Everyone, from art enthusiasts to curious newcomers, is invited to explore the Mini Waitaki Art Trail at Matariki weekend (June 20-22). The art trail has run twice previously, most recently in November last year, with artists across the region opening their studio doors to the public. This is a “mini” version of those events, with fewer artists.Trail convenor and participating artist Joan Edridge says the “exciting" weekend gives the public a chance to visit artists where they work. “Offering an insider’s view of the creative process behind their artwork."Customs House Gallery, Waimate Gallery and Art Society, and Pottery on Tyne will also have works on display for those who will not have studios open.Other participating artists are Andrew Killick of Silenzio Pottery, Allan Jonassen and Chris Pepper of Salt and Pepper Studio, Penny Anderson, Dave Hope, Christine Leov-Leyland, Marianne Korten of A Galaxy of Flowers, and Cerys Thomas who will join Joan at her studio."With a diverse lineup of artists, you'll encounter a wide range of visual arts, pottery, paintings, prints of original artwork, greeting cards and handcrafted items, showcasing abstract realism, oils, acrylics, watercolours and more," Joan says."This open studio event is not just about admiring art, there's something to inspire every art enthusiast." To help visitors navigate the trail, printed flyers with maps will be available and a full list of participating artists, venues, and opening hours can be found on the Waitaki Art Trail website.For one lucky visitor to her Rother Street studio at the weekend, Joan is offering a special print valued at $120. She also plans to offer hot drinks to visitors."There may be other incentives offered by other artists," she says. Joan urges people to mark the date on their calendars. Most of the trail artists will be open between 10am and 4pm, Friday to Sunday, but each artist decides their own schedule, and specific times are on the website."Discover the stories behind their art and experience the creativity that brings these pieces to life," she says.

Almost all New Zealand teenagers use social media. RNZ spoke to four who don't.On a Thursday night at a Mount Maunganui skatepark, 16-year-old Israel Cameron pulls a brick ZTE phone from his pocket. The throwback technology has the capacity to make calls and send text. It can’t access the internet. It doesn’t download apps. Nor does Israel need it to. For now, he has decided not to use social media.“I’ve had it for three, maybe four years, and it has never let me down. Yeah, it is pretty trusty,” he says, over the clatter of skateboards at the park. He found the phone in one of his dad’s drawers, brought it out of retirement and customised the back in woodwork class.Israel’s best mates have made the same decision. Isaac Reid, 17, has a $40 brick phone that he added an SD card so it can store music that he funnels into his wired headphones. Connor Cummins, 16, has a classic Nokia flip phone.Related storiesHow would banning New Zealand teenagers from social media work?Who still has a landline phone?You don’t have to watch Adolescence to learn from it“We catch a bus to school and just everyone's like this, just head on the seat in front of them, just probably watching some naughty things, so we were like, ‘Oh, I don't know. We should try to be good kids,’ but yeah, I don’t know, it didn't look that fun,” says Connor.The boys surf, skate, and they’re in a band together called Go Getter. There’s a lot you can fit into a day if you are not scrolling on social media for nine hours, which was the daily average for one of their friends during the recent school holidays.Israel, Isaac and Connor are rare. A 2025 survey found that 95 percent of New Zealanders aged 15+ use social media. It mirrors findings in the US where 90 percent of Americans aged 13-17 use social media, including YouTube.The debate over the extent of harm for young people from screen time, social media and online sexual content continues to rage. And so does the discussion on what to do about it, with New Zealand announcing last week that it is exploring a ban on social media for those under 16, similar to a contentious Australian law passed last year. However, law or no law, at least a handful of New Zealand teens are making their own decision to steer clear of smartphones or social media or both.“I have no social media... I don’t intend to have social media. I just don’t think it’s beneficial to me right now,” says Ari Taylor, an 18-year-old who lives in Auckland and is in his final year of school. He does have a smartphone.Ari Taylor. Photo: Supplied via RNZAri’s younger sisters are both on social media, and his parents allowed him to sign up from 13, the age suggested by most social media apps. At 14, he considered getting on TikTok and Instagram, but decided against it.“I can get addicted to it. I could stop living life in the moment and start living it for Instagram moments, or for like TikTok moments or whatever. I just didn't see any benefits.”The downside of no social mediaBeing the only kid without social media in his friendship group has drawbacks. Ari had to ask his basketball team to communicate through a group WhatsApp message rather than a group Instagram message. When the team comes over to his house to hang out, he leaves a basket at the door for everyone to put their phones in so they can communicate in real life rather than through their phones.Ari Taylor's phone basket for his basketball team. Photo: Supplied via RNZIsrael, one of the Mount Maunganui teens, spent years nine and 10 at without anyone to talk to on the school bus because everyone was on their phones.“Sometimes I just wouldn't know about things because they'll have it on a group chat on something, and I can't get on group chats on my brick phone. So I just wouldn't go to stuff because I had no idea about it.”“Then also, like, you could film yourself skating and heaps of people could see it instead of just five,” adds Isaac, on the allure of social media.Isaac signed up for Instagram for a while, logging on through a desktop or his mum’s phone.“I wasn’t very good at controlling how much time I spent on it. I just always remember feeling really frustrated, just how much time I felt like I was wasting.”He watches YouTube Shorts on a desktop at home.“It’s not like it's fully gone. It's just whenever I'm out, it's not a temptation because it’s just actually not there.”The $1,000 challengeIsrael has two older siblings who were allowed smartphones and social media at age 13. He was mad when his parents changed tack and said no when he reached that age, a sign of the quickly evolving conversation on the harms of smartphones and social media use.He spoke to his two friends. Isaac and Connor’s parents wanted their kids to delay social media and smartphones as long as possible. Then Connor’s dad threw out a challenge: the last of the three friends to get social media or a phone would get $1,000.“But then he just kind of pulled the plug because we got brick phones, so we kind of got scammed, but in a good way, because it kind of ended up better than what it would have been, so I'm not mad about it,” says Israel.Connor’s dad, Sam Cummins, doesn’t believe a complete prohibition on social media from parents would work. He wants to leave room for “gradual exposure and sensible decision making” as his kids develop.“The problem is that [social media] is designed to be entirely addictive,” he says.The challenge did create a loose agreement that the three friends would stay off social media and smartphones together.“People might just be like, ‘Oh, you're a weirdo with no phone,’ but then, a group of weirdos you feel fine in, but I think by yourself, it'll be a lot harder,” says Connor.Nicola Taylor and her son Ari. Photo: Supplied via RNZParents as role modelsAri says his parents never dumbed down their answers to his questions, treating him as an equal partner.“... I love my mum and dad, and I think a big part of that is they have boundaries, but their boundaries, like they explain their boundaries, they explain why, and they’re open to changing those boundaries.”Ari’s mum, Nicola Taylor, is the co-founder of two financial technology companies. The family didn’t have a TV until Ari was 13. He was allowed to play computer games such as Minecraft, but only once school finished for the week.The family all have strict time limits for various apps on their phones that they can’t hack. Only Taylor’s husband has the code to extend her time limits on social media and vice versa.“Nobody in this family is having unlimited screen time, not me, not them,” she says.The social media debate: parents or government?Should the government be restricting access to social media for children and teens, or, as the ACT party argues, should parents be the main influencers?Holly Brooker, an online safety advocate and parenting educator, believes it is both.“While I support the government’s desire to set an age limit for social media to 16, it is not going to be a quick fix. It can’t be the only approach.”Brooker is calling for a reform of the entire online safety ecosystem, including an online regulator to hold the industry to account, education for parents and education on critical thinking specific to online content starting in primary school.Restricting social media to 16 plus will make it easier for parents who want to delay their kids signing up for social media and support teens making their own decision to stay off, she says.Yet, even teenagers who stay off social media will be influenced by it indirectly through their peers, says Claire Meehan, a criminologist at the University of Auckland who studies the intersection of young people's digital and sexual lives.She says the government’s proposed ban is “fundamentally flawed”, raising concerns such as potentially handing over more personal information to tech companies for age vetting.“...I think recognising that online and offline spaces are closer than we all think, and what goes on online often reflects what happens offline.”And social media can be a positive experience, Meehan adds, especially for minority groups such as LGBTIQ+ young people or those wanting to connect with family or culture overseas.When to get on social mediaThe main question for the Mount Maunganui teens - and their parents - is when they will get a smartphone and whether or not they will sign up for social media.Israel will get a smartphone when he leaves home, but he doesn’t have plans to get social media. Isaac wants to keep his brick phone as long as possible. Connor is keen to get a smartphone.“I'm a bit scared that when I get one, I'll be like, ‘Oh, what is this?’ Like a new drug or whatever, and just get addicted to it,” says Connor.“But, yeah, I feel like you need to get one, just one day. But for now, when I'm still in school and living at home, it's fine.” - RNZ

