Pegasus Post: December 18, 2018

10 Tuesday December 18 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
ADverTOrIAL
Sustainability key
to organic farming
There’s something for
everyone in the realm of
organic farming but as far
as Bill Martin is concerned,
it’s all about sustainability.
The Training College
Manager at Lincoln
University’s Biological
Husbandry Unit Organics
Trust (BHU) is happy to see
a surge in enthusiasm for
organic food production
as younger generations
become more aware of
environmental concerns.
He says the growing
popularity of organic
production in recent years
means that graduates are
now taking what they have
learned into a broader
range of sectors.
“It’s not just about
growing, wholesaling
and retailing food anymore. They’re
going into schools and teaching primary
and secondary schoolers about the
importance of sustainable farming and
gardening and really starting to embed the
philosophy into the education system.”
As far as conventional agricultural
practices are concerned, he says farmers
should be encouraged to optimise their
production, rather than maximise it at the
expense of the environment.
“We need to change our agricultural
paradigm and re-evaluate our priorities.”
Mr Martin says those interested in a
career in organics should enrol in the
one-year Diploma in Agri-Food Production
course, which is open to students either
with or without university entrance.
Introduced last year, it includes Tikanga
and Mahinga Kai components and can
lead to employment in organic primary
production or other sectors related
to organics, especially education and
hospitality.
“The course offers a good grounding
in the principles of organic agriculture,
teaching the philosophies and histories
of organics and providing practical
knowledge of how they are applied,” Mr
Martin says.
Apply now for the Diploma in Organic
Agri-Food Production and begin studying
in February 2019.
Grow a career
in organics
Lincoln University’s Diploma in Organic Agri-Food Production will prepare
you for work in the organic sector or your own garden or smallholdings. It’s
a full-time, one-year programme that covers the theory and practice behind
contemporary organic agri-food production.
Join us in February to find out what growing organically on an agricultural
scale really means.
Learn more at www.lincoln.ac.nz or call 0800 10 60 10.
News
Pressure on to
save city’s water
THE CITY council is
taking a myth-busting
approach to remind
residents about the need to
save water this summer.
It has put out a series
of fact-based articles
via its website and
Facebook page in an
effort to correct common
misunderstandings about
water use in Christchurch.
Water supply
programme manager
Helen Beaumont says it’s
important people get the
facts so they understand
the importance of saving
water this summer.
“We’ve had a lot people
effectively calling us out
for asking them to save
water when water bottling
plants are taking it out of
the ground every day. But
there are two problems
with that. Firstly, the city
council doesn’t decide
who can or can’t take
groundwater, Environment
Canterbury does, while
taking environmental
factors into account. And
secondly, the water taken
by water bottling plants
doesn’t actually affect our
public water supply –
they’re separate issues.”
Ms Beaumont says
another common
misunderstanding is
around the need to
conserve water this
summer.
“It’s not that we’re
running out of water.
The problem is we
need to take some
water wells out of service
so we can upgrade them
and stop chlorinating as
fast as possible. If we keep
using too much water, we
have to use more wells to
cope, and then we can’t
work on them. It’s really
that simple,” she says.
A wet start to summer in
Christchurch has seen the
city council’s
online water
dial spend a
number of
consecutive
days in the
“green zone”,
which is where
the city council
wants to see it
stay as the city
moves into the
warmest part of the year.
Ms Beaumont says
the rain means people
generally don’t feel the
need to turn on their
garden sprinklers or
irrigators, which are
Helen
Beaumont
PEGASUS POST
PRECIOUS: Limit the
time you operate your
garden hose.
the biggest household
water users.
“Running a garden
sprinkler or irrigator for
an hour can use up to 1500
litres – or 150 buckets –
of water. That’s a huge
amount when you consider
we’re targeting an average
daily use of 212 litres
per person this summer.
We’re asking people to use
hand-held hoses to water
– during early morning or
late evening – because you
can direct exactly where
the water goes and avoid
wasting it.”
•More water saving tips
are available on the city
council’s website at ccc.
govt.nz/water-savingtips
ADVENTURE: Marian College students spent the day learning about nature
and the history of the uninhabited Quail Island. The year 9 students spent the
day walking, swimming, having a picnic and taking part in games. The school’s
head of social services Anna Perry said the students enjoyed the day and it was
perfect weather time outdoors.