1931 days ago

FREE Taster Workshops at UCOL

UCOL

UCOL offers leading-edge vocational education in dynamic teaching environments and now it is your chance to come along and try out a learning experience at one of our Taster Workshops.

Taster Workshops are being held at our campuses in Horowhenua, Whanganui and Manawatū, where you can come along and get involved in a learning experience and find out which UCOL programme of study is right for you.

We have workshops on offer in Early Childhood, Science, Trades, Business, Beauty and Hair, Exercise and Wellness, Information Technology, Hospitality and Catering and the Creative Industries.

Workshops are being held at our Manawatū campus on 9 December and 27/28 January, Whanganui on 10 December and 27 January, and in Horowhenua on 26 January, register now to secure your spot!

Find out more at ucol.ac.nz and be sure to register for the workshop of your choice as places are limited.

If you register before December 5 2020, you are in the draw to win a $100 Prezzie Card!
Enrol now

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More messages from your neighbours
9 hours ago

Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?

What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?

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If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
  • 30.8% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
    30.8% Complete
  • 69.2% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
    69.2% Complete
159 votes
1 day ago

SLASH BESIDE THE TRACK UP TO TRIG

Paul from Levin

I question the wisdom and the morality of an industry which creates so much waste, waste which is also a cause of widespread and devastating damage. So, I searched the internet for potential uses of slash. It was easy to find.
I recommend a visit to nzbioforestry.co.nz. I quote from the website:

OUR SOLUTION:

NZ Bio Forestry proposes to develop a sustainable renewable forestry model that increases the economic value of the NZ- Aotearoa forestry sector, simply by integrating bio-technologies augmenting the forestry, wood manufacturing, and petrochemistry industries into one model.
Specifically, our strategy is to utilise the whole tree and convert the tree’s sugars into bioenergy, biomaterials, and biochemicals. This means using slash, off cuts, pruning, and wood waste to produce biofuel via bio pellets and biochemicals. It means optimising logs through the whole process….logging, manufacturing freighting, and refining process to serve the many Asia-Pacific markets with high-value products….not just exporting raw logs to one or two large dominant markets! (End of quote)

NZ Bio Forestry then contrasts the financial return from the present exports of raw logs with the potential return from utilising the WHOLE TREE.

In US dollars, the return from exporting logs is between $50 - $140 per log.

Using the whole tree including the slash and other waste for wood processing would return $200 - $800 per tree, and,

Using the bio-refinery process to convert the wood waste into fossil-free biochemicals would return $2,500 - $11,200 per tree.

I can’t help but conclude that our current focus on exporting logs is a pitiful failure of industry and government policy compared with the potential benefits of processing THE WHOLE TREE. And to complete the argument, this not just theory. In Scandinavia, SCA, which owns Europe’s largest private forest with 2.7 million hectares, has built a well-invested value chain that maximises the value of each individual tree and all of the forestry’s resources.

A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS:

Wood Pellets and Chips: Slash can be collected, dried, and processed into hog fuel or wood pellets for use in industrial boilers, as a replacement for coal, to generate heat and electricity.

Biofuel Production: Research is underway to convert forest residues into marine biofuel to help decarbonize the shipping sector.

Gasification: Advanced, small-scale, on-site processing plants can turn slash into renewable energy products like bio-oil, ethanol, and hydrogen.

Biochemicals: Specialized refineries can convert woody waste into sustainable alternatives to plastics, chemicals, and industrial products.

WAKE UP Aotearoa, New Zealand!!!

7 days ago

Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!

William Hansby Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

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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