Research from the University of Chicago looked at 'superagers' - people over 80 years who have the memory of someone decades younger - to try to understand why.When researchers looked at MRI scans of so called ‘superagers’, something surprising was revealed, Emily Rogalski, Professor of Neurology at the University of Chicago says.“What we showed in those studies, by using MRI scans and really sophisticated technology, was that the youthfulness of the brain of the superagers more represented those 50- to 60-year-olds than 80 year olds, so their brains looked younger than expected.“This was a big surprise, that despite being 80 plus years old, they could have very youthful looking brains.”The thickness of the outer layer of the brain was also found to be a factor in better performing memory.befunky.comRelated stories:Researchers uncover link between eye health and dementiaWhy are people in their 30s and 40s experiencing increased memory problems?Why it's normal to forget thingsResearch in the area is starting to gain a better understanding of why this might be from a genetic and a lifestyle standpoint, she says.“We see that superagers tend to have really strong social connections, and we first learned about that from self-report on questionnaires, and we're now following up through a multi-site study that we lead here.”They are enrolling superagers across five sites in the US and Canada who are asked to wear sensors that track sleep and activity and social connection, she says.“So that we can understand, do superagers talk to more people during the day than an average ager, or do they have a handful of close friends?“So, we're looking both from a biologic standpoint, but also from a psychosocial standpoint.”Listen on Nine to Noon here: Unlocking the secrets of the "superagers"The research also revealed physical differences between superagers and their more averagely aged peers, she said.“We are measuring both the size of brain cells or neurons, and we see that for some superagers, it's not necessarily the number of neurons, but the size of neurons in memory-related areas that seems to be more robust or more well preserved in superagers,” she says.There is also less build-up of plaques and tangles in the brain, she says - things that are associated with Alzheimer's disease diagnoses.“What we see that in superagers is there tends to be fewer of those tangles in memory-related areas of the brain relative to average agers.“So, that seems to be another cellular difference between the groups, but there is some variability, and it's still relatively early days.”The thickness of the outer layer of the brain was also found to be a factor in better performing memory, she says.“The outer layer of the brain, or what we call the cortex, where our neurons live, when we did that original MRI comparison, we found a region of the brain called the anterior cingulate, which is really important for attention, and attention supports memory."We found that that region was actually thicker in superagers than it was in their 50- to 60-year-old peers.”A possible explanation is an abundance of a particular type of neuron, she says.“A special type of neurons called Von Economo neurons. These are more newly described neurons, and they are thought to be important for social behaviours.”The loss, or abnormal development, of Von Economo neurons has been shown in Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ADHD, she says.“It may be one factor that's contributing to superagers social interactions, because these Von Economo neurons are also only described in higher order species and tend to be very social, like elephants and whales.” - RNZ

Birds of all feathers will be flocking together in Ōamaru this July for the National Bird Show.The July 24-27 show will be at the Drill Hall, and to kill two birds with one stone, the North Otago Bird Club’s 60th annual show will be held at the same time.The club will also remember longtime patron and founding member Ray Gibb, who died in March last year, assistant show secretary Jo Anderson says.“Even when his health started declining, he was still a really integral part of the club and when he heard we were holding the national show, he still really wanted to do what he could to help us,” she says.The small club is thrilled to be holding the national show, and expects at least 1400 birds, but potentially anywhere up to 2000.“The noise will be intense,” Jo says.A “huge range” of birds is expected, from budgies and all types of canaries, to finches, parrots, lovebirds, and cockatiels.Jo says it’s exciting to hold the show in Ōamaru.“They are the country's top exhibition birds.“These are some of the country's top breeders in these species of birds coming along to Ōamaru, and they will be coming from the very tip of the North Island and the very bottom of the South, you know, every corner.” This is the second time Ōamaru will host the show, after being approached by the New Zealand Federation of Birds. The first was 15 years ago in 2010.The goal is to try and alternate the shows between the North and South Islands.“But the issue that we're facing at the moment is that the North Island clubs are a lot stronger than the South Island clubs. So a lot of the clubs in the South Island don't have the capacity to hold it,” Jo says.“It's a huge financial commitment.”The initial predicted budget of $24,000 now sits at about $32,000. This includes $14,000 in prize money, as well as all the judges’ accommodation for three nights.Financial support has come from Network Waitaki and the Waitaki District Council, there has been a lot of firewood selling, and Ōamaru company Topflite - a longtime main sponsor of the event - is going “over and above”, Jo says.“They are opening up their Topflite HQ for exhibitors and people visiting, to go along and see behind the scenes, and doing a bit of catering, and they'll also be at the show as well.”Topflite's 2024 sunflower seed crop. This year marks 50 years since the company planted its first sunflowers. Photo: Ashley SmythTopflite director Greg Webster says it is great to be part of the show in the company’s hometown. “We're very much looking forward to hosting the Topflite National Show here in Ōamaru.”The company has sponsored the show for more than 30 years, he says.“Being closely involved with New Zealand's top breeders has been hugely beneficial for us over the years, with their feedback and knowledge playing an important role in the development and improvement of our products.”Topflite is helping “play host” to bird show competitors and will run a tour of its operations on the Friday afternoon.“We are also taking the opportunity to celebrate 50 years since the first sunflowers were planted (the beginnings of Topflite) . . . We welcome anyone who is interested to come along,” he says.The tours will be open to the public every 30 minutes between 2pm-4pm on July 25.Competitors can enter 16 different sections, and all are judged by different people from across the country, along with one from Australia, Jo says.“They are accredited judges by the specific bird bodies, and so there's a really, really high standard of judging, and there are only specific judges who can judge a national show.”Jo’s love of birds is something she shared with her late father, and she and partner Ashley Woollard have about 60 budgies, she says.“We show as a partnership and it'll be our first nationals we are showing at.”Jo’s love of birds rubbed off on Ashley after they met. They have lots of character, she says. “When we bought our house, I was like, ‘we've gotta get a bird aviary’ and now he loves it. “He does 95% of the work and I take a 100% of the kudos,” she says.It is “strangely satisfying” when all the work they put into breeding “perfect exhibition budgies” is recognised with an award at a show.Last year's North Otago Bird Show at Ōamaru's Drill Hall. Photo: SuppliedShe and Ashley are novices, and once they’ve accumulated a number of points, they will go into the champion category.Jo says competition makes it fun as well as the people they meet and get to know on the circuit.“And there are so many elements you can't control, like how the bird sits on the perch on the day, or things like that. It’s just satisfying, and it's a strange thing to get into, but it's so fun.”There are eight active members in the North Otago Bird Club.“But the great thing is that when it comes to these sorts of things, our families get involved and our friends get involved.”The support from the entire local community has made it possible for North Otago to host the national show, and they would love the community support again on show weekend.Entry is $5 per adult, and under-16s are free. It is important to the club to make it an affordable family excursion and there will be activities and competitions for children throughout the days, Jo says.“That's the biggest thing for us, is that we would just really like as many people through the door as possible.”

