A challenge to Canterbury’s regional council echoed through the streets of central Christchurch.
“We care a lot, can ECan care?”
More than a hundred concerned locals and members of at least six climate campaign groups – including Forest & Bird, Extinction Rebellion, and Aotearoa Water Action (AWA) – rallied outside Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) Christchurch office as councillors met inside on Thursday.
At the heart of their concerns was the approval of the Mayfield-Hinds-Valetta (MHV) irrigation scheme last month, which they feared would lead to high levels of nitrates being used on farms and leaching into the region’s freshwater system, risking the environment and human health.
