Guests attending our Monday 17th October meeting were Colin White and Lindsay Richardson. Their attendance provided an opportunity to formally thank them for the invaluable assistance they have given to the club.
After the success of building compost bins for Te Omanga in Richard’s year, we offered to do another hands-on project in the following Rotary year.
The request from Te Omanga was to provide a new bird aviary. The cost and the logistics of this project seemed rather daunting. However, Richard indicated that he had a very good friend in the building trade that might be willing to help us out. Thankfully, Colin was willing to assist and provide the expert guidance we needed. Colin already had an association with the hospice and was aware of the aviary project. He suggested ‘we can move the old one’ – and that’s exactly what we did. He came up with a cunning plan and the Environment & Amenities committee organised things like concrete, a Hiab truck and the manpower to make it all happen.
The aviary is now located with easy access for patients and families outside the in-patient rooms. The birds are back in residence after we painted the interior. Silberry Roofing will re-roof the aviary and when the sun begins to shine more often, we will paint the exterior.
All in all, a successful project and achieved with the minimum cost – nearly all the materials and services were donated. We owe a huge vote of thanks to Colin and son-in-law Lindsay (also a builder) for providing their time and expertise.