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Differently wired brains

What is neurodiversity? Understanding what is going on for people – especially children – is the only way to inform strategies and systems to help them cope with life, writes Mary Allan.
gardening calendar 2025 fundraiser

2025 Calendars for Sale

Our Calendars are back by popular demand. We have the sought after ‘N*de Gardening’ calendar, as well as a requested ‘Beautiful Gardens’ calendar (for those who prefer to hang a calendar that doesn’t get so much attention!). Both calendars include the moon phases.

Spring into Kōanga!

Spring into Kōanga is a seasonal celebration on Waiheke Island. It’s one of the Kai for Community projects that focus on reconnecting with true seasonal celebrations and the stories and traditions around growing, harvesting and sharing food in the Waiheke community.  
Gorse in flower

Stop, look and listen to the weeds

Organic gardeners and growers can be challenged by weeds. But if we learn to work with them – to observe what weeds grow where, we'll see what they're telling us about the soils.
Monique Macfarlane

Moon Calendar Nov-Dec 2024

Timeliness is always key. When we do the job that needs doing as soon as we see it, or have an internal prompt to check in on it, I find it is far more efficient.
Steve Erickson, second from right, and group in pasture

Creating on-farm fertility

Chaos Springs at Waihi run regular workshops about soil health, composting, and on-farm fertility. Jenny Lux reports on a recent workshop.

Dark chocolate crunch bars (aka ‘healthy’ protein bars)

Each of these easy-to-make healthy protein bars gives you about 5 grams of protein - perfect for a snack!

Steamed eggplant with spicy sauce drizzle

This is an extremely simple dish that’s packed full of flavour. It’s great to cook during peak eggplant (aubergine) season in the garden. There's a homemade chilli oil recipe here too!

When Micromanaging is Good 

Microbes are a big name in organic agriculture – in fact, they are the reason for everything. I’m not exaggerating here: the first life forms thought to have existed were – you guessed it – of such tiny proportions that you and I would have thought nothing of them.  Story and photos by Paige Murray. 

What is Syntropic Agroforestry?

Syntropic agroforestry speaks of biomimicry, creating a system that is like a natural forest. Ecological succession is a key pillar. All plant species have their life cycles; each finds its niche within a system and in turn flourishes then dies in its own time. Story and photos by Andy Jeffs.

Winter Jobs for Blueberries in the Home Garden

There are many blueberry varieties available to the home gardener. Large and small, sweet and sour and everything else in between. They can be notoriously difficult to grow. So if you have some blueberry plants, here are a few winter jobs to help your plants to thrive. By Andy Jeffs.
Teaspoon of Soil

Life Underground – A Guide To Aotearoa’s Soil Food Web

Without the diverse organisms within our soil there would be no land- dwelling life on Earth. Duncan Smith describes the creatures and critters that underpin our plants, and ultimately, ourselves.

Shelf life – or human life?

There is a new system of industrial food manufacturing that produces edible substances that are not food, but rather food products containing novel, synthetic molecules never found in nature. These ever-increasing laboratory-engineered chemistry experiments are designed to simulate food. 

Critical Thinking on Gene Technology Regulation

Layers of manipulation and obfuscation are being used to package deregulation of gene technologies as a net positive. Bonnie Flaws outlines how, and why one of New Zealand’s leading biological science professors considers regulation the best tool we have to prevent risk.

Tourism doesn’t have to cost the earth

The tourism dollar is coming back, but at what cost? Claire Brunette investigates how New Zealand can, and does, balance the effect on the environment while still reaping the rewards in our economy.