Queenstown Lakes District 
Climate Action and Sustainability Update 

The climate is changing. And so are we. 

Kia ora and welcome to our latest climate action and sustainability newsletter. 

We hope you are keeping well and safe during this uncertain time.

In this newsletter we look at different adaptation projects underway in the district, some new studies on sequestration and emissions, the climate stakeholder hui, and much more. This is a bumper issue chocka full of stories to catch up on, so maybe make yourself a cup of tea first and read on!

Film production and waste reduction  

We’re very excited about a new project between the QLDC Film Office and Waste Minimisation team. Together they are working on a directory to help film productions in the district with strategies to work towards zero waste. We often get film crews working in the district, and film sets can have all sorts of unusual waste, such as paint, cars, and old clothes. The directory will provide film productions with information on local resources, service providers, and waste related organisations relevant to film production waste. We’ve heard a few industry voices around the country say they are keen to learn more about this project, so we are hopeful it may be something that can be replicated across New Zealand.

Behind-the-scenes of a local film shoot. Photo credit: Cameron Wood.

Introducing Barrie

We’re excited to introduce Dr Barrie Wills who has joined the Climate Reference Group as a Biodiversity expert. 

Barrie has an impressive background in biodiversity. He led a regional research station and experimental nursery in Earnscleugh before moving on to work with several high-country stations, providing resource consent and biodiversity research and monitoring services. His experience includes soil conservation, improvement of groundcover and biodiversity, especially indigenous plant species, improving hawkweed/rabbit-affected land, and building soil resources (seed banks, minerals and especially carbon sequestration).

Based in Alexandra, Barrie was appointed to the inaugural Otago Conservation Board in the 1990s, has served as a Councillor/Community Board member for Central Otago District Council, and is currently on his third term as a Guardian of Lake Wānaka.

"I have always had an interest in extreme environments, having worked with selection of soil conservation and forage plant species tolerant of semi-arid environments starting in the 1980s, well before current levels of concern arose about climate warming, and in the early 2000s with several Sustainable Farming Fund drought amelioration projects in Marlborough and Otago. The dichotomy that has arisen between urban and rural landowners concerns me and, although pastoral farming practices do contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, large urban communities often seem to forget they are also a prime source of concentrated emissions as well as pollutants like plastics, sewerage and other industrial toxins."  

"Many farming enterprises are contributing to positive change through local biodiversity projects and associated QEII National Trust covenants, plus on-farm monitoring that I support them with to ensure that we maintain a vibrant, proactive rural sector without which our economy would be in dire straits."

"I see the Climate Reference Group as playing a key role in mandating and promoting sensible Territorial Local Authority policy change on a regional scale without imposing harsh legislative processes, getting rural and urban communities working together to elicit positive outputs, and hopefully spawning similar groups on a national scale."

Welcome Barrie!

Stakeholder hui

On August 3 the Climate Reference Group hosted a stakeholder hui in Arrowtown. The purpose of the hui was to get feedback on the future Climate Action Plan. About 40 people attended from across the district, from climate change scientists to community leaders as well as representatives from Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, Otago Regional Council and conservation groups.

The hui was an ‘unconference’ meaning participants were able to choose their discussion topics. Conversation focused on what is happening now, what the future could look like, and how to get there. Some of the common themes included behavioural shifts, increased engagement, and the need to work together. From here, these ideas will be analysed and will help to determine what the next Climate Action Plan will look like.

Victoria Flats Landfill gas capture system commissioned 

A project by QLDC and Scope Resources Ltd to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce odour at Victoria Flats Landfill is now commissioned.
The landfill gas capture and destruction system is now capturing and destroying landfill gas, preventing methane from entering the atmosphere, and is aligned with the key outcomes of QLDC’s Climate Action Plan. Read more here. 

You can see the flare from a distance and close up.

Young people have a say on next Climate Action Plan 

We’re partnering with Enviroschools to run climate change workshops with primary and high school students across the district. Students are learning about climate change and where emissions in our district come from. They’re letting us know what they think the community should be doing about it and we’ll be feeding this into our next Climate Action Plan.

Here’s Queenstown Primary School’s Enviro Group learning about the Greenhouse Effect in their tunnel house. They measured a 15 degree difference from inside to outside!

Trees, trees, trees! 

Last financial year, QLDC planted trees to the value of $60,000 (including cost to plant) right across the district’s streets and reserves. The Council’s tree planting budget has had a boost to $200,000 per year in the 2021-31 Ten Year Plan. 

