Latest news with #EveryCornerProject
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Cameras donated to Predator Free
Timaru Rotary Club member Lionel Wilson (left) and owner of 2040 Ltd Shaun Ryan are all smiles at the prospect of a predator-free Timaru while picking up the AI cameras last week are. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Big brother is always watching. At least for the pests in and around Centennial Park and the Highfield Golf Course. Six AI cameras have been gifted to Predator Free Timaru from the Timaru Rotary Club. Predator Free committee member Tim Exton said he was "absolutely thrilled" with the donation. Mr Exton said during the day the cameras monitored bird sound and bird life, and at night they worked as a thermal camera, being able to identify pests. He said trapping was a science, but if people were unsure what they were trying to trap then it was not much good. As one predator was removed from the area, then another one might become more prevalent. As an example, where Mr Exton had trapped along the river, it had shown when stoats were removed, weasels moved in. Trapping their food source could result in them "prey switching" from rabbits to potentially a native prey. He said the cameras assisting trapping should see a change in birds around the areas, including more native species like tui and kereru. He said cameras would help them identify their successes and their failures. Rotary Club spokesman Lionel Wilson said that as part of a weekend of connection among Rotary groups across the region earlier this year, 120 traps were made. Those traps had been placed in backyards around the golf course and the park. Mr Wilson said Predator Free Timaru members were "busy people" so when he saw an advertisement come up for Every Corner Project, which was run by Air New Zealand he was quick to apply. The project aimed to give money to groups that were helping the environment. The project had 640 applications for the $1.2 million of funding. When they were selected as one of the 100 projects to be given funding, Mr Wilson said the club used the $10,343.10 to purchase six cameras and batteries. Mr Exton said, "Lionel's great, he's got time and knowledge to do it, and do it successfully. "He has bolstered our work tenfold." While Mr Exton was not a Rotary member he said "I threatened to join them".
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Air New Zealand Funds Carbon Sinks In Every Corner Of Tairāwhiti Through School And Community Gardens
Press Release – Good Carbon Farm This project is in line with the Mori community spirit of maara kai (growing food) and tino rangatiratanga (self determination). By repurposing problematic slash on our doorstep into something good, we can help educate our tamariki, and enhance … The Good Carbon Farm is teaming up with Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust to deliver its first project in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, as featured last night on Seven Sharp. Supported by Air New Zealand's Every Corner Project fund, the project will produce and distribute biochar made from forestry slash displaced during Cyclone Gabrielle. 'We're delighted to bring The Good Carbon Farm to Tairāwhiti', says The Good Carbon Farm Co-founder, Joany Grima. 'Our climate action model is simple and circular: taking organic matter that would otherwise go to waste, upcycling it into biochar, and putting it back into the ground, for good, in a school or community garden. The Trust is the perfect partner for this project,' Grima says. Devastated by the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on their community, the Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust initiated the Slash for Cash project, repurposing forestry debris into biochar to be used to regenerate productive farmland. 'This project will be the first big order for the Slash for Cash team; allowing us to start giving back to the soil,' says Slash for Cash Coordinator, Thabiso Mashaba. 'Since establishing Slash for Cash, the team has been specially trained to heal the land, an empowering and mana enhancing process for those involved,' Mashaba says. Biochar produced by the team in the second half of the year will be shared among Tairāwhiti schools and community groups to dig into their food growing gardens. Forestry slash is rich in carbon, so when it decomposes, carbon is re-released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane. Converting slash into biochar is a circular system, capturing up to half the carbon that would otherwise have been emitted, while also creating an organic soil enhancing product. 'We think of what we're doing as the opposite of mining – returning resources to the earth, rather than extracting them. The addition of biochar to gardens creates a safe, long term carbon sink, and triggers a reaction that makes soil more resilient,' Grima says. 'This project is in line with the Māori community spirit of maara kai (growing food) and tino rangatiratanga (self determination). By repurposing problematic slash on our doorstep into something good, we can help educate our tamariki, and enhance the livelihoods of whanau, too, ' Thabiso says. Upper Hutt City Council, Simplicity Foundation, Mazda Foundation, and Soilpro are previous financial supporters of The Good Carbon Farm, a New Zealand registered charity. 'We invite other organisations and companies to support our work as part of their sustainability strategy. In time, our carbon sinks will reach every corner of New Zealand,' says Grima.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Air New Zealand Funds Carbon Sinks In Every Corner Of Tairāwhiti Through School And Community Gardens
Press Release – Good Carbon Farm This project is in line with the Mori community spirit of maara kai (growing food) and tino rangatiratanga (self determination). By repurposing problematic slash on our doorstep into something good, we can help educate our tamariki, and enhance … The Good Carbon Farm is teaming up with Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust to deliver its first project in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, as featured last night on Seven Sharp. Supported by Air New Zealand's Every Corner Project fund, the project will produce and distribute biochar made from forestry slash displaced during Cyclone Gabrielle. 'We're delighted to bring The Good Carbon Farm to Tairāwhiti', says The Good Carbon Farm Co-founder, Joany Grima. 'Our climate action model is simple and circular: taking organic matter that would otherwise go to waste, upcycling it into biochar, and putting it back into the ground, for good, in a school or community garden. The Trust is the perfect partner for this project,' Grima says. Devastated by the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on their community, the Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust initiated the Slash for Cash project, repurposing forestry debris into biochar to be used to regenerate productive farmland. 'This project will be the first big order for the Slash for Cash team; allowing us to start giving back to the soil,' says Slash for Cash Coordinator, Thabiso Mashaba. 