Field Trip to Piha to visit the Waygood Foundation’s Gardens and Beck Wheeler Garden.

These are two three-part video series, one for the Waygood Foundation garden and one for the Beck Wheeler garden

A group from Soil & Health Auckland visited two Permaculture Gardens in Piha on Saturday the 12th Feb 2020. We visited the Waygood Foundation Gardens where Claire Inwood guided us on a tour of the property. On a sandy based soil they have created a series of gardens, original, new, terraced and a Kids garden. These mixed gardens of vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit trees are nestled in a glade of Pohutukawa trees.

Ben Cheah Speakers Meeting

Ben Cheah speaks about Small Urban Gardens.

This is a three-part video series

Wake-up call on the environmental and human health harms of toxic agrichemicals

The Soil & Health Association is welcoming last week’s “Knowing what’s out there” report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. The report criticises New Zealand’s lack of monitoring and regulation of environmental harm from chemicals.

Jodie Bruning, national councillor for the Soil & Health Association

“New Zealand lags behind other countries on monitoring and regulation of toxic agrichemicals, putting our health, environment and overseas trade agenda at risk,” says Soil & Health spokesperson Jodie Bruning.

“A more integrated framework, suggested by the report, will help the right hand know what the left hand is doing, this is currently not happening in New Zealand, when it comes to environmental chemicals.

“For example the Environmental Protection Agency, our government watchdog on these issues, had to make a public appeal last year for information on glyphosate use. Why do they need to resort to this?  Because they don’t monitor glyphosate’s use, availability, or impacts. There’s no feedback loop between the agency and our territorial and local authorities.

“It’s been shown that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen and its widespread use in New Zealand must be stopped. 

“Glyphosate is the tip of the iceberg. Our regulatory settings are useless if we are not informed about environmental pollution, and if the regulator is not keeping an eye on what’s happening on the ground.

“The government needs to take this report seriously. This includes expediting a formal reassessment of glyphosate as a key next step in protecting New Zealanders and the natural environment from harm.”

ENDS

Notes

The PCE report is covered here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/462653/lack-of-mechanisms-to-govern-chemical-use-in-nz-commissioner

Sanctuary gardens visit April 2021

We visit sanctuary gardens and hear from manager Trevor Crosby

This is a two-part video series

Dee Pigneguy’s organic home garden

A visit to Dee’s home organic garden 27 Oct 2018

Minette Tonoli talk

Minette’s minute

Wayne Hill talk 2018

Wayne Hill’s top tips

Vic Barret talk 2018

Vic Barret talk

Kelmarna Gardens talk from Julie Keats

We hear from Judie Keats of Kelmarna gardens

Submission of the Soil & Health Association on definitions for gene technology and new breeding techniques

The Soil & Health Association welcomes the opportunity to submit on this proposal to revise and update the definitions in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) for ‘food produced using gene technology’ and ‘gene technology’, to make them clearer and to better reflect existing and emerging genetic technologies, including new breeding techniques (NBTs)

Read our full submission here.