Check our Events Calendar and Facebook page for additional news, events and opportunities.
Nov 29, 2024, 11:53 AM
A dedicated group of volunteers are working tirelessly to preserve its unique ecosystem. Bob Hoskins, Derek Prior, Craig Dunlop, and Arnim Littek are four such volunteers whose efforts are making a lasting impact on the environment and the local community.
Oct 31, 2024, 8:46 AM
Yo drives sustainable initiatives, inspiring change through action in her community and beyond.
Oct 1, 2024, 4:37 PM
Last month at the Repair Café, Ian Robertson showcased his impressive skills in plastic toy repair, bringing broken items back to life. Learn about his techniques and the fascinating stories behind each repair!
Sep 2, 2024, 9:08 AM
Aug 1, 2024, 10:38 AM
Jul 1, 2024, 12:21 PM
May 29, 2024, 10:05 AM
May 1, 2024, 5:05 PM
Mar 28, 2024, 1:30 PM
Feb 29, 2024, 12:37 PM
Jan 31, 2024, 11:25 AM
Dec 1, 2023, 10:00 AM
Oct 31, 2023, 9:53 AM
Sep 29, 2023, 3:53 PM
Sep 1, 2023, 9:23 AM
Aug 7, 2023, 10:33 AM
Jun 27, 2023, 12:18 PM
May 31, 2023, 11:58 AM
May 1, 2023, 3:54 PM
Mar 28, 2023, 11:14 AM
Feb 24, 2023, 10:23 AM
Jan 31, 2023, 1:51 PM
Dec 2, 2022, 8:50 AM
Oct 31, 2022, 10:16 AM
Jul 29, 2022, 1:58 PM
Jun 29, 2022, 9:39 AM
May 31, 2022, 11:47 AM
Apr 29, 2022, 8:50 AM
Mar 31, 2022, 1:32 PM
Feb 1, 2022, 10:04 AM
Feb 1, 2022, 9:03 AM
Dec 20, 2021, 7:07 AM
Oct 26, 2021, 2:33 PM
Harvey Jones grew up in Pahiatua where his family had a strong history of community service and local government engagement. Returning from OE and then renting in Palmerston North, Harvey moved to Ashhurst in 1989 to their new family home.
Oct 1, 2021, 11:07 AM
Indra was raised in Bhutan, in the rural village of Chirang district. One of eight siblings, he learned to speak English from a young age, at highschool. This helped set him up for a lifetime of teaching, advocacy, language translation and community work.
Aug 2, 2021, 9:22 AM
Feilding student Rose Schmidt's community project involved building pest traps and wētā hotels for this ecologically significant lowland podocarp forest remnant.
Jul 30, 2021, 9:17 AM
Reflecting on a year of action, and looking to the future. Guest Speaker Pounamu Skelton lit up a room full of MFAN community members at Te Manawa in July, as she spoke of her journey to creating Kai Resilience in her community of Waitara, Taranaki.
Jul 28, 2021, 9:09 AM
Saving the whistling whio: For over a decade, Janet Wilson has tramped miles in the rugged Ruahine Ranges to ensure the survival of the blue duck or whio, that is found only in New Zealand’s back country.
Jul 2, 2021, 10:11 AM
Thirty-nine Toutouwai / New Zealand Robin are now at home in Palmerston North's Turitea Reserve, having been translocated from Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, near Wanganui. Robin haven’t occupied the 4000-hectare reserve for generations; predators such as stoats, and rats drove them away.
Jul 2, 2021, 8:40 AM
Upcycling Club 1 aims to help people create something beautiful and useful using waste materials. Creativity, says Yoko, is good for the brain – and we all need to have some fun. There is a sense of accomplishment in creating something useful and/or beautiful, especially from material that would otherwise go to waste. She enjoys seeing people’s smiles, as they create cards, decorations, games, gifts, and useful household items like draft stoppers made from the legs of old trousers.
Jun 3, 2021, 8:42 AM
Shabana McKnight is one of the volunteer drivers for Te Whare Koha Highbury a Te Roopu Oranga O Highbury Trust, an organisation which works to improve the health and wellbeing of the Highbury community and surrounding suburbs. “I love the people. We have lots of laughs and it connects me to what’s going on in our community.”
Jun 1, 2021, 10:06 AM
The poo of ruminant animals, especially cows, is often under the spotlight when it comes to water quality. So too is human waste. But pests poo too, and in the right environments they may be found at high densities, potentially having a role in faecal contamination of freshwater.
Jun 1, 2021, 8:33 AM
The introduced weed Phragmites karka, otherwise known as the Common Reed, has been found in a native forest near Feilding. Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park Trust is working to have it listed as a noxious weed.
May 31, 2021, 9:19 AM
Janet Wilson has been a volunteer, and leader with, Ruahine Whio Protectors for more than a decade. Blue ducks, or whio, are only found in New Zealand and with numbers at around 3,000 are rarer than the kiwi.
