University of Waikato breaks ground on new medical school
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Young design and architecture students who spent a weekend in a woolshed in the central North Island have gone away ecstatic about wool.
The students are determined to use it in their projects when they go into the workforce.
The NZ Campaign for Wool arranged for the nine students to visit Ngamatea Station, near Taihape, where they spent time with wool experts. They also got around the station to get an understanding of the wool production cycle.
The station runs 40,000 sheep and produces 180,000kg of strong wool every year.
Gaylene Hoskings, who arranged the trip, says some of the students had farming backgrounds, others had none.
One objective was to make the students advocates for wool and to encourage their colleagues to specify wool in design projects. She succeeded.
Comments from the students included:
- "I didn't realise how aesthetically versatile it is. There are so many scientific reasons why wool works so well but at its core it is simply a beautiful thing.
- "It fascinates me that wool protects a living animal but plant fibres don't; this is why it works so well to protect us in our built environments.
- "The fact that wool absorbs and neutralises harmful volatile organic compounds is so interesting. Especially when synthetics are advertising low VOC levels and we have a fibre that actually neutralises them."
Last year, the Campaign for Wool promoted the product to school children.
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.

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