Hastings is the Most Beautiful Small City

Community and Council, working together, have done it again!

Hastings has again taken out a major Keep New Zealand Beautiful award, this year being crowned Most Beautiful Small City. That comes on top of winning Most Beautiful Large Town and the Supreme Award in the previous year’s awards.

The annual Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards recognise sustainability and environmental protection: It’s about how a city keeps itself beautiful.

The awards were announced at Parliament House on February 17 – five months later than usual thanks to COVID.

The judges said Hastings had built on its waste and litter prevention programmes of the previous year; in particular its kerbside recycling and rubbish programme and new litter mascots ‘Luke the Litter Legend and Colin the Cheeky Chucker’. “[They have] created a fun and engaging way for children to learn about litter.”

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the award was fitting recognition of the efforts put in by so many in the community to care for the environment and each other.

“It’s wonderful to have our amazing community recognised with another win this year – it shows the huge commitment to caring for and enhancing our beautiful city is ongoing.

“As a council we have been given a very clear direction on sustainability and the protection of our environment, both through submissions to our Long-Term Plan and through our Youth Council.

“Our family-friendly parks, gardens and reserves, much-loved historic buildings, diverse suburbs, vibrant atmosphere and, most importantly, our passionate people and the way we all work together, are at the heart of making our district beautiful.”

Other highlights in Hastings’ awards submission included the on-going improvements in the city centre aimed at increasing vibrancy; new plantings undertaken in parks and reserves by community groups; the partnerships with groups such as Nourished for Nil, The Environment Centre, and ReSource, focused on keeping food and usable goods out of the landfill, and Council’s programme to measure the true environmental worth of the trees in the district’s parks.

The focus now is on continuing to Keep Hastings Beautiful.

“It takes all of us, working together,” says Mrs Hazlehurst. “Council cannot do this on our own; we need everyone to be aware of the impact of their actions on the environment and the positive things we can each do to look after it. Together we can do this.”

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1 March 2022

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