Oliver Henwood helps out hospital
Nine-year-old Oliver Henwood has been in and out of Wellington Hospital for the past six years, so
he knows first-hand how boring it is to be stuck in a hospital bed.
Born with a bend in his shin bone caused by a growth anomaly, Oliver had major surgery at Wellington Hospital to correct the problem when he was four and has been back many times for ongoing treatment.
When he was tasked at his school to come up with a passion project that would benefit others in the community, he decided to help children staying in Wellington and Hutt Hospitals.
Oliver found watching DVDs a welcome distraction when he was in hospital yet found many were old or scratched so were unusable. He then took it upon himself to ask his local community in Cambridge for help by distributing flyers encouraging people to donate their DVDs. Once he collected more than 150 DVDs, he tested them all to make sure they weren't scratched before donating them.
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!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
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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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