Queenstown Lakes  
climate action and sustainability update 

The climate is changing. And so are we. 

Kia ora and welcome to our last update for 2022.  

In this edition we recap on the Wao Summit, gush over the cutest little recyclers in our district and get a bit Christmassy. 🎅  Grab a cuppa (or a cheeky christmas mince pie), settle in, and get inspired 🥰

Happy reading! 🌱

Wowed by Wao

We LOVED being part of the Wao summit in Wānaka in October - a six-day event showcasing tangible ways we can all make a difference for the good of the planet.  From food resilience, to changing the way we get around, to developing stronger community connection – the summit is designed to take a look at every facet of what it truly means to live in harmony with the planet.

Our Climate and Waste Minimisation Teams participated in the summit, which was jam packed with inspiring content and so many highlights, it’s hard to pick just a few to share about!

We took along carbon cornhole, a fun way to challenge people to see how much carbon they can save, and spent lots of time talking to tamariki about council’s climate action.  It was awesome to hear their insights and help them develop and present their own ideas. Our favourite – save electricity by having glow worm traffic lights!  

Carbon Cornhole was a hit at the QLDC Wao Summit booth!     

Our biggest highlight would have to be teaming up with Dr Compost, Kiwi Harvest and epic local chef Alvaro Morales, on a Love Food Hate Waste stall at the Eat Wanaka event.   We fed over 200 people delicious food that was otherwise destined for landfill. Think rescued apples turned into baked apple desert, muffins and pastries; kumara and chickpea curry; potato and leek soup.   

All the food was gobbled up with plenty of people coming back for seconds! And most importantly, it showcased that the rubbish bin is no place for food.   

Crown Plaza head chef Alvaro Morales serving up some outstanding kai as part of a Love Food Hate Waste event in October.  

We all got inspired to start food forests in our own back gardens, thanks to the inspirational film series ‘kai for thought’.  We had a great interactive workshop on the local problem of construction waste and how to reduce it onsite.  Plus we really enjoyed ‘Resilient Aotearoa’ (check out the Community Unity Project in Fairfield Lower Hutt) and ‘Regenerating the Planet’ (allowing gorse to grow and nature to do its thing is restoring the beautiful Hinewai Nature Reserve on Banks Peninsula).   

A huge thank you to everyone involved in this inspiring event – we were absolutely wowed by Wao and the connections it has helped to create.

Bring on the 2023 summit!  More info: https://www.wao.co.nz/

Recycling Week gets a bit cute

This year for Recycling Week we ran a colouring competition for our youngest recyclers and the results couldn’t be cuter.  Here are our winning entries:

Queenstown winner:  Quinn (and his big sis Isla)

Frankton winner – Josie (and little sis Addie).

Have a Merry (waste-free) Christmas!  

There are lots of neat things you can do to give joy, not waste this Christmas!

Many of them are free or low cost so we reckon try something new - small changes can make a big difference!

🎄  Instead of buying a new gift consider repairing a beloved item.   

🎄  Shop at local businesses and check out our fantastic markets across the district. There are lots of items with low or no packaging available. Second-hand stores are another goldmine for gifts – from books, clothes and games to kitchen items and much more.

🎄  What about baking, making or creating something special. 

🎄  Make your own Christmas decorations and crackers out of alternative home compostable material like flowers, twigs, salt dough or paper. This is a great way of avoiding plastic waste and spending fun time together as a family. 

🎄  Use alternatives to plastic trees. Why not try a potted native, make your own from materials like driftwood, or source a wilding pine and compost it after use?

🎄  Get creative with your wrapping!  Instead of buying paper wrapping use old paper packaging, magazines, newspaper, fabric, tea towels or scarves.  Or what about repurposing all those wonderful kids’ drawings that have just come home from school! There’s lots of tips and videos online for beautiful wrapping techniques.

🎄 Create less food waste by planning out your food purchases and portions, and get creative with leftovers and utilise your freezer. Love Food Hate Waste has lots of tips for what to do with Christmas leftovers: lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz  

New Zealand Plant Conservation Network Conference - 4-7 December

Our Climate & Resilience and Parks Teams went along to the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network biennial conference earlier this month. 

It was a long time coming as the conference had been delayed 9 months due to COVID.  The crew enjoyed some great face-to-face korero on the restoration work being done across Aotearoa New Zealand.  

Briana from our Parks team also took the stage and presented on the Coronet Forest harvest, which is set to be complete around April or May next year.    

The conference kicked off with workshops covering everything from starting your own community nursery, to discovering the wonderful world of lichens, to botanical illustration.

Presentations over the next two days looked at restoration of threatened native plant populations, how to monitor restoration projects, iwi and hapū led case studies, the challenges of ‘local’ eco-sourcing, the mysteries of Mycorrhizal communities in restoration, and revegetation following conifer removal.

The conference was rounded out with field trips all over the district.  A highlight was the ‘Islands’ Field trip visiting Walter Peak and Wāwāhi Waka (Pigeon Island), showcasing some of the incredible restoration work happening in our district.  The island is predator free and a haven for native flora and fauna, thanks to the huge effort by Neill and Barbara Simpson (and their supporters) over  the past 15 years.   There's a great hut on the island so check it out sometime - details are here: www.qldc.govt.nz/recreation/parks-and-walkways/pigeon-island. 

