Carol Gunn – A very good citizen!

Carol Gunn quietly works very hard for our community. She has given so much to Waitemata and it’s no suprise Carol was awarded the Waitemata Local Board good citizen award in 2024

Carol has a strong connection to our neighbourhood, stretching back from her great grandparents growing up on the fringes of Grey Lynn.

When her children were born, Carol joined local Plunket coffee groups, became a member of the local Plunket committee, joined the local Grey Lynn Toy Library committee, and met many other young families at local playgroup sessions.

Carol used her professional research experience to help the Grey Lynn Residents Association survey residents about their perceptions and desires for the area, to help GLRA provide informed input for Auckland Council’s long-term plans.

Carol was a trustee of the Western Springs College School Board for nine years, six of those years as Chair. Notable achievements during her tenure included: the major redevelopment of the school site, fundraising for solar panels, and gazetting a co-governance constitution. The college has a strong sustainability focus and Carol was a regular participant in the Sustainability  Panel that provides a forum for students, teachers, senior leaders, board members, to collaborate.

Since 2017, Carol is best known as the Manager of our Grey Lynn Farmers Market, transforming the Grey Lynn Community Centre, on Sunday mornings, into a village square that brings people together for fresh produce, high qualtiy groceries and local coffee. Of course!

GLFM provides opportunities for community groups and student entrepreneurs to engage with locals. It has been a first job experiences for college students which is one of the many factors that lead to Carol receiving an Auckland Council Good Citizen Award in February 2024.

Under Carol’s stewardship, the market has grown, doubling vendors and customers, despite the challenges of; the West Lynn roadworks, major repairs to the community centre, Covid closures and fruit fly restrictions

In 2022, Carol joined the board of the Grey Lynn Business Association to support the formation of a Business Improvement District for the area. A huge effort from the committee now sees the GLBA receiving funding from July 2025.  Up until now, the GLBA has been run by volunteers. Her specific roles have been to manage the database for the ballot of local businesses, and to write the constitution for the new BID.