Dry weather classification expands to North Island
The dry weather in some parts of the North Island has received medium-scale adverse event classification from the Government.
Lewis Road Creamery is moving to help a South Auckland community in its work to improve the health of a river.
The Wairoa River flows from the Hunua Ranges, through Clevedon and out to the Hauraki Gulf.
Land clearance and urban development have affected it for decades. Loss of native forest has cut into the habitat for wildlife, river banks have eroded and sediment and other pollutants have entered the water. Damming has changed the rivers natural flow.
Lewis Road Creamery, notable for organic milk, will match the public’s first $10,000 in donations to the project.
Georgina Hart, who leads Million Metres at the Sustainable Business Network, says the Wairoa River project is an example of how everyone can act to restore New Zealand’s waterways.
“Businesses that get behind waterway restoration are a help. We can’t leave it to someone else to clean up our rivers.”
Hart says more businesses are giving cash via the Million Metres platform.
Peter Cullinane, the founder of Lewis Road Creamery, says “we want to play our part”.
Along with the money the firm is encouraging its 200,000 followers support the crowdfunding goal and then join in on planting day to dig and plant trees.
The plants and trees will come from Te Whangai Trust, which assists long term unemployed and prisoners to gain work skills at its four nurseries in Auckland.
Million Metres hosts a crowdfunding website for local projects.
It has worked with 45 community groups and landowners and has raised $1.4m to help restore 52km of waterways with 300,000 trees.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.