~ Promotion ~Businesses can now advertise themselves on Waitaki App for free and one business will win a year's free premium promotion just for taking up the offer.Described by the team as a “digital business card”, the listing includes essential contact details and a short description — enough to be found, remembered, and contacted.“While it’s not a full listing,” director Cara Tipping Smith says. “It puts you on the app with your essential details and three lines of text.”“It’s like our business card wall at The Business Hive but online - a way to remind people you’re out there and help you get found.”The feature is aimed at anyone doing business locally, from home-based makers and tradespeople, to service providers and side hustlers.A handful of early adopters are already listed and the team have added a few local favourites while testing the new functionality.Waitaki App has seen more than 50,000 users since launching in November 2022, with more than a million content views recorded last year.Around 85 percent of users are based in New Zealand.“Obviously 50,000 is more than the whole population of Waitaki,” fellow director Alex Regtien says. “So that tells us something about visitor numbers too.”It's not just about visitors though.Alex and Cara say about 40 percent of the app’s new users come via search engines, making digital visibility important — even in a word-of-mouth district.“What do you do when you arrive somewhere new? Google it on your phone, right," Cara says.“Since Covid, we've all learned to shop online. If your business isn’t online, you’re missing out.“So, not only does being on the app help your online presence, it puts you in the hand of our thousands of active users."Even people who live locally don’t always know what’s going on in the Waitaki, Alex says.“How many businesses have come and gone before people even realised they existed?”Recent updates to the app now allow this content to be added directly by users, reducing the amount of manual handling required by the team.“Now, pretty much all we have to do is approve it, that’s why we can make it free,” Cara says.To celebrate and encourage participation, Waitaki App will randomly select one listed business to receive a free 12-month EDGE PLUS membership - the app's premium tier for promotion and advertising valued at $975 per year.A full business listing - including extended text, images and copy-editing, starts from $49 per month on a 12-month term.“We’re a small business too,” Alex says. “We get cashflow. So, pay us upfront and save a bit or spread it over a year to help yours”."The more useful the app is, the more people will use it," Cara says, "and that's good for our community, businesses and our advertisers - more visibility, more views, more great info.""It's what we call a win, win, win."Alex says, "thanks to the upgrade making it easy, why wouldn't we do it? Why wouldn't you?".Download Waitaki App and check out the business listings.Add a free listing here or visit mywaitakiapp.nz – the self-service hub for locals to add events, notices and listings.All added business-card listings between now and Monday 16th June will go into the draw to win a year's premium membership to Waitaki App.Fun fact, Monday 16th June is the 7th anniversary since The Business Hive opened!

