Hugh Wilson, botantist, ardent cyclist and the inspiration behind Hinewai Reserve!
Hugh Wilson, the renowned Canterbury botanist who has also written a number of books about New Zealand plants has spent the last 30 years overseeing the regeneration of 1500 hectares of gorse-ridden hill country farmland to native bush. High above Akaroa, and over the crater rim, you can visit Hinewai Reserve and discover numerous species of ferns, regenerating totara, hear the bird song, find the 47 known waterfalls or even better, hike the 3 day Banks Peninsula Banks Track, New Zealand track.
Celia Hay, Director of New Zealand School of Food and Wine dropped to visit Hugh and get an update on edible native plants and berries.
Hugh mentioned a new documentary on the transformation of Hinewai and now free on You tube.
It's inspirational.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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