gibbons says he is grateful for the KMR support, given the service needs to raise more than $1 million annually to help fund operations.
“We fly numerous missions to the Kaipara every year and around 1200 across Northland,” he says. “We have always been well supported by the people of Kaipara, so we are grateful KMR has come on board to help us. Kaipara Kumara managing director Ant Blundell is one of our long-standing ambassadors, so we have really strong links to the district.”
Daw says that while it is still early days, a key to KMR’s success has been its focus on enhancing environmental and social outcomes, which makes this sponsorship such a natural fit.
The Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme is one of New Zealand’s largest catchment restoration programmes, investing $4.67 million last year in projects to reduce sediment flowing into the Kaipara Harbour.
“Not only is the Kaipara Moana important ecologically, it has deep cultural and economic significance.
The harbour is home to several iwi/hapū groups, with local taonga species providing food and medicine, underpinning cultural practices and connecting people to place.”