The popularity of weight loss drugs has caused a shortage in recent years, but how effective are they at helping with food addiction and obesity in the long term?Former commissioner of the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) David Kessler is warning weight loss drugs, like the popular Ozempic, are not a miracle cure.These drugs are classified as GLP-1 receptor agonists and were initially developed to treat diabetes. They contain active ingredients, like semaglutide, dulaglutide and liraglutide, which increase feelings of satisfaction or fullness by keeping food in the stomach for longer.Although the FDA first approved a GLP-1 agonist for weight loss about a decade ago, the popularity of the drugs soared and shortages were reported in more recent years amidst celebrity endorsements from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk.Oprah Winfrey revealed in December 2023 that she had been using weight loss medication. Leon Bennett/Getty Images/AFP via RNZRelated stories:Why booming demand for weight loss drug Ozempic is causing problems in New ZealandFighting processed food effects with pharmaceutical solutionsConcerns hype around Ozempic as weight loss tool pushing people into fad dietingOzempic is not approved to be used for weight loss purposes alone in New Zealand, but it is used to help people with diabetes. However, earlier this year, Wegovy was approved by MedSafe for weight loss.Dr Kessler, who personally struggled with yo-yoing weight, has written extensively on the food industry's role in engineering addictive foods, which contributes to the obesity epidemic globally.His new book Diet, Drugs and Dopamine looks at the new class of weight loss drugs, which he says “are not a miracle drug”.“I have plenty of discipline but the one thing I couldn't control was my weight. I think the one thing we know from these new drugs, which have changed the landscape of weight loss, no panacea to be sure, but it's not willpower, it's biology at work," he told Nine to Noon.Listen on Nine to Noon: How new weight loss drugs work - and their downsidesDavid Kessler (right), and the cover of his latest book Diet, Drugs and Dopamine. Photo: supplied/ Joy Asico-Smith via RNZUltra-formulated foods and addictionHe explains ultra-formulated foods are “engineered to manipulate the brains’ reward system” as well as hormonal circuits.“I used to think ‘I lost the weight. I'm good. I'm done’. But then I'd always gain it back. In fact, now when I've lost the weight, I realise the work just begins because those addictive circuits, those hormonal circuits, those energy circuits, all [are] hardwired to come back.”Humans evolved to deal with scarcity of food, not an abundance, by seeking out the sweetest and most energy-dense foods, he says.“We put fat, sugar and salt on every corn and made it available 24/7, made it socially acceptable to eat anytime, certainly in the States, what did we think was going to happen?”Three components that lead to addictions, and in turn obesity, are cue-induced wanting, cravings, and relapse, he says.“I think if I were born two-three decades earlier, I would have probably been a smoker. I simply use these ultra-formulated foods to change how I feel, to focus my attention.”Highly-processed foods are feeding into addictions, says Dr Kessler. (file image) The Organic Crave / Unsplash‘Weight is not the issue’However, Dr Kessler emphasises “weight is not the issue”, rather visceral fat which leaks out pro-inflammatory chemicals that affect our organs.“That is in the causal chain of many chronic diseases, cardiac disease, kidney disease, diabetes. Doctors are just waking up to this fact. I think we've tended to treat these conditions piecemeal … but underlying all those conditions is this toxic fat.”Our metabolism is becoming overwhelmed with ultra-formulated foods that there’s no doubt excess calories play a role in the problem of visceral fat as well as hyperinsulinemia (increase in blood of insulin levels), he says.“Now it's very hard to sort out which comes first, is it the hyperinsulinemia - this elevated blood insulin - or is it this visceral fat? Or does this visceral fat cause this hyperinsulinemia?”Dr Kessler it's not weight that's at the core of the problem but visceral fat. SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via RNZSo what’s the problem with these drugs if they help?Dr Kessler acknowledges GLP-1 agonists represent a genuine breakthrough, but says experts still haven’t figured out how to use them long term.“They’re only as good as long as you stay on it. It's so important that we understand that obesity, the weight, this visceral adiposity, is a chronic condition that needs chronic care or … we will regain the weight.”The majority of people gain back 60 to 70 percent of their weight over time once they stop taking these weight loss drugs, he says.While they can balance the reward circuit of our brain and gut with aversive circuits, they can also lead to complications in the GI tract from lack of mobility, he says.“Some people who are on those drugs eat less than … 1000 calories a day, sometimes as low as 600 or 800 calories a day and that a state of semi-starvation and that can bring on its own set of complications.”The drugs need to be used as part of a wider toolkit in treating obesity, he says.“If you can figure out how to use that condition, if you can relearn how to eat, eat smaller amounts and eat healthier and that can carry over to when you're off these drugs, and if you use these drugs as one tool along with nutrition and behaviour therapy, along with physical activity - if you do this under good care with the help of a dietician or a nutritionist and a physician, then I think we are on the verge of reclaiming our health.”He believes no progress will be made until we understand the addictive nature of certain foods.“We don't have an end game. We don't have the data. How to use these drugs over a short period of time. Can I use these intermittently? What I resorted to doing is I take these drugs, I get the weight off. I try to do nutrition and behavioral therapy. I increase physical activity.“I try to keep that conditioning and eat small, but over time … that conditioning fades and those addictive circuits come back and I'm back to myself. Then do I take go back on these drugs? And is it safe to go back on these drugs? And at what doses do I go back on these drugs? So there's a lot that we still have to learn.” - RNZ

By RNZ Senior Rural Journalist Stephanie OckhuysenWanting to connect with other female hunters, two best friends took it upon themselves to create an online community to make it happen.Sammi Holland and Alesha Tomasi are behind Daughters of the Wild dedicated to women who hunt.Holland said she grew up outdoors but lacked female hunting role models and often felt judged by men."My old man was really into the salmon fishing when they were good in the Rakaia and had size to them. So, it all started back then," Holland said."And I know as a female, being a fisher women I know how much judgement you get, especially from the older guys they would just say 'what are you doing here, you shouldn't be learning this, a woman shouldn't be in the outdoors'."It was just something I grew up with, I knew there was that outlook of older men looking down on women and I know how much that can affect some women."So, it's kind of a way to encourage women that if you can see one person doing it, you can do it, don't worry what others think."Holland, based in Christchurch, came across Alesha Tomasi, who lives on the West Coast, on TikTok and immediately liked her."I saw this video just pop up and I thought 'oh man she's so cool' and I had this message typed out for probably five or six days, I was so nervous to message her," Holland said."I just sent it and thought if she says no, she says no, she might ignore it but then I got a message back."Photo: Supplied/Alesha Tomasi via RNZThe pair have gone on to become best friends and are on a mission to inspire women who hunt.They regularly headed out hunting together - often with their partners - and have big plans for their group, including meetups and workshops.Alesha Tomasi said the response to the group had been huge, with women from small towns reaching out to say they finally felt seen.She said there are plenty of resources for women who may want to get started."New Zealand Deerstalkers Association do some really cool hunt courses, which are good to help get into it."The Game Animal Council has an online programme called Better Hunting and that has absolutely everything from learning how to cut up animals, shooting, how to sharpen your knife. Everything."But just give it a go and try get amongst it." - RNZ

Ōamaru Chorale is making opera accessible with its production of Dido and Aeneas, on next weekend.The chorale is performing a concert version of Henry Purcell’s English opera, which is less than an hour long. Dido, the queen of Carthage, falls in love with Aeneas, a Trojan hero who is on a mission, to found Rome. He has to leave Carthage, which leaves Dido heartbroken. Their love story becomes a classic tale of passion versus duty.Music director David Beattie says the group has been rehearsing since February, and things are going well.Accomplished opera singer and singing teacher Rebecca Ryan (not the Waitaki District Councillor) plays the lead Dido, while Tim Blackler (yes, the Waitaki District Councillor) is her Aeneas.The cast also has some younger cast members with Georgina Carter Trotman (18) playing the first witch and Anne Porteous (16) the second.Also experienced in stage performing, Fleur Tudor Oakley plays the Sorceress, and Waitaki Girls’ High School head of music Sophie Pilbrow plays Dido’s sister Belinda - a role she has performed before.“[The Sorceress/Fleur] has rather an imposing presence, so very much we are looking at the idea of her being the, yeah, well the two witches being her apprentices,” David says.He directed the same opera in 2006, with a choir in Wainuiomata.“It's a great little piece, because it's under an hour long and it's got plenty of varied and interesting choruses for a choir to sing, and certainly it's within the capabilities of a choir - the sort of choir that A) I had in Wainuiomata, and B) we are here,” he says.David had to look around “a wee bit” for soloists, because he was determined to use local talent, but eventually put together his ensemble.Ōamaru Chorale members, from left, Georgina Carter Trotman (First Witch), Anne Porteous (Second Witch) and musical director David Beattie. Photo: SuppliedGeorgina, who finished high school last year, says this is her first time performing with the Ōamaru Chorale.“I saw them perform at the end of last year for the first time and decided to join at the start of this year, and I’m glad I did,” she says.Dido and Aeneas is her first opera.“I am relatively new to opera. I have been taking singing lessons through school for a while, and it was only within the last two years that I have really started looking at classical and operatic singing.”Georgina has been loving the experience and is keen to do more.“The most challenging part is getting on top of the melody and the timing, but hearing everything coming together is worth it.”She says Dido and Aeneas has a lot of catchy melodies and choruses, an interesting storyline, and “a good amount of peril”. She recommends it to everyone.Georgina is taking a gap year to consider her next move after finishing school.“What I know for sure is that I’m definitely going to continue looking at opera and classical singing. I am having so much fun.”The concert is being held at the Ōamaru Repertory Theatre on Itchen Street on Saturday, 24 May. Tickets are $10 at the door, and children are free.

