Environment

A plea on behalf of little blues

Nature is conspiring against the little blue penguin like it hasn't done in many years. The birds are dying en masse and local wildlife workers have been left... Read More

No more bog-standard toilets

No more foggy, cracked mirrors, and no more dark and dingy cubicles that encourage unsightly graffiti. Otumoetai College students will be toileting in relative... Read More

Kitting out the friendly isles

'Love your work Smithy, will get onto it,” and 'Gidday champ - I'm sure we've got some stuff we can dig out and send up.” These were among the Facebook... Read More

Flicking off the switch

The lights will go out across the world and the globe will be in unison for just one hour in a symbolic commitment to the planet this month. Earth hour will be... Read More

Rock lobster catch limits reviewed

Catch limits of rock lobster in the Bay of Plenty are under review by the Ministry for Primary Industries in the lead-up to the start of the April 2018 fishing... Read More

They do like a nice long drive

'There was a very real danger we were going nowhere,” says Martin Knudsen. There was an even greater danger that their four wheel drive would be seized and... Read More

Election 2017: The Environment

It's just over a week to go until the election on September 23, and the race is tighter than ever. For many voters, one of this campaign's most pressing issues... Read More

Restoring Tahawai Stream

A burbling stream, the bush-clad slopes of the Kaimai ranges above and the sparkling waters of the inner harbour in the distance. What better way to spend a Saturday? The... Read More

Prepping for the improbable

'The odds are better than Lotto that we're going to cop a tsunami at some stage. And it's not going to be nice.” Prophet of doom, scaremongerer? Neither,... Read More

At rest forever in a forest

'I don't want a headstone, I want a tree.” That maybe Karen Summerhays' choice for eternity but is there sufficient support in Te Puke for a natural conservation... Read More

Helping save the animals

This Sunday at Omokoroa No 1 School is Animal Day, a fundraising event organised entirely by two schoolgirls. Maya Stone and Sunny Davis, both aged 11, have spent... Read More

Their roundabout, their castle

They chose a strategic bit of real estate. Sweeping 360 degree views, bush perspectives and easy access from all points of the city. The downside is noise - umpteen... Read More