Vodafone planting the seeds for Christchurch recovery

Organic Sector Receives Funding To Rebuild Garden City

Bailey Peryman from Soil & Health - Organic NZ (Canterbury), is one of eleven recipients of the 2013 Vodafone World of Difference Programme awards.

This award, which focuses on youth development and an earthquake recovery need, funds his salary and expenses for a year. Peryman will be coordinate the setup of Hand Over a Hundy in Christchurch East and develop a new social enterprise, Garden City 2.0

Hand Over a Handy is a pay it forward initiative to encourage families and communities to establish edible gardens at home. Young families and unemployed youth are given $100 worth of growing material and a mentor for a year. The challenge is for them to recoup the $100 through sales of produce or savings on their food bill to pass on to another family the year following.

Garden City 2.0 will bring new life to the Garden City by developing and investing in community food initiatives.

"We will also be looking to partner with experts in the food and agricultural industry to develop a wider framework for young people to find work, start a food initiative of their own and create a livelihood for themselves and their families. We see this being the foundation for a local food industry that is waiting to be borne in Christchurch” says Peryman.

"Mother Nature devasted NZ's Garden city. Vodafone’s support of this project literally will be planting the seeds to help her give back to Christchurch that which was taken" says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health - Organic NZ.

Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Chair Antony Welton says the World of Difference is dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of young New Zealanders.

Started in 2002, the Foundation has now invested over $15 million and supported 69 New Zealanders, with flow on effects to hundreds of young people across the country.

Soil & Health is one of the oldest organic organisations in the world and promote fresh, healthy, organic food - GE, pesticide and additive free. Oranga Nuku, Oranga Kai Oranga Tangata.

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Scoop Business: Bathurst Gets Nod For DoC Access To Denniston Mine

Conservation Minister Nick Smith has approved access over conservation estate land for Bathurst Resources to develop an open cast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau, above Westport, to the dismay of environmental opponents.

The timing for Smith’s move avoids Bathurst having to resubmit applications for access agreements under the revised Crown Minerals Act, which comes into force tomorrow and would have required public consultation.

The announcement lands in the middle of delicate negotiations between the company, environmental groups and other interested parties that could pave the way to a broader agreement on the Escarpment proposal, whose resource consents are still subject to court appeals. More>>