Solo downtime can relieve stress temporarily, but taking care of other people is how we build resilience.Kindness is so powerfully beneficial for both giver and receiver that it may be essential for human survival, says science journalist Nicole Karlis.In her new book Your Brain on Altruism, she interviews world-leading scientists who've proved that taking actions motivated by kindness benefits our brains, bodies and spirits."We need to be of service, that's an important part of our brain health.," Karlis tells Saturday Morning.Health and science journalist Nicole Karlis dives into the data on gratitude in her new book Your Brain on Altruism. Photo: Supplied via RNZRelated stories:The biology of altruismEffective altruism - how to do good betterPeter Singer: ‘Do the most good you can do’While caring for the welfare of others reduces the effects of chronic stress on our brains and bodies, the individualisation and commercialisation of 'self-care' can easily add stress to our lives by adding items to our 'to-do' and 'must-have item' lists, Karlis says.We seek out self-care practices for relief from anxiety, stress and exhaustion, but on a deeper level, we're also hoping to become more resilient, she says.A more effective way to build this kind of inner strength is to take actions for the benefit of other people's welfare.“From that perspective, it's wise to think of self-care as being ‘other care’ as well, and really turning your focus to caring for others in your community.”While people who regularly volunteer in their communities enjoy longer, healthier lives, Karlis says there’s a simple act of altruism, which even people with stacked schedules can practice – not reacting or interrupting while someone else is talking.“[Altruism] doesn't have to be some grand gesture. It can be as simple as just sitting and listening to someone.”Supplied via RNZWhen people are feeling really stressed, they get stuck in rumination, Karlis says. One pretty quick way to get out of that headspace is to throw yourself into some kindness towards another person.Not only does altruistic action help us de-stress, it has also been shown to slow cognitive decline, potentially build our immunity and reduce the health hazards associated with loneliness, Karlis says.For her, the deeper sense of generosity and community solidarity that immediately kicks in for people when a natural disaster strikes is evidence that for our species, kindness is more than just a pleasant bonus - it's a necessity.“It is a mechanism of survival for humans.”To create a true "culture of caring" that we can all live in, Karlis says leaders must recognise the benefits of altruism and also meet the basic needs of people currently living with a sense of scarcity and mistrust.On the level of personal wellbeing, those who do regular community volunteering enjoy longer lives and fewer hospital visits, she says, but “smaller, random acts of kindness” can also have a powerful, cumulative effect.One simple way to be more altruistic at work is to keep in mind the fact that you only see a fraction of what your colleagues experience in the world, Karlis says.“People all have lives outside of the workplace, and what happened at home over the weekend, that might affect how people show up on Monday.”Empathetic action delivers a “gift” not only to the giver and the receiver, she says, scientists have discovered that even onlookers reap a benefit.“Witnessing acts of kindness can evoke the emotion of awe, and we know that there are a lot of health benefits to experiencing awe, as well.” - RNZ

A desire to see local businesses succeed is driving the organisers of a new series of events in Ōamaru, offering free expert advice.The Business Hive owners Alex Regtien and Cara Tipping Smith are behind Exchange, a series of evenings offering the chance for business owners to come together and find out more about each other.The first event was held in March in the Hive’s co-working space, with marketing and media expert Megan Miller speaking about how to use digital marketing for business promotion.The second is taking place this Thursday night (May 15) with accountant Loren Manning explaining how a business’s tax return can help “fuel future growth”.“What we've done is, it's early days, but we've asked at least one local expert to do a very short, but very structured presentation,” Cara says.“So essentially you arrive, have a glass of wine, mix and mingle, and then we run a little half-hour session, and it gives you an opportunity afterwards to talk one-on-one with that expert, or just connect with some of the other people in the room,” Cara says.Being able to showcase local talent and help businesses at the same time is a win-win.“It just means that they might connect up with someone they wouldn't otherwise know about. We're a super ‘word of mouth’ town. So word of mouth means we know what we know, and we don't know what we don't know.”Cara says in the seven years they have been running the Hive, there have been “sporadic attempts” to get business networking going.“If you're new to town or you're a tiny business, often you feel like you don't belong in that kind of formal business setting, so this is super informal and really designed to give you a bit of that like-minded interaction time.”There is no pressure, people don’t need business cards, they don't have to shake everyone's hands, she says.“There's no working the room, it's not that kind of event, but hopefully it gives us something to talk about - the sorts of things we have in common.”For future events, Cara says she and Alex have looked at other ideas around the kinds of tools business owners need - including physical and mental well-being.“Because they’re all the same sort of shared problems, you know?”They are always keen to hear from people who think they can help “put a lens on” potential issues and offer solutions.“So we're looking for those shared pain points for those little businesses. And I mean, it doesn't matter what kind of business.“You could be in retail, you could be in services, hospitality . . . we're all sharing the same kind of obligations and burdens, but also, we're all interested if the market's lifting, if people are starting to come out and spend money . . . it all impacts on all of us.”Feedback from the first event was great, Cara says.“People really enjoyed it and got a lot of use out of it, I think. I think they liked the informal-ness of it . . . There’s no special catering. We’re talking chips and nuts and stuff, cos’ we’re done by 7pm.”It is appreciated if people RSVP so Alex knows how much wine and beer to get, she says.“But honestly, even if you don't, and you're passing through, pop your nose in. It could be great.”The evening begins at 5.15pm and is finished by 7pm. 

There are now two candidates in the running to replace outgoing Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher.Ōamaru man David Wilson announced on Tuesday (May 13) that he is throwing his hat into the ring, joining existing candidate and former deputy mayor Mel Tavendale.“I’m going to tell voters exactly what I stand for and leave out all the vague platitudes that mean nothing in the end,” David says. The district has suffered from mismanagement in the last four years, he says.“Rates have soared. They should be held down to the rate of inflation, no more, except in real emergencies.”Through his website david4waitaki.co.nz, he outlines what his other priorities as mayor would be.The list includes keeping local control of Waitaki’s three waters, re-opening Beach Road “now”, minimising debt, and revising the district plan to “stop beating up farmers”.David was born in Dunedin, but calls Ōamaru home. An extensive CV on his website states that David helped establish the Whitestone Civic Trust in 1989, of which he is a former chairman and is now a life member.He has also biked the length of New Zealand in 52 days, solo on a penny-farthing. “I’m a change driver,” he says. “I help communities discover their strengths.”

