NZ’s new forestry rules promise consistency. Will they also increase environmental risk? One of the most important changes to New Zealand’s environmental regulations in recent years came into force this week... few people are likely to have noticed. theconversation.com/nzs-new-fore...

Forest & Bird Meeting - PN City Library Jun 9, 7pm – 8:30pm Talk: Oroua & Pohangina Whio Protection Project - Update Speaker: Janet Wilson, Project Leader She will give an update on how this project is going & will include a quick look at the bigger picture in the Ruahine.

Ahimate Reserve Working Bee Jun 7, 9:30am – 11:30am Ahimate Reserve, Awapuni. Join the Ahimate Reserve Community for weeding, mulching & tree planting. All Welcome. Meet at the sandwich board at 9:30am, or look for the flag along the riverside track. www.pncc.govt.nz/Parks-recrea...

It has the highest levels of toxic Pfas in drinking water in Scotland. But how did this remote island become awash with forever chemicals? Scientists believe they may now have found the cause of Fair Isle’s pollution – and warn that it should be ringing alarm bells in other coastal areas

How many 'forever chemicals' are actually in NZ's water? The researchers will test more areas, more wells and for more types of compounds, which number in the thousands, than the last time testing was carried out four years ago. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Solar panels are coming to 500 schools in a $30 million government initiative. Early modelling shows a standard 30kW school solar setup could wipe up to $8,000 a year off an individual school's electricity bills, www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

ENM Submissions: Input from our network helps ENM make strong submissions that encourage environment-focussed decision making. Recently, ENM has responded to four consultations. Summaries and our full submissions can be viewed on our advocacy page here. www.enm.org.nz/about/resour...

ENM Winter Solstice Hui: Dreamtime for an Environment Centre. 23rd June. Open to all, we'd love to hear from our members to help us articulate a vision and plan practical steps toward achieving this long-held dream. More info - www.enm.org.nz/about/enviro...

PNCC Resource Recovery Fund. PNCC still has funding available through the Resource Recovery Fund, with grants from $2,500 to $15,000 to support practical, community-led projects. If you’re looking to do something that helps reduce, reuse, or recycle... www.pncc.govt.nz/Community/Co...

Palmy residents invited to share feedback on possible councils. Two public drop-in sessions at the Central Library: - Saturday 27 June, 10.30am – 12pm, Mezzanine Floor, Central Library - Monday 29 June, 5pm – 6.30pm, Mezzanine Floor, Central Library www.pncc.govt.nz/Have-your-sa...

79% of New Zealanders support Predator Free 2050, a new survey finds. Nearly eight out of ten New Zealanders support the ambitious goal of completely eradicating introduced predators. While only about 26% of people currently have confidence that it can be done, that number is growing.

Forest & Bird Meeting - PN City Library Jun 9, 7pm – 8:30pm Talk: Oroua & Pohangina Whio Protection Project - Update Speaker: Janet Wilson, Project Leader She will give an update on how this project is going & will include a quick look at the bigger picture in the Ruahine.

Size, spacing and healthy roots: tips for planting out in the garden “As the days get cooler, even if it's not raining, we're getting quite a heavy dew, and so there is more moisture around. So that's what makes it a better time to plant.” www.rnz.co.nz/life/lifesty...

As global fuel risk rises, NZ Budget 2026 puts roads first – again. Arguably, this could not be called a transformative transport or infrastructure budget. Rather, it is a fiscally cautious package that continues to prioritise road investment... theconversation.com/as-global-fu...

Manawatū Estuary Trust Meeting Jun 2, 7pm – 8:30pm Holben Pavilion, Foxton Beach The Manawatu Estuary Trust is a conservation group dedicated to looking after the Manawatu River estuary. They rely on volunteers and donations to run. All welcome. www.metrust.org.nz

Whanganui–Taumarunui marae go solar. Five marae from Whanganui to Taumarunui are now running on solar power as part of a major green‑energy initiative aimed at cutting power bills and strengthening community resilience, with many more marae expected to join. www.1news.co.nz/2026/05/23/m...

Palmerston North Repair Cafe May 30, 9am – 11:30am Takes place at Palmerston North Community Leisure Centre, 569 Ferguson Street. with the support of Environment Network Manawatū, PNCC, MENZSHED, SuperGrans and other community organisations. www.enm.org.nz/circular-eco...

Green Corridors Working Bee Jun 3, 2026 When: 1st Wednesday every month, 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month Area: Summerhill. Email us to get the exact location for this week. [email protected] www.pncc.govt.nz/Community/Co...

Australia launches massive $2b lawsuit over PFAS 'forever chemicals'. The federal government is seeking A$2 billion in damages from 3M and 3M Australia, alleging the company withheld the results of its own environmental laboratory testing... www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

Highlights single-user-plastics and our notoriously high food wastage. The amount of soft plastics that I buy from the store that say to return to the store, despite me not being able to see a return point there, is mind boggling.

#nzpol sCrEw ThE cLiMaTe, we nEeD to MaKe BaNk 🤡🤡🤡 www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

Nature Calls: Help decide how Palmerston North treats its wastewater. Our current consent to discharge wastewater expires in 2028. That means we need to apply for a new one and decide how we treat and discharge wastewater for up to the next 35 years. www.pncc.govt.nz/naturecalls

Australia solar, wind and batteries push down electricity bills for homes and business, despite global fuel crisis. reneweconomy.com.au/solar-wind-a...

