Latest news with #Nikau
Otago Daily Times
25-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Canterbury food forest starting to grow
Waimakariri District Councillor, Woodend-Sefton Community Board member and lead creator of the Kaiapoi Food Forest, Brent Cairns, helps Melissa Parker and her daughter Frankie, aged 4, of Pines Beach, plant a Nikau palm tree they donated for the newly established Food Forest in Tūhaitara Coastal Park. PHOTO: SHELLEY TOPP The beginnings of a new food forest has been established in the Pines and Kairaki Beaches community, near Kaiapoi. A community planting day was held last Sunday morning at the site in Tūhaitara Coastal Park, behind the Pines Beach Community Hall, on the corner of Chichester St and Batten Grove. The idea for the Pines and Kairaki Beaches Food Forest came two years ago from a Pines and Kairaki Beaches Association committee member Nicki Brown. Right from the start, she received widespread encouragement and support for it. The design of the food forest was created by Brent Cairns, a Waimakariri district councillor, Woodend-Sefton Community Board member and Kaiapoi Food Forest trustee. ''He was very keen to help us and his support and knowledge has been huge throughout this project,'' Nicki says. Brent and his wife Shirley donated 70 trees for the food forest and helped on planting day. There have been many other contributions of trees and materials needed to establish the food forest such as mulch from Canterbury Landscape Supplies, in Kainga, cardboard from Proctor Solar, in Kaiapoi, trees from The Treehouse Horticulture, in Kaiapoi, and Te Kohaka o Tuhaitara Trust managers of Tūhaitara Coastal Park. ''Food Secure North Canterbury has given us some funds to go towards trees too,'' Nicki says. There has also been ''incredible support'' from many individuals in the community, who donated trees and helped during the planting day. A Corrections Department team helped prepare the food forest site for planting and will help to maintain it in the future, and Kaiapoi High School students have also contributed by holding two planting days at the site this week. About 170 edibles, natives and grasses were planted, but this is just the beginning with another planting day planned for June, Nicki says. She is excited for the future of the food forest and how it will bring the community together.
Scoop
28-04-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Locals Work Together To Deliver Almost $1.2 Million In Support To Wellington Community
With communities facing many challenges, locals are working together to build reliable funding to support the people and places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, the Greater Wellington region, long-term. A challenging funding environment With demand for community funding far outstripping supply, for-purpose organisations are facing a challenging environment. 'In 2024, we received over 450 grant applications – the highest number in our history,' says Nikau Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Emma Lewis. 'We know it's hard out there, and this number highlights the escalating demand and just how much for-purpose organisations need support.' This demand has many donors leaning in and working together to deliver powerful, practical support to our communities, long-term. Transformative giving In 2024, Nikau Foundation distributed 196 grants totaling almost $1.2 million to for-purpose organisations by connecting local generosity with local need. This includes grants from Nikau Foundation's Blake Fund, which exists in perpetuity, and was established by Wellingtonian Barbara Blake to make sure our region's youth had access to the support they needed to thrive. "As a mother, I know that teenagers can be a bit tricky and can sometimes seem hard to reach,' says Barbara. 'However, I also know that with some perseverance, guidance and a firm push in the right direction at critical moments, young people can flourish and exceed all our expectations.' Since the fund's establishment, Nikau has worked alongside Barbara to connect her with youth causes and provide annual grants to organisation's doing transformative work in this area. In 2024, grants from The Blake Fund included InsideOUT Kōaro who are providing support for our city's rainbow youth and Te Ara Moana Trust, an organisation providing free kayak and water safety lessons to Porirua youth to build confidence and teach valuable life skills. 'To those who want to make a difference but aren't sure where to donate, Nikau Foundation can help you to direct your funds to community organisations doing great work in your areas of interest,' says Barbara. 'They're deeply rooted in the community and are aware of where the biggest opportunities for philanthropic impact lie.' Powerful, practical support 'We know from connecting with our communities that it is the day-to-day costs such as salaries and operational support that are often the hardest kinds of funding to secure,' says Nikau Foundation's Funding and Relationships Manager, Lindy Young. 'Yet these costs are the most critical for an organisation's operations.' In 2024, Nikau delivered over $668,000 to assist with these costs – 58% of its total funding for the year and a 3.3% increase on last year. 'Through this funding, we are helping organisations to deliver current projects while supporting their organisational scalability, resilience and key infrastructure so they can continue to grow and give back long term,' says Lindy. This includes a grant from Nikau's O'Dea Illingworth Fund to support salary costs at the World Wide Fund for Nature New Zealand (WWF). Established via a gift in John's will, the fund is dedicated to supporting climate change research, action and prevention and soil science research – causes that were close to John's heart. This funding will be instrumental in expediting policy to protect our marine environment. 'Although Aotearoa New Zealand has the fifth largest ocean territory, less than 0.5% is currently protected,' says Chief Executive Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb. To set a pathway for new protected areas, WWF is working with the National Iwi Chairs Forum and Ngāti Kuri Trust Board to form a coalition of researchers, kaitiaki, environmental groups and industry players. Funding to support the salary of WWF's conservation impact advisor will help get this project off the ground. 'When it comes to creating nature positive outcomes, investing in people power is crucial,' says Kayla. Local generosity to address local challenges 'To create a meaningful difference, we continue to see the importance of conversation and connection in our community,' says Lindy. By sharing knowledge and bringing local generosity closer to local need, the Foundation is channeling funding into areas of high need. In 2024, the Foundation gave over $151,214 to foster health and wellbeing, $143,380 to address food insecurity and $120,829 to provide key support to our region's youth. 'By working together and elevating voices from our community, we are making sure that local giving is giving back in meaningful and powerful ways,' says Lindy. 2024 Impact Report now live Featuring stories of generosity and impact from across Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, the Greater Wellington region, Nikau Foundation's 2024 is now live and available to download. To find out more, please click below:
