Queenstown Lakes  
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. 

In this update, we look at the draft Climate and Biodiversity Plan, Glenorchy community's native nursery, composting, the government’s proposal on recycling, and lots more!

Draft Climate and Biodiversity Plan open for consultation  

Yip, that’s right, our draft Climate and Biodiversity Plan 2022-20225 is out now! 📗

The plan sets out how we’re going to respond to climate change in Queenstown Lakes and has more than 60 actions, ranging from improving public transport to building food resilience, and many areas in between.

It’s been a collective effort to get this draft plan over the line, with a special shout out to the Climate Reference Group for their ongoing support.

We want to know what you think of the plan. Did we get it right? Did we miss something?

Read the plan and fill in a short survey here. Feedback is open until 5.00 pm 25 April 🌱

At the same time, the draft 2022-2023 Annual Plan is also out for review and includes funding levels for Council’s climate action work. Have your say here.  

Waste Minimisation Community Fund - Ngā pūtea whakaheke para ā-hapori

Do you have a clever idea for cutting waste?

QLDC’s Waste Minimisation Community Fund has $120,000 to support projects that will reduce, reuse, or recycle waste in our district ♻️

Last year we supported some really neat projects, from businesses looking to reduce construction waste, to helping the food rescue charity KiwiHarvest purchase an e-bike and trailer.

If you want a little inspiration, check out the team at Wānaka Community Workshop (pdf) who have been involved in building rodent traps and fresh produce stands for the community.

Applications are open now and close on Friday 29 April, so don’t delay!  Full details on how to apply are online here.

And, cut...!

In our last newsletter, we mentioned we were working on a directory for film crews to help them with waste reduction.

Well, we did it! The directory, And, cut…! offers a quick reference to a variety of local businesses and waste-related organisations that provide sustainable waste solutions and services.

The directory is designed specifically for the film industry, which often has unusual waste and recycling requirements, such as paint, cars, and old clothes.

It was made by Council’s in-house film office, Film Queenstown Lakes, with Council’s waste minimisation team, and representatives from the local film industry 📽️

Film Office Coordinator Kahli Scott said she was excited to be launching this new and improved directory.

“The film industry is moving to more sustainable ways of working and productions are increasingly conscious about how they handle their waste. We hope this directory will kickstart the conversation locally about next steps towards a more sustainable film industry."

“Waste is just one part of film’s environmental footprint. We’re open to ideas about how our regional film office can help support and champion other initiatives around environmental sustainability and encourage anyone with an interest in this area to get in touch.”

For contact details and to read the directory, check out Film Queenstown Lakes. 

Transforming recycling - one submission at a time!

One area of Council work that is often not well known, is the work we do on submissions for government consultations, policies, and plans 🧐

We think it’s important we let the government know where we stand on topics such as waste management and recycling, especially since central government has a lot of influence over how these issues are managed.

Our waste minimisation team is currently working through the Ministry for Environment’s 136-page consultation document Te panoni i te hangarua - Transforming recycling ♻️

The consultation sets out three proposals to transform recycling in Aotearoa New Zealand: 

1.       Container Return Scheme

2.       Improvements to household kerbside recycling

3.       Separation of business food waste

The consultation is part of a longer-term shift toward a circular economy.

Learn more about what central government is proposing or make a submission of your own here. 

We are also preparing a submission on the proposed changes to carbon forest settings within the emissions trading scheme. The proposed changes would limit the planting of exotic pine forests and provide more incentives for indigenous native afforestation. 

Learn more here.

We’ll update you on our submissions in the next newsletter.

Glenorchy Community Native Plant Nursery

The Glenorchy Community Native Plant Nursery opened in March to support native planting in the area.

The project is an initiative by the Glenorchy community and has received funding from QLDC and the regional council. It is also supported by community members and contractors who have donated more than 300 hours of their time to work on the project.

Work includes levelling the site, purchasing and erecting a fence, posts, gates, shade cloth and shed for potting up.

Surrounding the nursery is eight hectares of Council owned reserve and freehold land for planting. 500 plants have already been purchased.

The nursery will have a seed bank where community members will be taught how to gather, record, and store eco-sourced seeds.

In the future an educational programme will be launched, initially with the local school and then opportunities within the local tourism sector will be explored.

Calculating for climate change

Over the last 12 weeks, over 20 businesses in the Queenstown and Wānaka area have taken part in the Climate Action Initiative (CAI) programme.

Claire Akin-Smith, Chair for Wao Aotearoa, the non-profit educator behind CAI says the programme has been a resounding success. “Upon leaving the final workshop, there was such a buzz in the air. Businesses were informed and excited to change the way they operate for the better.”

The CAI, which aims to give local businesses and schools a roadmap for calculating and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, is jointly funded by Lake Wānaka Tourism, Destination Queenstown and QLDC.

Wao Aotearoa has already been contacted by other Regional Tourism Organisations wanting to launch this programme to tourism operators and businesses in their region, and plans are underway for another round of the program to be run locally for all businesses in the community.

For more information, and to register your interest in the next programme intake check out www.wao.co.nz. And take a look at @WaoAotearoa on Facebook.

Composting - nature’s way of recycling

From 1-7 May, it is International Compost Awareness Week.

Our local composting guru, Dr Compost (aka Ben Elms) lists his top three tips for improving your compost heap:

1. Add compost worms. They’re different to earth worms.
2. Put a cover on it, like an old bit of builder’s black plastic or similar. It helps to keep moisture in the heap.
3. Water the compost heap edge once a week. Do the moisture test: Squeeze a handful of compost, you should get moisture between the knuckles and a few drops of water 💧 That's 50-55% moisture levels!

Check out Dr Compost on Facebook & Instagram @doctorcompostor or email drcompost@wastebusters.co.nz.

And if you fancy a few thousand squiggly worms or a bokashi bin for composting, you’re in luck!

Council subsidises worms for worm farming and bokashi bins. Go on, give those squiggly worms a go. Full details here.

Tāhuna Mural

Hopefully you’ve had the chance to see the beautiful mural in central Queenstown, created by artists Nick Lowry, Koryu Aoshima, and Ronnie Baker.

Last week the final part of the mural Tāhuna by Ronnie was officially opened.

Ronnie invited students from St Joseph’s, Queenstown Primary, and Shotover Primary to join her and help complete some of the detailed sections.

She also collaborated with the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust. You can see names of fauna and flora included in the mural and Ronnie is very keen for people to take a close up look and learn the names of our native species 🌱

Thanks to Queenstown Arts Centre for their support, and to all those who pitched in. We love your mahi and enthusiasm. 

📷 Queenstown Arts Centre 

From the feel-good files

Local residents and businesses are doing an awesome job of glass recycling ♻️ Findings from a recent audit found glass collected locally for recycling is of high quality with a contamination rate of just 0.35%. That’s what we like to hear, keep it up team 😊Read more here.

We recently celebrated Parks Week on social media, and it was fantastic to see locals sharing in their favourite parks across the district. We also profiled the wonderful Diana Manson, from our parks team, and wow, we were blown away with the appreciation for Di. How great to see our community using social media to share their support in such a positive way ❤️

Our librarians have a garden blog: tales from the vege patch 🌱 Here they share their love of gardening with the Queenstown Lakes District. Their latest blog features kalettes - a cross between kale and brussel sprouts…intriguing 🧐