Two North Otago mums fed up with the admin of online selling are setting up a pre-loved market for the children’s clothes they no longer use.Bri Familton and Baylee Berry are holding the Children’s Pre-loved Clothing Market on June 15 at the back of the Harbour Street Collective Cafe building, with the aim of filling a gap in the market.Bri, who has two daughters, and Baylee, who has two sons, are both over trying to sell their used children’s items online, Bri says.“We are both avid Marketplace or clothing group sellers, and we both agree it is just so incredibly time-consuming for really little reward.“Labelling and naming and describing every individual piece of clothing that you want to sell, it's just an absolute nightmare.“We have over 100 to 200 pieces of clothing we want to sell, and it's just so not worth the time. And so it just kind of sits there in a box and gets forgotten about, because it just gets put in the too-hard basket, I guess.”The pair had a stall at a Timaru event last weekend, with women's and children’s clothing, and thought something could be just as successful in Ōamaru.“We enjoyed the setup, and we enjoyed the environment.” While the market is mostly for children’s clothing, Bri says bedding and toys in good condition can also be sold, along with maternity wear.The pair recognise that second-hand womenswear and vintage goods are already well catered for in Ōamaru, which is why they are keeping the stalls more centred around babies and children.With the market out the back of the cafe, there will be access to the indoor playground, where younger children can play and parents can grab a coffee and browse, Bri says."It's kind of just an opportunity for mums to all come together."Looking ahead, the women hope to make the market a regular event, aiming for two a year at the change of seasons."The goal is to keep the event fresh and appealing.”It costs $20 to secure a stall, and Bri says they are hoping for 20 to 30 stalls. Those interested in securing a stall are encouraged to make contact by messaging through the Facebook page, or by emailing [email protected], not by contacting the cafe directly.The market will run from 10am to 2pm on Sunday, June 15, and Bri hopes people might pop in on their way to or from the Ōamaru Farmers’ Market which is held behind Scott’s Brewery on a Sunday morning.

The robots are no longer coming - they're already here.From rice-sized brain surgeons to caregivers for the elderly, humanoid machines powered by artificial intelligence have begun performing jobs once thought to be uniquely human.But as companies race to replace human workers with machines, will robots free us from drudgery, or render us redundant?Speaking with Sunday Morning's Jim Mora, two-time Emmy Award-winning tech journalist Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson said the answer might be both.Listen on Sunday Morning: Humanoid robots, what should we expect?He explains that in China, robots are not only building cars but are being designed to serve as household assistants."Their goal is to merge AI brains and these human-like movements that they're capable of doing, and turn them into essentially, assistance in our own homes."This could be a real profound breakthrough in the way we live independently as we get older."And that all sounds fabulous. But, when you make these robots super smart… at what point do you worry about these robots saying, 'we have our own goals now'?"Cheaper than a humanWhile the vision of robotic caregivers may feel futuristic, their entry into the workforce is already underway.Goldman Sachs expects the robot market to be worth as much as US$205 billion by 2035, while a JP Morgan report predicts that 2026 will be the "Year of Physical AI".Knudson said there's no doubt this technology will kill jobs, citing a Citigroup estimate that a factory robot may cost as little as $20,000 - an investment quickly recouped when compared with human wages and benefits.And while some industry experts argue the rise of robots will actually create new jobs, Knutsson is sceptical."That's complete garbage. That's the HR department at big companies."In some organisations, he noted, managers are now required to prove that AI can't do a job before hiring a human.The medical breakthrough bright sideYet not all developments are bleak.Knutsson described a recent breakthrough involving a rice-sized robot capable of performing brain surgery, accessing parts of the brain unreachable by human surgeons."This is real. They're actually performing this, and it shows some extraordinary promise," he said."You go, okay… when are we going to see that save my life if I have a brain tumour?"We're looking at less than a year."This heralds the dawn of a medical revolution, he said, as miniature robots, super-intelligent diagnostic systems, and precision surgical tools promise to extend life and improve patient outcomes.Regulation laggingBut will the robot revolution improve human wellbeing or condemn us to the unemployment line?Future regulation, said Knutsson, will determine the answer."The biggest problem is... there are very few checks and balances," he warned, particularly in the US, where innovation is outpacing legislation."You're gonna innovate a lot faster... but the negatives are the thing's gonna come back and turn around against you faster than you even know."While the European Union has introduced comprehensive AI regulations, what's missing, Knutsson argued, is a coordinated global effort."Once it's out there, it's done, and we're done," he said."It's inevitable that these machines will surpass us… unless we rein it in and use it to our benefit."A crisis of purpose?But if machines perform all essential tasks, what will be left for people to do?"The human race wasn't designed for endless leisure time," Mora noted.Knutsson agrees."When are you most satisfied in life? It's when you succeed at doing something… for your community."If technology takes away our ability to contribute, he said, it may also rob us of meaning.Whatever the future, he said one thing is clear - the robots are coming. And they're not just here to help, they're here to stay. - RNZ

The Rotary Club of Ōamaru's Bookarama opened this morning with line-up of eagerly awaiting book-lovers.Photos: Alex Regtien.Read all about it in Ashley Smyth's story - Hopes for even bigger, better Bookarama at new venue.Details and opening times on our What's on Guide - Rotary Club of Oamaru Bookarama 2025 - Fri, May 9 - Sun, May 18

It was a team effort to bring Altavady Barn back to life, farm manager Kate Faulks says.Kate and her husband Adam took over the running of the 623ha Altavady farm at Awamoko about seven years ago, for dairy grazing and beef. At that stage there were discussions about demolishing the barn, which had seen better days.“When we first came here, the goal was around farm operations. So the barn definitely wasn't part of that picture, it was actually almost in the way,” Kate says.But after taking a closer look, she pressed pause on the demo plans.“I came in and had a look at it, and it just had all the original floors and things. It looked in a state, but you could see it had potential.”North Otago man Ted Aubrey obtained Altavady farm by ballot after World War One, and was behind the planting of the prominent ALTAVADY hedge on the Awamoko hillside, which the Faulks regenerated in 2021.When Kate and Adam took over the farm in 2018, they kept in touch with former owners, Henry and Jude Aubrey, and learned about the barn’s history as a community hub, and party venue.“I was like, let's just leave it. It might happen again.”Before... Altavady Barn as it was when the Faulks took over the farm. Photo: SuppliedThe couple, who have five children ranging in age from one to nine, didn’t touch the barn for more than five years, but once they had farming operations under control, the conversation turned to diversification.They looked at the resources they had available - a worker of theirs at the time was a qualified builder, there is also a roofer and electrician in the family, and Kate’s father Simon is a handy joiner - restoring the barn seemed a no-brainer.“So a lot of it was done pretty much in-house . . . and so we saw it as a relatively good opportunity to get it done cheaply and just see what we can make of it.”They tried to source used corrugated iron sheets to replace the old cladding, but it was going to cost just as much as new, so that’s what they went with.The windows have all been replaced, along with the doors.“They were warped and all ruined and Dad made [the new ones] in his workshop,” Kate says. “So they're all macrocarpa.”All the old door hinges were cleaned up and bent back into shape, except for one set.Kate and Adam contemplating the task ahead. Photo: Supplied“I was short two hinges, so Apex Engineering cut me some. It was great.” The restoration took about 18 months.“You know, we had to still run the farm and then chip away at this as well.”Progress was sped up by the impending wedding of Adam’s sister last December, and it was good to have the deadline to work to, Kate says.Restoring the heart rimu floors was the biggest undertaking, and a lot of old floorboards had to be removed.“And then it got replaced with macrocarpa, because we couldn't get the rimu. But it's kind of cool because when we were doing it, you could really tell where we've done the patch work . . . You can see the old barn and the new life we've added to it.”Water damage had also warped some of the wood, so it had to be professionally sanded back, before being sealed and polished. The Aubreys told the Faulks’ they thought the barn was built between 1925-30, so it is close to 100 years old.A bird's eye view of the completed renovation. Photo: Supplied“It's built on lots of stone piles, because originally it was to store chaff bags. But then they said it really quickly just got used for parties.”Kate says she is always talking to people who have memories of being at the barn.“It's amazing . . . people I talk to in the shops, my accountant, people like the lawyers, everyone's got a story where they used to come up here for barn dances and stuff, and so I absolutely love that, and it's quite cool to be able to give it another lease on life.”From 1917 to 1967 New Zealand’s licensed venues had to close by 6pm, and the barn became a “local watering hole”.“They'd have beer tankers come in,” Kate says.Barn dances were held with live music and relationships that began at the barn, blossomed into 60-year marriages, she has been told.While it’s not an official venue for hire, people can get in touch if they have a private special occasion.Kate and Adam are excited about the prospect of a new generation creating their own stories at the barn.“We love to be able to welcome people onto the farm, that’s really important to us, because Altavady has got such a strong history - both the farm and the barn.”The Faulks family (from left): Darcy (7), Sage (4), Kate, Rio (2), Hazel (9), Adam and Ray (1). Photo: Supplied