QLDC is also contributing $500,000 towards Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Control Group for wilding conifer tree control in the district and on Council land to protect biodiversity. This is an annual grant approved in the 2021-31 Ten Year Plan for the next three years.

And in other tree-related news, representatives from Protect our Winters helped planted 278 native plants on August 7 at the Te Kākano riparian planting day at Atherton Place wetlands. 

Climate action gets a boost

Climate change was a significant theme that emerged during the consultation process for the 2021-31 Ten Year Plan. Of the 504 submissions received, 240 were related (at least in part) to the climate response and the vast majority sought a higher level of action from QLDC.

In response to this, more resources have been provided to QLDC’s climate action team, with an additional $200,000 added to the operational budget and another team member joining this year.

Adaptation projects

There are three major adaptation projects underway across the district.

The Mt Iron Wildfire Risk Reduction Project is a multi-agency project focused on reducing the risk of wildfire to the Mt Iron community. Mt Iron has been designated as a ‘red zone’ by Fire and Emergency. This means there is a permanent and total fire ban in place. This is due to critical risk factors such as topography, a high number of rural and urban properties, vegetation, and a high level of recreational use.

The Mt Iron project team is made up of Fire and Emergency, Emergency Management Otago, QLDC, Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, and Scion's Rural Fire Research Group. The project team is working with the community through both elected members and volunteers from the Mt Iron Community Response Group. 

The Glenorchy Flood Risk project is focused on multiple natural hazard threats that surround the Glenorchy township, with future climate, river morphology and landscape changes being modelled. The project is being led by the Otago Regional Council in collaboration with consultants from NIWA, University of Canterbury and Tonkin & Taylor. To date, the project team has cleared lagoon channels, installed new monitoring systems, updated flood response plans, and held community meetings to share information around the likelihood of future high rainfall events.

The third project is the Gorge Road Natural Hazards project, led by QLDC, which aims to determine how best to manage risk from two alluvial fans located on the western side of Gorge Road. An alluvial fan is a cone shaped landform made of sediment which has made its way to the valley floor from hill country streams above. These fans are vulnerable to heavy rainfall events so have a specific climate change risk associated with them. A steering group has been established to support the project, led by QLDC, with technical stakeholders from Otago Regional Council, BECA, and GNS Science.  

Crunching the numbers

In late 2020 a study was conducted to evaluate a feasible pathway for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 across the Queenstown Lakes District. This study, Emissions Reduction Roadmap (PDF, 1.13MB), presents a detailed set of opportunities for reducing the district’s greenhouse gas emissions over the next thirty years.

A Carbon Sequestration Study (PDF, 2.05MB) was undertaken in late 2020 to explore our ability to capture and store atmospheric carbon within the Queenstown Lakes District. This study focusses primarily on biological sequestration (e.g., forests and vegetation) and evaluates both the potential and the challenges associated with our unique topography. Thank you to the Climate Reference Group for their help in reviewing these two reports and the methodology.

Otago Regional Council has completed its first Regional Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, working with Otago’s five city and district councils. QLDC has undertaken two GHG inventories for the district (2017 and 2019) and is now considering using just the regional inventory for future measurement.

News in brief!

Waste minimisation projects given a $60,000 boost

The 2021 round of QLDC's Waste Minimisation Community Fund (WMCF), which aims to reduce and divert waste from landfill, has seen a total of $60,000 distributed between nine successful applicants.

The projects include reducing construction landfill waste, reducing commercial food waste, reducing single-use plastics, waste education and workshops. A summary of the successful applications can be found here. 

Towards a Circular Economy: Lakeview Deconstruction 

The deconstruction phase of the Lakeview Development presented an opportunity for QLDC to demonstrate leadership in minimising waste during a major project. By incorporating clear waste minimisation objectives into the tender process and selecting an experienced contractor able to deliver on these objectives, the project has resulted in an estimated 86% of material diverted from landfill through reuse and recycling initiatives - an outstanding result and a story worth telling.  This video explains how deconstruction progressed.

Love food, hate waste

September 29 is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Love Food Hate Waste reports that Kiwis households throw away 86kgs(!) of edible food each year. That’s 157,398 tonnes of edible food going to landfill and generating greenhouse gases. Check out their tips for reducing food waste. 

Keeping our parks green

QLDC parks staff have switched from using black plastic bags to pick up rubbish to using buckets. This will save 400 black plastic bags from the landfill per year.

QLDC has also increased the number of battery-powered small machinery the field team use. The team now have 75% of their small plant machinery battery powered, including items like blowers, hedge trimmers and weed eaters.

Sarah Warren, the 'ideas' person behind using buckets instead of bags to collect rubbish.