A day of causes and culture across the city

Organisers of the Hope Walk. Photos and video by Nikki South.

Two events held in Tauranga have managed to bring people from all different walks of life together, in one place.

While the message and issue facing each event may be different, there is one commonality between them: people bringing awareness to what they believe in.Kicking off the day was the Hope Walk, an annual event aimed at spreading awareness for suicide.

The day has been arranged by Young Connex members, a youth group made up of 16 to 18-year-olds.

'We want everyone to come together and know there are people to talk to and that it's okay to talk about it,” says Young Connex member Jual Taitua.

SunLive photographer Nikki South was one of many who gathered at Memorial Park to show her support, having lost a family member to suicide.

From here, the crowd marched through the central city, finishing at the Tauranga Fish & Dive Club at Sulphur Point.

The walk was led by the Tauranga Samba Group and marked with the release of doves.

The event was followed by another at Mount Drury, which focussed on sending a message about the use of 1080, a type of poison used as a means of pest eradication in New Zealand forests.

The commentary surrounding 1080 is one that has grown significantly over the past few years, with many hunters, animal rights groups, and other organisations opposing its use.

1080 protest from Sun Live on Vimeo.

To signify this, a number of protests have been set up throughout the country with protestors marching to Parliament this week to demand a national ban.

In the Bay of Plenty three protests have been held today, in support of the national campaign, including one at Mount Drury.

Hunter Williams is one of many who has attended today's event.

'We all care about our beautiful country, and hate how catastrophic this poison is to not only the introduced species like possums and rats, but also our native, endangered and almost extinct species,” he says.

'I'm a hunter and a beekeeper and the last thing I want to see is our livelihood and freedom to go hunting taken away from us.

'There has to be something better, ground control, taking people out by helicopter to access these areas you can't get to by car or foot.

'We want people to see for themselves the damage this poison does.”

The event has been titled as a ‘peaceful' protest, he says.

'The last thing we want is for people to think we are a stereotypical, abusive, anti-group, that's not going to help us step forward in what we are trying to achieve.”

Further 1080 protests have also been held in Katikati and Whakatane.

And in the city centre another event to create awareness, this time for Chinese culture.

The Bay of Plenty Chinese Culture Society has opened up to let Tauranga locals experience their culture.

Held from 9am-3pm, the 2018 Tauranga Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival took over The Strand today.

Chinese Mid Autumn Festival from Sun Live on Vimeo.

The festival is all about family and rightfully so celebrating the past full moon, as the moon's round shape symbolizes family reunion.

Activities included a lion dance, face changing, tea art, dumpling making, paper cutting, calligraphy, shuttlecock kicking and taiji rouli ball.

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