The public has played a crucial role in the arrest of a man in Ōamaru yesterday, following three serious incidents in the space of 24 hours, which landed two people in hospital.A 27-year-old Ōamaru man faces several charges which include four counts of assault with intent to injure, wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm, and two counts of burglary.Sergeant Tony Woodbridge says investigations are ongoing into the incidents, two of which involved offenders allegedly entering residential addresses.The first occurred on Queens Crescent at 11.45pm on Tuesday (May 6), where one person was assaulted, while the second assault occurred at a Thames Highway address at 4am on Wednesday, Sgt Woodbridge says.Two people were taken to Ōamaru Hospital with moderate injuries.On Wednesday, police were called to an assault at Centennial Park at 4.20pm, where a woman had been knocked unconscious.A white station wagon then drove at the offender, before ramming a black Subaru Legacy, which the alleged offender then left in, police say.The victim left the scene in the station wagon.Sgt Woodbridge says the incident occurred in a busy area with several people around and hockey games being played nearby.“We would like to hear from anyone who was near the Centennial Park carpark, who saw or filmed the assault, or the vehicles leaving,” he says.While incidents like this are “unsettling”, those involved are believed to be known to each other.“I want to assure the Ōamaru community that these were not random acts of violence, and we are doing everything we can to hold those responsible to account,” he says.“We are still working to determine why this offending took place, and inquiries are ongoing to locate other people who may have been involved.“Police want to thank the members of the public who have assisted us with information so far.”Police still want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed these events or has information that can help them.Call 105 using the reference number 250507/6833, or phone Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Two Government budget moves revealed this week, which directly affect teachers, have had a lukewarm response from one North Otago primary principal.RNZ reported that leaked documents from the Education Ministry show the Kāhui Ako programme is set to be disestablished, with the allocated $118m budget to be diverted to support disabled learners. Meanwhile, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke Van Velden announced yesterday a stop to all pay equity claims and made it harder to lodge new ones. Claims were concentrated in the public sector, with costs to the Crown of all settlements so far totalling $1.78 billion a year, the minister said.Two different representatives opposed to the move have called it “an attack on women”, and “a dark day for women”.The move will disproportionally affect women, as the claims mostly involve female-dominated sectors such as care work, nursing, and social work, as well as teaching.Weston Primary School Deidre Senior, who is co-lead principal of the Whitestone Kahui Ako, responded to the Waitaki App’s questions while attending a course in Dunedin, where she was listening to an international speaker highlight a projected global teacher shortage of 65 million by 2030.She called the move to cancel pay equity claims “deeply disappointing”.“Teachers have been engaged in this process for over two years, under both the previous and current governments. To have it cancelled so abruptly feels like a dismissal of our profession, and it adds to the uncertainty we already face.”New Zealand is not immune to the teacher shortage, she says.Weston School principal Deidre Senior. Photo: Supplied“We're already in the midst of a workforce crisis. If we want to attract and retain passionate, skilled educators, the government must prioritise investment in the people who teach and care for our children.”The Kāhui Ako, also known as Communities of Learning, scheme was an initiative of the 2014 National-led Government The scheme groups schools and early learning centres, within the same district, together to work on common problems. There are two Kāhui Ako in the Waitaki, the other is Waitaki Ara.Deidre says if the scheme is being disestablished, the decision must be “balanced by new initiatives that both suppot children - regardless of their needs - and demonstrate genuine value for teachers and the work they do”.“I understand that funding in education is always limited, and tough decisions must be made,” she says.“The Whitestone Kāhui Ako has been a valuable network for our cluster of 12 schools, enabling collaboration and supporting teacher development. For example, we were able to provide three years of Structured Literacy PLD (professional learning and development) to all staff through Kāhui Ako funding well before it became a government mandate.However, Deidre acknowledges tamariki must be the top priority, and teachers are seeing a noticeable rise in complex needs such as neurodiversity, trauma-related behaviours or simply the need for extra learning support.   “If the intent behind redistributing funding is to ensure every school has better access to resources to meet these needs, then that’s something I can support in principle. But the key question is how this will be implemented, and whether schools will genuinely feel supported where it matters most.”

