Despite recent funding and staffing cuts, the Tauranga Environment Centre's trustees are determined to keep it open.

The centre is principally an information and resource centre, but has also run a number of events and festivals, which have proved popular over the years.
Among these successes are the Urban Greenspace Community Clean-up, the Funky Junk recycling facility, the Sustainable Backyards environment festival and the Enviro-Net newsletter.
But the funding and staffing cuts have severely impacted the centre and these services will now need to be prioritised, so that the best ones can be continued.
Centre trustee Richard Hart is organising some open meetings so that the general public may come and have their say on what services they would like to see continued. The first, on Wednesday August 5, will look at green spaces and ecosystem care. A second, on Thursday, August 6, will consider energy efficiency and waste management. Both are at the Tauranga Environment Centre, on Elizabeth Street, from 6.30pm.
Richard is hopeful these meetings will be productive.
'We want the environment centre to thrive, but to do this we need input from environmentally-minded individuals from across the community,” says Richard.