Palmerston North Repair Cafe May 30, 9am – 11:30am Takes place at Palmerston North Community Leisure Centre, 569 Ferguson Street. with the support of Environment Network Manawatū, PNCC, MENZSHED, SuperGrans and other community organisations. www.enm.org.nz/circular-eco...

Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden: Time to think about your seed supply. It is usually around the beginning of June that I start to check out what vegetable seeds I have and what I will need to purchase for the coming season. www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/...

Must read from our Zealandia CEO Dr Danielle Shanahan

Palmerston North’s stormwater strategy - have your say. Palmerston North sits beneath the Tararua Ranges and alongside the Manawatū River, a beautiful setting that also brings flood risk. Have your say by 4pm, Monday 15 June. www.pncc.govt.nz/Have-your-sa...

Compost Workshop Join us at our annual Compost Workshop and turn your household & garden waste into nutrient rich food for your plants. Sat, May 30th, 1pm-3pm Olsson Community Orchard, Ashhurst Hot drinks & afternoon tea provided Register here: recap.org.nz/civicrm/even...

Just taking a moment to appreciate the URL here. Not so optimal for the ol' search engines, keyword-wise – but a masterpiece of poetic concision nonetheless: www.eli.org.nz/updates/skul... 👈 💀

How 30% of NZ's vehicle fleet could outmuscle every power station in NZ - report. That's according to the 2026 State of the Nation report from Drive Electric New Zealand, which argues EVs could eventually play a much bigger role... www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/360...

Why is this not front page on RNZ or NZH this morning? Slipped out late on Sunday and now it's nowhere?

Ruud Kleinpaste: The dos and don'ts of feeding your local birds. A number of bird species enjoy some seeds: sparrows, greenfinches, gold finches, and such introduced creatures – blackbirds don’t mind some seeds covered in fruity stuff. www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/satur...

King's Birthday Weekend Book Sale! Over 100,000 books plus games, records, DVDs, CDs, jigsaw puzzles, comics and sheet music, The Barber Hall, Arena 5 Waldegrave Street, Palmerston North Fri 29 May, 10am- 8pm Sat 30 May, 10am-6pm Sun 31 May, 10am-4pm Mon 1 June, 10am-2pm

Watch: Take a look at what’s been achieved during the first construction season on Ōtaki to north of Levin: Te Pae o Tararua. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pveV...

Why Europe wants to tear down thousands of its dams. Dams and other river barriers, such as weirs and even hardened riverbanks, can cause environmental problems. They can change a river’s flow, block fish and other animals from moving up and downstream, and create stagnant...

Arts and Craft Workshops by Upcycling Club 1 May 26, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM When: Second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Where: Roslyn Library, 8 Kipling St For whom: Both adults and children. After 3:00, quite a few school children come, so it gets crowded and noisy.

Mowing the lawn: the colonial ghosts haunting our suburban ritual. Our lawns are dominated by alien grass species, and there is very little in the way of native grass at all: encounters with settlers didn’t usually end well for the local species... theconversation.com/mowing-the-l...

SAVE THE NATIVE GIANT MAIDENHAIR FERN May 24, 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Join a group of friendly locals for an easy working bee to help preserve the environment for this endangered plant. When/Where: 10am, Ashhurst Domain, meet in the BBQ area by the playground.

Timona Park Orchard Working Bee May 24, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Feilding The Trust's aim is to grow fruit as well as the restoration of the wetland and bush for all to enjoy. Please contact Barbara to RSVP and confirm it's happening. 027 444 8355 or [email protected]

Meet Peru’s potato guardians, fighting to protect the country’s beloved tubers against climate change. “Here in the park, we have 1,372 varieties of Peruvian potato. There are 3,500 in Peru and 5,572 in the world,” Jhon says, reeling off the numbers... www.independent.co.uk/travel/south...

Webinar: Community is Climate Resilience May 22, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM There is an upcoming webinar about EHA's Community is Climate Resilience work on Friday, 22 May, from 12-1 pm communityresearch.org.nz/webinar/comm...

Open letter to the NZ Government: Climate tort law prohibition. Lawyers for Climate Action NZ delivered the joint letter to Ministers this morning. The letter is signed by 118 New Zealand and international civil society organisations... www.lawyersforclimateaction.nz/news-events/...

Nature is good for business – and we now have numbers to show it. As part of a growing body of global research now trying to put hard numbers on what nature actually contributes to the economy, we looked at New Zealand’s case. theconversation.com/nature-is-go...

Provenance and guardianship of taonga tree species - Palmerston North Central Library May 19, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM David Chagné’s research uses genomics for developing fundamental knowledge and new tools for fruit trees and taonga species.

U3A Autumn Seminar Series - Food Rescue. Palmerston North Central Library May 20, 2026, 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM Rebecca Culver, Managing Director Just Zilch With a third of New Zealanders experiencing food insecurity in the last year, we need to make some changes.

Kem Ormond’s garden update: Fresh ideas for a vegetable and citrus glut. www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/...

Meridian Energy to build large solar farm near Palmerston North. The 120 megawatt solar farm in Sunnythorpe would be alongside an already consented battery energy storage system. www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/meridia...

Future big droughts may be worse than we think – NZ’s past shows why. Recent events offer a glimpse of what this can look like: browned paddocks, shrinking reservoirs, dried-out riverbeds and farmers struggling for feed. They have also illustrated the heavy economic toll drought can take.

U3A Autumn Seminar Series - Food Sovereignty: A Community Perspective. Palmerston North Central Library May 27, 2026, 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM Daniel (Morri) Morrimire, Community Food Sovereignty Lead at Environment Network Manawatū Food sovereignty is a term often used...