Coming up with more than one way to use farm land is almost a necessity these days, and a workshop held in the Waitaki last week offered inspiration for farmers and land owners looking to diversify.The event was a collaboration between Waitaki District Council and the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management (NZIPIM) and was attended by close to 100 people.The aim was to help farmers and rural professionals understand new market opportunities and how to diversify their farms based on the region’s climate and landscape.It was hosted at Altavady Barn, near Awamoko, by council business and enterprise growth lead Rebecca Finlay and NZIPIM North Otago/South Canterbury board and committee member and farm advisor Julian Gaffany.NZIPIM is the professional body for rural professionals in New Zealand, primarily farm consultants, and has about 1400 members nationwide.Rebecca said she hoped the event would help provide those attending with the confidence to “explore practical sustainable and profitable ways to diversify their land use”.Speakers included Waitaki MP Miles Anderson; Temuka commercial grower Hamish McFarlane, Barkers of Geraldine representatives Kim Whitman and Craig France, and Agritourism operators Kate Faulks (Altavady Barn), Nic Ruddenklau (The Little Red School House) and Liz Hayes (Nest Treehouses).Miles spoke about his experiences as the third generation running his family’s farm and the sheep scanning business he founded to subsidise the farm income. This took him off-farm and away from his family regularly.“I was away a lot when my kids were growing up. But, you know, most people know that you have to make some trade-offs to get ahead, and that's what we were prepared to do as a family,” he said.“In an ideal world, we would be able to create an environment where farming businesses were enough to sustain themselves and raise a family on, and ways that diversify our land and increase profitability on it to allow us to work, live and play exactly where we want to be, at home, that's definitely something to be investigated,” Miles said.Diversification helps ensure long-term profitability and resilience amidst climate change, market changes and shifting consumer preferences. It can also ensure succession, which is an important part of many farms' plans for the future, he said.A presentation from Mīti's Daniel Carson showed the potential his product could have for Waitaki dairy farmers. Image: Supplied/Daniel CarsonDaniel Carson shared the possible benefits for the Waitaki from grazing non-replacement dairy calves and allowing them to have a longer life, before using them to produce the low-carbon beef snack, Mīti. Medical herbal expert Phil Rasmussen spoke about his work, the history of medicinal plants, and the relevance and potential of the Waitaki Grown medicinal crop trials he is consulting on.Waitaki Grown is a small group of local farmers and council economic development team members who have been working together since September 2023, through the Government’s Better Off fund.The group chose five medicinal crops - peppermint, baical skullcap, withania (sometimes better known as ashwaganda), liquorice and astragalus, which research indicates should grow well in the Waitaki topo climate.Rebecca explained how Waitaki District Council adopted an economic development strategy in September 2022, which moved away from focusing exclusively on tourism and recognised other pillars of the economy which drive it.“Land and water” is one of the main five pillars.“Enabling sustainable, resilient, primary industry fit for now that will endure into the future as a key strategic opportunity.”Hamish McFarlane and North Otago farmer Jo Hay then shared insights from a recent trip up north as part of the Rural Leaders Value Chain Study cohort, visiting apple, kiwifruit, milk and meat producers, and observing advances in innovation and distribution.A pre-event survey, identifying why diversification is important to attendees, highlighted four main themes: to spread risk - “you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket”; to have a new point of interest - so doing something that provides interesting options outside the usual farming; and to be more environmental.“And you also want to be profitable,” they said. “A second income stream, a key to succession, to remain on-farm and increase agency around your farming business.”Following the event, one person's feedback was "it was an inspirational line-up of speakers (who did not disappoint), and diversification is an aspiration of many farmers so its good to keep up with any exploration along this line".Rebecca said the event was a “great recipe for action” and it showcased “quiet, creative innovation, which is a hallmark of the Waitaki”.Paying close attention. Photo: Supplied/Kate Faulks

By RNZ Education correspondent John GerritsenThe number of high-achieving teens who go overseas after finishing school has reached an all time high - but it is not clear why.An Education Ministry report shows that among the 10 percent of 2023 school leavers with the highest NCEA attainment, 370 or six percent were overseas last year - up from between four and five percent over much of the pre-Covid years.In addition, 12 percent of 2023 school-leavers with international school qualifications (110 students) and 10 percent of leavers from private schools (300 students) were overseas.For all three groups, the percentages were the highest on record in the past 15 years.Listen on Morning Report here: Study shows top students likely to go overseas after finishing high schoolThe ministry's report was aimed at establishing if New Zealand's highest-achieving school leavers were increasingly choosing to study overseas.The report said a total of 2120 of 2023's school-leavers were overseas in 2024, but it was not clear how many had enrolled in foreign tertiary institutions.It said the trend broadly mirrored an overall increase in New Zealanders going overseas, but high achievers and students who went to expensive schools were more likely to be overseas than others."The analysis suggests that higher-performing school leavers are increasingly choosing to go overseas after finishing school, and it may be supposed that many of these are likely to be also choosing to study overseas."The report said it was not clear why students were choosing to study at foreign tertiary institutions."The analysis does not identify why school leavers choose to study overseas. While this trend could reflect concerns about the quality of New Zealand universities, it could just indicate the growing normalisation of overseas study, particularly among high socio-economic households," it said."Whether this trend should concern policymakers depends on the reasons behind student decisions and their post-graduation choices. It would be problematic if increased overseas study signals declining confidence in New Zealand's universities or leads to a permanent loss of top-performing students. Conversely, overseas study could benefit New Zealand by providing students with valuable skills, experiences, and networks (at no cost to the New Zealand taxpayer). Even if students remain overseas, a well-connected diaspora offers economic opportunities," the report said.OECD figures to 2022 showed the number of New Zealanders enrolled in tertiary study in OECD countries other than Australia had been increasing until 2020 when it reached about 3500 with more than half in the United States.Photo: Supplied via RNZUniversities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan said it had been keeping an eye on similar figures for some time.He said its research indicated about 11 percent of New Zealand school leavers who enrolled in university did so overseas and that figure had been constant for some time.Whelan said the recent increase was likely to be a post-pandemic spike."I don't think we can say whether it's good or bad. It is a reality that some families, some students will choose to go overseas. Perhaps it's partly getting an overseas experience, perhaps there's something that's being offered at an overseas university that they can't get here in New Zealand," he said."We do know that a good percentage come back."Katy MacLeod said her son Jimmy McKirdy finished school in Wellington last year and moved to Melbourne this year to study fine arts at the University of Melbourne.She said he was motivated in part by the attraction of living in another country."And also wanted to go to a bigger city that probably had more arts and culture in the sense of galleries and exhibitions and having access to things on a larger scale," she said.Another Wellingtonian Lucy Stevens told RNZ she had moved to Melbourne to study at RMIT."From my research, RMIT is really good in fine arts and I really enjoyed that Melbourne has a great arts scene and you have a lot more access to a lot more paintings and you have access to a lot more opportunities over here," she said.Aucklander Gabriel Shannon said her son Alexander chose to study law at an Australian university mostly because he believed the degree would be more internationally portable than a New Zealand law degree."His reasoning was that he could practise law anywhere in the world with this particular degree whereas a lot of lawyer friends have gone to London and had real trouble getting in to practice," she saidShannon said her son was probably predisposed to considering overseas institutions because he was born in London, had an Irish father and attended Kings College, which had international connections.Steve Hargreaves, the principal of Macleans College in Auckland, said about 10 percent of his leavers, nearly 50 students a year, headed overseas to foreign universities."Mostly they're motivated by what they perceive to be a high-quality degree offering. A lot of our students are very interested in the global ranking of the university or the ranking of the degree course that they want to do," he said."Some of it is around direct entry, particularly in medicine. If they can get direct entry for medical school in Australia, then they're accepted in first year and then they can follow through and do their medical degree, whereas in New Zealand they have to do that first year and then they're subject to that selection process in the second year.Hargreaves said it was not good for New Zealand."It's a pity that our very top students are going overseas and I think sometimes it's more perception than reality in terms of the the quality of the course you'll get," he said."We have a lot of past students who did a first degree in New Zealand. They did very, very well and then they've gone on to do postgraduate at high-profile universities overseas. I think that would be preferable from a Kiwi mindset."Hargreaves said Macleans students were more likely to enrol in foreign universities if they had studied Cambridge qualifications at school."The other group we have is students who are on sporting scholarships and they're playing golf or rowing in American colleges, and they've been successful that way. We have six or seven or eight of those students every year," he said. - RNZ