Wow, what an amazing holiday! Eight US national parks and 8,775 kilometres later, I am finally home, surrounded by beautiful crisp fresh air, glorious snow-capped mountains, and our wonderful Geraldine community.
One of the first things I did was to walk the Waihi River Trail, and I was genuinely delighted to see the bulbs we planted, aided by Geraldine High School students and volunteers from the Waihi River Volunteer Group, in flower. In some areas we planted, the bulbs will flower later towards spring, so look out for that display, too. As the years roll by, the bulbs will multiply and provide a lasting legacy – thank you once again to all those folk who pitched in to get them in the ground.
To add to that delight, another shout out/thank you – this time to the TDC parks team for the bark chip around the viewing platform. This really makes a difference in tidying the area in preparation for planting. The native plantings can’t be too far away; we look forward to these going in, which will ultimately provide screening to the road and enhance the area. The doggy poop dispenser and repository are a bonus that will help our canine friends enjoy the trail, too.
My last two editions of In the Loop discussed art and sculptures. As I pick up the pace after my holiday, this area will become more of our focus. It was important to nail the construction side of the project before the artwork, so now that we have accomplished three loops, it is timely. A lot of preparatory work on the art side has been taking place alongside construction, but it will now take priority.
I was delighted to receive the news from Simon Davenport and the sculpture trail team of our success in receiving the national Golden Foot award – a true testimony to the dedicated hard work this amazing team has put into this project; it was very gratefully received.
It’s nice to be home. ROSIE