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
He Aha Te Aha: Anzac waiata released to commemorate Sir Robert Bom Gillies, 28th Māori Battalion
Released as a special project under the Waiata Anthems musical series, the waiata aimed to ensure the 'significant' legacy of the 28th Māori Battalion and Tā Bom Gillies continued to be remembered and resonate for generations to come. 'It is an ōhākī [parting wish] to the future; a promise that we will not forget their sacrifices and the values they upheld.' 'Our promise that we won't forget' Nikau's grandfather fought alongside Gillies. She co-wrote the waiata and is the main singer. The 17-year-old - who lives between Rotorua and Kawerau - told the Rotorua Daily Post Waiata Anthems commissioned her and other artists to create a waiata to honour the 28th Māori Battalion 'considering this is the first year without any living members'. She said the waiata was 'our promise that we won't forget'. 'I feel like we don't talk enough about how massive their sacrifice was. 'It felt like a way of saying 'thank you' ... to all of the soldiers in the 28th battalion.' She said it was a moment for all New Zealanders to remember and reflect. 'Even if you don't know much about the Māori Battalion, I really hope that this song can help people find and feel something. That's where the remembering begins. 'With no one left from the 28th Māori Battalion, they can't speak any more so that's what we have to do.' Nikau said it was 'incredibly special' to sing the waiata due to her personal connections to the 28th Māori Battalion. 'I kind of grew up hearing the names of the soldiers and being told stories and my Nan's memories.' She was previously in a band with Gillies' son. 'Honouring our tūpuna' After two days of recording in Tāmaki Makaurau, 'there was something missing and we couldn't really pinpoint what it was', Nikau said. 'At the same time as that, Matatini was happening and ... Ngāti Whakaue, their whole set was a tribute to Koro Bom and the Māori Battalion.' Te Kapa Haka o Ngatī Whakaue won the festival with their dedicated performance. Nikau said it was determined 'that's our missing ingredient'. 'They were our baking powder ... they just made our cake rise. 'We then had one day in Rotorua to record with them ... the harmonies were unreal. 'It was so much fun ... just a lot of happy people who were all there for the reason of honouring our tūpuna [ancestors].' Nikau - who studies te reo Māori at the University of Waikato in Tauranga - said she became a 'performer' singer when she was 7 and sang at Kawerau's Christmas in the Park. 'From then, I just was so fortunate to find all these incredible people who really wanted to help mold and shape my voice. 'I'm not sure if I would be where I am right now if it weren't for my village.' The waiata has been released today on all streaming platforms, along with a short documentary and music video on Waiata Anthems platforms.
Miami Herald
05-03-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Dad and son stumble upon ‘one of the most important finds of all time in Polynesia'
On a remote island of New Zealand, a dad and son searching for salvageable wood noticed some 'strange-looking' sticks — and found a significant historic site. Follow-up excavations uncovered hundreds of wood pieces, rope fibers and possibly sail fabric from an old canoe. Last fall, Vincent Dix and his son Nikau passed by a creek near their home on Chatham Island, a remote archipelago off the eastern coast of New Zealand's main islands, and noticed several wood pieces sticking out of the sand, according to Wharekauri Farm Waka, a Facebook account dedicated to their finds. '(It was) pretty much the normal day really, sort of just thought it was a bit of rubbish wood lying around,' Vincent told Te Ao with Moana, a New Zealand TV news show, in a March 3 video. But to Nikau the wood seemed 'unusual,' 'strange-looking' and 'very well made,' he said in the video. When the pair returned to the site, they found a more elaborately carved piece and knew they'd found a waka. 'Waka is the Māori word for canoe,' according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. The term can refer to a wide range of boats made by 'ancestors of Māori' over the span of millennia and includes rafts, dugout canoes, double-hulled canoes and others. New Zealand's Ministry for Culture and Heritage verified the family's finds — which already included roughly 20 canoe fragments — in mid-January and sent a team of archaeologists for follow-up excavations. As archaeologists and volunteers began sifting through the sand, they were stunned. More and more wood fragments kept surfacing. Photos shared by cultural officials in a March 4 Facebook post show the pile of partially excavated wood. Wood is generally considered a rare material for archaeologists to find because it easily disintegrates over time unless preserved by water. 'We can't overstate how incredible it is,' the excavation's lead archaeologist Justin Maxwell told The Guardian. 'It is by far the most important discovery in New Zealand, possibly Polynesia, and it will go down as one of the most important finds of all time in Polynesia.' Before they began excavations, archaeologists believed 'the holy grail would have been to find some of the sail, or some of the twine that held things together, or some of the rope or the caulking,' Maxwell told Te Ao with Moana. 'We found all of that. It's completely blown our minds …. This is, by far and away, the most amazing excavation I've ever had the privilege to work on.' So far, excavations have uncovered 'more than 450 waka (canoe) pieces and other items of interest,' cultural officials said in a March 4 news release. Photos show some of the 'incredibly rare' braided ropes and textile finds. Much about the historic canoe remains unknown, including its age, place of origin and the original shape of the boat or boats. Excavations at the site on Chatham Island have finished, but officials plan to continue analyzing and preserving the finds. 'To find all of these components preserved is incredible and it's going to help us learn so much more about Polynesian waka technology,' Maxwell told The Guardian. The Chatham Islands are about 500 miles southeast of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