Congratulations to the conference organising committee - we all had a blast!  If you're keen to find out more about their work, head to www.nzpcn.org.nz/ 

A visit to Wāwāhi Waka (Pigeon Island) was a highlight of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network biennial conference earlier this month. 

Low impact camping and tramping

Whether you’re heading on a mission up the mountains with your bivvy bag or taking a campervan trip, there are lots of little things you can do to camp responsibly. 

Drink tap water - It's free, healthy and delicious – and will help reduce single use plastic waste. The RefillNZ website map or app makes it easy to find locations where you can refill your reusable water bottle for FREE

Say no to single use plastics - Getting a delicious coffee? Sit in, bring your own reusable cup or use a deposit/return system in participating cafes. Local loan cup examples include Wanakup and Chunky.   Or if you're grabbing takeaways, take your own containers.  

Use your own bag - The Wānaka bag makes a great souvenir and all profits support reduction of single-use plastics. For stockists see plasticfreewanaka.co.nz.

Shop second-hand first - Wastebusters was voted “top clothing shop” in Wānaka’s Local’s Choice Awards. Salvation Army and Hospice have shops in both Queenstown and Wānaka.

Shop without plastic - Local tips are available in the waste-free shopping guide at plasticfreewanaka.co.nz or www.therubbishtrip.co.nz.

Don't throw it out - fix old gear! You'll find a list of local repairers and upcoming repair events at www.wastebusters.co.nz.  

Food - buy in bulk and make your own scroggin, muesli or homemade baking to take on your trip. Some hardy fruits and vegetables like mandarins, capsicum and onion, can last surprisingly well. You can also chop them beforehand. Carrot sticks and boiled eggs (for the first day) can also make for tasty snacks. Buy cheese wrapped in wax instead of plastic. A quick online search of tramping food ideas opens up a world of tasty ideas you can make from items in your pantry. Wrap fresh food in beeswax wraps which helps keep it fresher longer.

Rubbish - pack out all your rubbish with you and recycle with care.  For more information on what can be recycled within our district please visit: How we recycle in the Queenstown Lakes District.

Take only photographs, leave only footprints.

Get Wai Wise this Summer! 

Another La Niña summer is on its way, bringing with it dry and windy conditions.   

We're one of the highest water consumers in the country. 😟💧 One of the leading causes is people irrigating their lawns over the hot, dry summer months.   

So to help people get wai wise this summer, we're giving away two Bluetooth water timers for your home sprinkler or irrigation system and encouraging people to consider their water use and help us avoid water restrictions this summer.

Head online to enter the competition and find some tips for conserving water: www.qldc.govt.nz/wai-wise

News in brief 

New Climate and Biodiversity website coming soon

We've started work on a new website to help share our work to respond to Climate Change and Biodiversity loss.  It'll be a place to keep track of our progress, celebrate the amazing work underway out in the community and stay up to date with the latest news.   Watch this space - we'll have more to share on this in the new year. 

Better Ways to Go

Have you heard of Better Ways to Go?  It's our plan to facilitate change in travel behaivour - or in other words, get people out of their cars and using a broader range of ways to travel around the district. 

The plan was endorsed by QLDC back in August and work is underway to start implementing the actions.   You can check out Better Ways to Go here.  

Speaking of better ways to go... 

We recently received $11.8m in funding from the Government’s Transport Choices programme for two active travel projects.  The first one is the Arthurs Point to Queenstown route ($10.3m) and the second is to further scope active travel opportunities in Wānaka (namely Schools to Pool or the Anderson Road Cycle Lane). 

We'll now work with Waka Kotahi in a two-stage process.  First we need to further refine and scope the proposals, then we get into construction!  Further details on next steps will be shared in the new year.    

Have you also heard work has started on the Queenstown Public Transport Business Case?  This is being led by Otago Regional Council and will be a 30-year plan to inform future public transport investment decisions for Queenstown.  There'll be a chance to have your say on this project in March 2023.  We'll keep you updated. 

Tourism: carbon zero by 2030

Public feedback has informed a revised vision for our district's destination management plan, spearheaded by Destination Queenstown and Lake Wanaka Tourism, in conjunction with QLDC. 

The plan is called 'Travel into a thriving future' and commits to decarbonising the tourism industry to carbon zero by 2030.  It sets out to ensure that tourism supports a thriving community both environmentally, socially, culturally and economically.  As the plan had taken shape over the last 20 months, with wide-ranging feedback from the community, it had become clear there is not regeneration without decarbonisation. 

The plan is now available on the Destination Queenstown website and will be presented to Queenstown Lakes District Councillors for endorsement in February 2023. 

To read the plan visit www.queenstownnz.co.nz/regenerative-tourism-2030/

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful Christmas! 

We've loved keeping in touch this year!  From all of us in the climate, resilience and waste minimisation teams at QLDC, have a wonderful Christmas.  Here's to a huge 2023!

Catch you next year!   

Kirsty, Katherine, Bill, Sophie, and Kath.