'Since establishing Slash for Cash, the team has been specially trained to heal the land, an empowering and mana enhancing process for those involved,' Mashaba says. Biochar produced by the team in the second half of the year will be shared among Tairāwhiti schools and community groups to dig into their food growing gardens. Forestry slash is rich in carbon, so when it decomposes, carbon is re-released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane. Converting slash into biochar is a circular system, capturing up to half the carbon that would otherwise have been emitted, while also creating an organic soil enhancing product. 'We think of what we're doing as the opposite of mining – returning resources to the earth, rather than extracting them. The addition of biochar to gardens creates a safe, long term carbon sink, and triggers a reaction that makes soil more resilient,' Grima says. 'This project is in line with the Māori community spirit of maara kai (growing food) and tino rangatiratanga (self determination). By repurposing problematic slash on our doorstep into something good, we can help educate our tamariki, and enhance the livelihoods of whanau, too, ' Thabiso says. Upper Hutt City Council, Simplicity Foundation, Mazda Foundation, and Soilpro are previous financial supporters of The Good Carbon Farm, a New Zealand registered charity. 'We invite other organisations and companies to support our work as part of their sustainability strategy. In time, our carbon sinks will reach every corner of New Zealand,' says Grima.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Air New Zealand Funds Carbon Sinks In Every Corner Of Tairāwhiti Through School And Community Gardens
The Good Carbon Farm is teaming up with Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust to deliver its first project in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, as featured last night on Seven Sharp. Supported by Air New Zealand's Every Corner Project fund, the project will produce and distribute biochar made from forestry slash displaced during Cyclone Gabrielle. 'We're delighted to bring The Good Carbon Farm to Tairāwhiti', says The Good Carbon Farm Co-founder, Joany Grima. 'Our climate action model is simple and circular: taking organic matter that would otherwise go to waste, upcycling it into biochar, and putting it back into the ground, for good, in a school or community garden. The Trust is the perfect partner for this project,' Grima says. Devastated by the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on their community, the Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust initiated the Slash for Cash project, repurposing forestry debris into biochar to be used to regenerate productive farmland. 'This project will be the first big order for the Slash for Cash team; allowing us to start giving back to the soil,' says Slash for Cash Coordinator, Thabiso Mashaba. 'Since establishing Slash for Cash, the team has been specially trained to heal the land, an empowering and mana enhancing process for those involved,' Mashaba says. Biochar produced by the team in the second half of the year will be shared among Tairāwhiti schools and community groups to dig into their food growing gardens. Forestry slash is rich in carbon, so when it decomposes, carbon is re-released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane. Converting slash into biochar is a circular system, capturing up to half the carbon that would otherwise have been emitted, while also creating an organic soil enhancing product. 'We think of what we're doing as the opposite of mining - returning resources to the earth, rather than extracting them. The addition of biochar to gardens creates a safe, long term carbon sink, and triggers a reaction that makes soil more resilient,' Grima says. 'This project is in line with the Māori community spirit of maara kai (growing food) and tino rangatiratanga (self determination). By repurposing problematic slash on our doorstep into something good, we can help educate our tamariki, and enhance the livelihoods of whanau, too, ' Thabiso says. Upper Hutt City Council, Simplicity Foundation, Mazda Foundation, and Soilpro are previous financial supporters of The Good Carbon Farm, a New Zealand registered charity. 'We invite other organisations and companies to support our work as part of their sustainability strategy. In time, our carbon sinks will reach every corner of New Zealand,' says Grima.
Otago Daily Times
21-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
‘Urban wetland' one step closer for primary school
East Taieri School pupils Aubrey Gregory (left), 7, and Sophie Lind, 7, sit in a wheel barrow that Nixon Landreth, 8, holds while their classmates (from left) Beau Cawley, 8, Beau Hollands, 7, and Faulkner Stevenson, 7, hold gardening tools. Principal Jennifer Horgan (left) and enviroschools teacher Jo Hackfath watch proceedings. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON A Dunedin school is looking forward to having an "urban wetland" in its playground. The New Zealand Landcare Trust has received $15,000 from Air New Zealand's Every Corner Project that invests $1 million in community nature projects across the country to build a 343cu m wetland with East Taieri School. The wetland would reduce flooding, improve stream health and provide hands-on environmental education opportunities. The project was thought of by parent Craig Simpson, who had three children attend the school. "I've got a passion for working and improving the environment," he said. Mr Simpson was exploring the health of Quarry Creek and researching the creatures that live there with New Zealand Landcare Trust Otago regional co-ordinator Nicole Foote when they discovered the stream was struggling. The creek flowed into the Owhiro Stream and the Taieri River and there was an area at the school that had been cleared of trees called "the wilderness" that would make a great wetlands and possibly improve the stream's health. Building the wetlands would also provide an opportunity to learn about the environment in an interactive way. He said the objective of building the wetlands was to improve stream health and provide a habitat for the in-stream aquatic life, including eels and native fish. "We're in the edge of town and to be able to install an urban wetland would be very cool. "It should help with flood mitigation to a degree and then obviously we've got all these learning opportunities with planting and interacting with nature, water holding capacity and hydrology." Mr Simpson said the majority of the funding from Air New Zealand would help get earthworks done to divert the stream into the wetland. He aimed to get resource consent by the end of winter and start work on the project in late spring. The project was estimated to cost about $35,000. East Taieri enviroschools teacher Jo Hackfath said the children were really excited to get involved in the project. "They are involved in every step of this process which is really neat." Air New Zealand had also given six other community organisations and schools in Otago funding for projects, including the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust Te Tautiaki Hoiho, Dunedin Environment Centre Trust and Kaikorai Primary School.
