Dear Editor, Thank you for taking the time to read my piece in last Saturday’s paper. Many days of thinking and hours of heartfelt writing are reduced to just a few hundred words and I can’t help but wonder at times if anyone takes notice. Meitaki ranuinui Des (Eggelton).

Thanks also for explaining where the airport sand came from. We used to play on that small motu and I wondered what happened to it. 

I recall the tree cuttings, the spooky glow of ‘red eyes’ through the night as roots slowly burned charred tunnels in the earth.

In fact the chorus of the song I quoted was about the trees tumbling down. Back then John Herman was my sister’s teacher and had students sing her composition on radio. 

During Lagoon Day discussions with NES (National Environment Service) and MMR (Ministry of Marine Resources) about the many negative changes in Muri I was told about the sand being taken for the airport. So the misconception was passed on. I don’t like lies so I do appreciate Des’s correction on this point. 

Instead of lamenting the loss of the wide white sandy beach I could have mentioned the more serious issues of eutrophication, grey black anoxic sand, the rocky retaining walls that interfere with natural flow of tides and sand, the loss of natural habitat and so on. The list of negative human impact goes on.

But my message remains the same; had our leaders heeded the advice given 50 years ago tourist accommodation would have been on the land side of the road and we would all be benefitting from a healthier ‘Muri Reserve’. 

We can’t go back, but we can look back and learn from our mistakes. 

Let’s not give ourselves yet another environmental headache.

I say NO to DSM (deep sea mining).

June Hosking