May 2, 2021, 1:10 PM
Environment Network Manawatū has awarded grants totalling $50,000 to nine groups with great ideas that will benefit local people and improve the environment of Palmerston North.
Apr 29, 2021, 10:24 AM
Sustainability and artistic expression have always been woven into the lives of Rangiwahia couple Jim Richards and Bridge Murphy. They founded the Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre in 2010, and from this base, they travel all over the lower North Island, running workshops in schools and communities. The connections are just as important as the art, says Bridge. “We believe in the power of people coming together to celebrate.”
Mar 26, 2021, 10:19 AM
Beth Lew is passionate about the health and wellbeing benefits of growing your own food. "It's a great way to break down barriers between people and build caring communities."
Mar 1, 2021, 7:35 PM
Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. In October 2020, six members of XR Manawatū sat down with ENM to talk about the movement that is trying to provoke system change.
Feb 27, 2021, 6:19 PM
As Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway construction got underway in late 2020, the ecology team made an exciting discovery – a population of a rare native moth.
Feb 17, 2021, 8:34 AM
A Rocha NZ caught up with Keith Young in October 2020, to see what has been happening in the group's native plant nursery at Longburn. This group has been raising eco-sourced native plants for local planting projects here in the Manawatū for 13 years, producing over 30,000 seedlings to be planted back in the environment.
Dec 4, 2020, 9:36 AM
Alligator weed is known as one of the world's worst pest plants.
Dec 1, 2020, 9:14 AM
Theo volunteers for Palmerston North’s Food Rescue/Free Store, Just Zilch, as a driver and on the shop floor. He recently decided to walk the northern leg of the Te Araroa trail (south-bound) to fundraise for Just Zilch. We were lucky to catch up with Theo as he passed through his home town on the trail.
Oct 30, 2020, 9:49 AM
It’s been an amazing season for citrus fruit in the Manawatū this year, and it’s kept our Volunteer of the Month very busy! Debra Wynn is coordinator of Community Fruit Harvest Manawatū, which has been active in the Manawatū since 2012. It's the local chapter of a national organisation which harvests fruit trees in people’s back yards and takes the produce to food banks and other sharing sites.
Oct 3, 2020, 8:22 AM
Phil Stevens has always been a keen mountain biker and cycle commuter - “if I get on my bike, I can go anywhere!” He is passionate about the benefits of cycling, to the environment, and to a person’s health.
Sep 27, 2020, 10:52 AM
Awahuri Forest-Kitchener Park Trust are seeking a contract Education Project Manager. The Trust wishes to provide hands-on school visits to this rare remnant swamp forest, for students to learn about its unique features from experts in Feilding and nearby. Applications close 7 October 2020.
Sep 23, 2020, 9:39 AM
Environment Hubs Aotearoa wanted to help voters get information about each political party’s policies on the environment. They called for questions and hot topics, collated the responses, picked the top ten questions, and put them to the three major political parties. Read the answers here.
Sep 15, 2020, 10:53 AM
Pātaka Kai are community sites for freely donating and accessing food.
Sep 1, 2020, 8:34 PM
Rosemary Gear has always been involved with the environment. Working with others, her passion for the environment is contributing to an inspiring change in the region. Green Corridors was started in 2001 by two community members, David Forrest and Eddie Welsh, who had a vision of planting eco-sourced native plants along the Turitea Stream.
Aug 5, 2020, 9:37 AM
ENM has been busy - Plastic Challenge, Food Action Network, and everything in between
May 29, 2020, 9:36 AM
With thirty years in the volunteer sector, Nola now gives her energy to Wildlife Foxton, with a vision to educate by example, encouraging appreciation of our native species.
May 3, 2020, 9:51 AM
The Save Our River Trust propose works to restore a healthy flow to the Foxton Loop of the Manawatū River, for the benefit of people and the environment.
Feb 29, 2020, 1:15 AM
Retired education specialist Brian Finch is now very involved in Palmy's Plastic Pollution Challenge, taking the project beyond the city, and working with school and university students.
Jan 30, 2020, 10:18 AM
A single plant of this invasive species was recently sighted at Himatangi Beach.
Dec 4, 2019, 9:00 PM
'Tis the Season! The average household spends over $900 on Christmas gifts; $620 worth of these are unwanted. We produce 30% more rubbish over the summer holiday period than other times of year. Here are our tips for a sustainable festive / holiday season.
Dec 3, 2019, 9:40 PM
Manawatū River Source to Sea's Volunteer of the Month is helping protect and restore native biodiversity by trapping pests in Summerhill.
Dec 1, 2019, 9:52 PM
The late Gill Absolon was the mastermind behind the Timona Park Orchard Trust, which transformed an unused and unloved part of this park into a haven of fruit trees. A new category in the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival for 2020 is an opportunity for sculptors to honour this Feilding champion.
