1550 days ago

Children's Book Launch and Interactive Drawing Class - Dec 11, Craniums toy and bookstore, Whangarei

Michael from Kamo

Book launch, reading by the author + learn to draw your favourite animal - or make up your own!

Saturday December 11 at Craniums toy and bookstore in Whangarei, author Michael Botur launches children’s book ‘My Animal Family,' reading the book aloud with a bonus drawing class guided by local comic book artists.

'My Animal Family' is a 20-page illustrated book which teaches children about their place in the natural world. Mixing hilarious rhymes with scientific facts, children learn about the phylogenetic tree and the relationships between all life forms, with a core message about understanding that humans are equal to all other animals, from Ape to Zyzzyva.

Get your A3 paper, work out a plan for which animal you would love to illustrate, and your illustration experts and local artists Shane Evans, Rico Searle and Michael Botur will help - plus they’ll help you create genus and species name for an animal real or imaginary.

They'll also help you draw some powerful poster lettering so you have some wicked artwork to take home to your whanau.

- 10am-12pm, Craniums, Town Basin, Whangarei Saturday December 11

- Books are $28RRP

- Illustrated animal posters are free for anyone joining in a drawing workshop.

- Stay for 10 minutes or 100 minutes, however long it takes to draw your masterpiece. It's all good!

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More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Do you think you know the answer?

Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.

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3 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

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!

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22 days ago

Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

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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