Off the wall

The Christchurch City Council, Off the Wall volunteer-based graffiti reporting and removal programme, offers a range of volunteering options including Tag Spotter, Tag Remover, Group volunteering and a less formal tier of volunteering known as “friends” of the Graffiti Programme.

The following is an article submitted by one of our wonderful volunteers.

Cycle walkway. Sunshine. Active people out and about. Something pulls Carol up short. It’s a scribble on a fence. She can’t make out what it says. What she does know is that it makes the path look uncared for.

By her next morning stroll, other people have noticed that too, for the path is strewn with litter. On the next, there’s takeaway leftovers and grotty grime. A week later, a smashed bottle and vomit. People avoid the area.

The tag that started it all glares back at her like a bad hair day. Neighbours. You gotta love ‘em. Carol’s knows about the Snap

Send Solve app. She snaps a photo of the tag, and the app works out the location, and sends off a report to the council. Clever. Easy. Fab.

Voila! The next day, the graffiti has gone. Pulling on gloves and ups her sleeves, she picks up the rubbish. It’s rains. People feel safe to come back.

Inspired, Carol becomes a tag spotter for the Graffiti Programme. Tag spotting is a perfect form of volunteering for her because she can do as much or little as she likes.

Sometimes, she deliberately goes out for a bike ride or walk to look for graffiti – it’s a great way to combine exercise with a small community-minded action – but most of the time she just keeps an eye out while going about her everyday life.

Funnily enough, her friends start to tell her about tags in their neighbourhood. Tell her, as though it’s her “job” to report it. That changes once she tells them that anyone can report graffiti and/or become a friend of the Graffiti Programme by signing up at: www.ccc.govt.nz/graffiti.

Months, then years come and go. Graffiti waxes and wanes with the school holidays. As quick as it goes up, it’s expunged by another volunteer or Citycare, armed with a paint brush or a water blaster. The taggers seek other ways to express their boredom. It’s joyful, a joy that her small actions make a big impact. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini

Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many. If you too would like to contribute to keeping Christchurch beautiful and free of graffiti, please contact us on 9418999 or graffitiprogramme@ccc. govt.nz or www.ccc.govt.nz/graffiti.

Please contact us to report graffiti: www.ccc.govt.nz/report/ Phone: 03 941 8999

Or use our smartphone app: Snap Send Solve

Reporting is quick and easy! Help us keep Christchurch beautiful.