Nov 28, 2019, 8:32 PM
A subscriber to ENM's monthly e-newsletter, long-time gardener and planet-carer attended this field day on making and using biochar for soil improvement and carbon sequestration. She found that whether you are a home gardener or a large land owner, there is a method of biochar production to suit you.
Nov 24, 2019, 9:24 PM
The latest offering from local children's writer and illustrator Janet Bradbury, tells the story of what Lucy hears when she listens to the river.
Oct 22, 2019, 8:56 PM
It's estimated that there are more than a million unconnected mobile phones gathering dust in drawers and cupboards in homes around New Zealand. Over 95% of the materials in a mobile phone can be extracted and used again in other items such as jewellery and electronics. RE:MOBILE is a FREE mobile phone recycling scheme which donates all proceeds to Sustainable Coastlines.
Sep 30, 2019, 8:18 PM
Two local Professors of Evolutionary Biology have just published a textbook on the biology of New Zealand, explored through the lens of evolution.
Sep 30, 2019, 7:52 PM
Palmerston North's second Pātaka Kai or open street pantry is being set up in Fitzroy Street, Roslyn.
Sep 23, 2019, 10:18 PM
The Ruahine Whio Collective works to protect whio, New Zealand's rare native blue duck, in the Ruahine Ranges. Trapping introduced predators forms the bulk of their work. They recently held their annual hui, sharing their achievements and looking towards the future.
Aug 25, 2019, 9:44 PM
Palmy’s Plastic Pollution Challenge is in contention for a prestigious award.
Jul 31, 2019, 10:38 PM
Stuff recently surveyed its readers about media coverage of climate change, as part of their ongoing Quick! Save the Planet project.
Jul 28, 2019, 11:00 PM
Birds New Zealand is embarking on the country’s largest ever citizen science project to map the distribution and abundance of our beautiful country’s birds.
Jul 23, 2019, 10:54 PM
Te Kāuru Hapu Collective and community volunteers planted native plants at the headwaters of the Manawatū River, near Norsewood. Landowners along the river are retiring land on the river's banks, to increase biodiversity and improve water quality.
Jul 15, 2019, 9:19 AM
The Horizons Regional Council State of the Environment Report is now available, the first since 2013. The purpose of this document is to provide information to the community on the current state and trends of the region's natural resources: climate, air, land and water. Also included are some case studies that highlight work being undertaken to address key pressures.
Jun 25, 2019, 8:41 AM
Earlier this year, a longlist of 26 options for management, treatment and discharge of Palmerston North's wastewater was developed by technical experts with input from stakeholders. A shortlist of six options has now been selected.
Jun 17, 2019, 10:33 AM
Environment Network Manawatū sponsored two local secondary school students to attend the Climate Challenge Conference in Wellington recently. The Climate Challenge Conference is a celebration of our future leaders, innovators and change-makers.
May 30, 2019, 8:39 AM
Consultation on this bill, with its greenhouse gas reduction targets, closes 16 July.
May 30, 2019, 8:01 AM
Environmental contractor Lisa Clapcott to help Manawatū landowners and groups to upscale native tree planting through Trees That Count.
May 29, 2019, 10:10 AM
Got an item to dispose of? Palmerston North City Council's online guide will help you put it in its place.
Apr 9, 2019, 10:47 AM
The Volunteer Resource Centre Manawatu & Districts (VRC) is calling for nominations from community groups for their 6th annual Volunteer Recognition Events in June. Nominations close at Midnight, Sunday 14th April.
Apr 4, 2019, 9:45 AM
Do you have children or young people who are interested in getting out in Nature? The 50+ organizations that make up ENM work in a range of areas – biodiversity, water quality, food security, waste minimization, urban design, alternative energy, and active transport. Many are happy to involve children and young people in their activities, introducing them to the natural environment and sustainable living; a few groups cater especially for children or young people.
Apr 3, 2019, 10:18 AM
We can't recycle our way to zero waste. Dr. Trisia Farrelly, plastic waste researcher and co-director of Massey University’s Political Ecology Research Centre, recently attended the 4th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
Apr 2, 2019, 10:14 AM
This ENM / Source to sea citizen science project, in conjunction with Massey University, is well under way, with half of the randomly selected sites now sampled. There are still sites available - book your group if you want to join in. Sorting and counting volunteers will also be needed once collection is finished.
Jan 17, 2019, 9:10 AM
Nov 27, 2018, 10:29 AM
Green Corridors has had a successful year, writes Selwyn Yorke.
Nov 22, 2018, 9:21 AM
Build the Path campaign spokespeople Ross Castle and Miriam Sharland are calling for a shared biking and walking pathway to be built in conjunction with Te Atu a Turanga — Manawatu-Tararua Highway, which will replace the Manawatu Gorge Rd.
Nov 13, 2018, 9:01 AM
This online event calls on participants to take up the feral as a way to explore the possibilities and problems of the human relation to the non-human world. From biosecurity to so-called invasive species, ‘dead zones’ to re-wilding to urban pests, the idea of the feral calls on us to interrogate our assumptions about how, what, where and why nature ought to be, how we draw those lines and distinctions and how they speak to wider structures of power, political economy and privilege.
Nov 6, 2018, 10:49 AM
The Department of Conservation is seeking your opinion on whitebait management.
Nov 6, 2018, 10:19 AM
NZ is in a unique position to help lead the transformation to a circular economy. Tackling NZ's key economic and environmental challenges - acting now - we could pave the way for an abundant, healthy future.
Oct 30, 2018, 10:50 AM
The One Plan defines how the natural and physical resources of the Region are cared for and managed. Proposed Plan Change 2 (PPC2) concerns water quality improvement, especially in relation to nitrogen leaching from agricultural land.
Oct 29, 2018, 10:48 AM
In a public talk given at Te Manawa in September, eleven-year-old Wilson Hannon and his father Jonathan of the Zero Waste Academy at Massey University, laid out the challenges we face in dealing with local plastic pollution. Award-winning filmmaker, fourteen-year-old Charlie Higgison, shot and edited this video of the talk, with production by ENM.
Oct 17, 2018, 10:55 AM
Environment and Conservation Organizations of New Zealand (ECO) is looking for information on herbicides, fungicides, industrial chemicals, fire retardants, toxins including brodifacoum and Bormadiolone, organophgsophates, and many others, with a view to making submissions to the EPA.
Oct 17, 2018, 10:33 AM
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is calling for information on neonicotinoid pesticide and their use in New Zealand. Submissions close 30 December.
Sep 28, 2018, 9:47 PM
A limited number of roman blinds available for free in October
Aug 1, 2018, 9:08 AM
Your choice of a voice for the environment - voting closes 21 September.
Jul 12, 2018, 8:56 AM
Applications to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for imports of alien species and new toxins seem to be coming in thick and fast. Environment and Conservation Organizations of Aotearoa New Zealand needs help from entomologists, botanists, biochemists and others in helping to understand the possible impacts of these.
Jun 28, 2018, 8:58 AM
The Ministry for the Environment has opened public consultation on the Zero Carbon Bill.
Jun 18, 2018, 8:59 AM
Horizons Regional Council want to see what planting you're undertaking this winter.
Jun 11, 2018, 9:00 AM
Food, Fibre and Medicine - New Zealand’s first iHemp Summit will provide a platform for setting the vision for New Zealand’s industrial hemp value chain.
Jun 5, 2018, 8:36 AM
Watch this video showing the beautiful creatures that ENM member group REACT conjure out of bamboo, willow and paper.
Apr 12, 2018, 11:11 AM
The Palmy Dirty 30 challenge is a local parent-led initiative to try to encourage more local kids to get outdoors a bit more often. As it's definitely not summer anymore, it's nearly the school holidays and the days are getting shorter, it's time for some new challenges!
Apr 9, 2018, 8:26 AM
The Environment Foundation has relaunched its Environment Guide website. This is an online guide to assist individuals, community groups and businesses to more effectively participate in environmental management decision-making processes. The Guide is written in plain English and is easy to use. It covers a wide range of environmental legislation and processes.
Jun 29, 2017, 1:27 PM
The QEII Community Weedbusters Project is a joint programme run by Weedbusters NZ and the QEII National Trust. Using a fund granted by DOC’s Community Conservation Partnership Fund the project supports voluntary weedbusting efforts by community groups in priority regions around the country.
Nov 21, 2016, 10:14 AM
RECAP is excited to be offering their popular Permaculture Course again in 2017. Permaculture is an integrated approach to designing homes, gardens and neighbourhoods. It is grounded in three core ethics. Take care of the earth—its soil, water, air, plants and animals. Take care of people—work with the earth to provide for the needs and wants of humans. Be fair— put needs before wants and promote social justice.
Oct 27, 2016, 1:10 PM
In the Manawatū-Whanganui, a new Centre for Environmental Justice is under way – a ginger group, incipient think tank, and home for voices for environmental justice in the region, and New Zealand.
Oct 26, 2016, 1:54 PM
Garden Elf is launching in the Manawatu. Garden Elf specialises in designing, installing and maintaining edible foodscapes and also provides education services to schools, runs sustainability workshops and a bi-annual permaculture design certificate course.
Feb 24, 2016, 2:53 PM
Carrying Our Future needs donations of fabric to create reusable bags for public use.
Oct 12, 2015, 1:24 PM
Receive fruit and veges weekly when you support the Wairarapa Eco Farm
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