For The Love of Bees - New Zealand

"More than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination." This is why as For the Love of Bees we are always talking about food and the potential of regenerative horticulture. If you want to learn more this World Bee Day head to https://lnkd.in/gWZdtejB where you can find learning resources about Aotearoa’s native bees Ngaro Huruhuru *Statistics come from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations #worldbeeday #beedecline #foodsecurity #nzbees #fortheloveofbees

What will the future of food look like? How can we design better food systems? These are questions a group of students at the The University of Auckland are asking. We loved having them at our urban farm last week to see what role regenerative urban farms might play.

For the Love of Bees will be participating in a panel discussion on this new 2024 documentary about British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food. Come join us and learn about how changing the way we grow food can save the planet! Organic NZ presents: Six Inches of Soil Tuesday May 7 6.30pm The Hollywood Avondale - Thank you to Organic NZ, the Soil & Heath Association, and Quorum Sense for organising this screening. #Sixinchesofsoil

Have you got a garden or farm project? This prize pack will set you up with seedlings, knowledge, and some helping hands to get your project growing! Share this post and donate to For the Love of Bees by May 7 to enter for you, your school, business, or community group. If you know a group that you think should enter, tag them below! 🧑🌾 Donate at https://lnkd.in/gpX2SYfq - *Due to the nature of this prize, entry is only open to donors in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Entries are only open to donations made via fortheloveofbees.co.nz. Entries close midnight May 7th, 2024.

Our annual donation drive has begun - Over the next two weeks For the Love of Bees will be campaigning to raise funds so we can continue to model and teach regenerative growing. Many thanks to the team members who have worked on this campaign, especially Kathryn Tulloch, Arlette Barraclough and Nikki from Impact Digital who has donated her time. And a huge thank you to the local businesses who have gifted prizes we will be giving away to some lucky donors. To Aleph Beauty, Nature Baby, Kate van der Drift, Karla Brodie, Hills Hats, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Rebecca Swan at Growing Point, Daniel Schuurman thank you for gifting products and experiences. And thank you to Petra Leary and Miriama Toms for the amazing photography and video footage that we have been able to use for this campaign. For the Love of Bees would not exist if we did not have this amazing community of local businesses, professionals and creative talents supporting us. Thank you! To donate visit https://lnkd.in/gpX2SYfq

For the Love of Bees is excited to announce Catherine Henderson as the new Chair of our Board of Trustees. Cath is a former lawyer who gained extensive experience as a trusted adviser on commercial issues, financial services, marketing, and sponsorship prior to transitioning to a career in digital innovation and technology leadership.  In recent years Cath has addressed her growing concern about the future sustainability of the natural environment by studying and up skilling in this area. As a Mt Eden local, she initiated some fundraising for For the Love of Bees in 2023 and became an avid supporter. We are so thrilled to have her as the Chair of our Board of Trustees. Learn more about what we do at: www.fortheloveofbees.co.nz 

For the Love of Bees is delighted to welcome Kyle Ranudo to our Board of Trustees. Kyle is a brand strategist who works at the confluence of commercial logic and creative intuition. Through his work, he helps organisations realise the power of purposeful strategy, intentional design, and compelling communication. He is deeply interested in utilising his skills to support important causes like For the Love of Bees, for the benefit of people and planet. We look forward to having him on the team.

Meet Kelmarna Community Farm one of six farms in our 2024 Communities of Regenerative Learning programme: Kelmarna Community Farm has 40 years of rich history as an organic community farm in Ponsonby. They have a market garden, food forest, sheep, chickens, bee hives, a compost operation and hold regular workshops. Their goal is to champion and demonstrate a regenerative local food model that supports climate change mitigation, urban resilience and community wellbeing. “As a part of this mentoring programme and AKL network we hope to increase our soil health and long term stability. Efficiencies in production, with increased market garden sales and financial sustainability. I am excited to delve more into the nitty-gritty of this work, alongside those with a similar level of expertise. Learning with a peer group of farmers, contributing our knowledge to the group and learning from those with more knowledge in certain areas.” Sarah McFadden, General Manager at Kelmarna Community Farm Our Communities of Regenerative Learning programme looks to build on our five day Regenerative Horticulture 101 course, Earthworkers. Judy Keats went through our programme while working at Kelmarna and mentoring their farm team in 2020. We are glad to have Farmer Sarah Moss-Baker and GM Sarah McFadden participating in our Communities of Regenerative Learning this year. - Thanks to our funders Foundation North, Awhero Nui, The Jenkins Foundation, Auckland Council Climate Fund for making this programme possible. And to Petra Leary for her drone photography. @petraleary

Meet Growing Point one of six farms in our Communities of Regenerative Learning programme: Growing Point at Dignan Street Community Garden has been developing its food production since 2015. Located in suburban Point Chevalier, this māra kai is on a retired bowling green at the back of the Point Chevalier Bowling Club. Growing Point run workshops and produces kai for the local community. They are veracious learners interested in weaving knowledge systems of mātauranga māori and western science. “As a part of this mentoring programme and AKL network we hope to build on relationships and knowledge sharing that last beyond the programme, set up better systems of record keeping, improve our problem areas and address areas of soil compaction. It’s a great opportunity to get guidance from mentors who have broad and deep experience and to deepen our networks with other growers in Tāmaki Makaurau.” Rebecca Swan Our Communities of Regenerative Learning programme looks to build on our five day Regenerative Horticulture 101 course, Earthworkers. Rebecca participated in Earthworkers in 2020 and went on to complete extra study inspired by what she learnt. We are excited to meet new farmers Aram Wu and Luke Baker who will join the programme. - Thanks to our funders Foundation North, Awhero Nui, The Jenkins Foundation, Auckland Council Climate Fund for making this programme possible. And to Petra Leary for her drone photography.

Meet Pourewa Mara Kai, one of six farms in our 2024 Communities of Regenerative Learning programme: Situated on land held by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Pourewa Māra Kai and Māra Rongoa was completed in 2020 to a design that incorporated the mauri, wairua, tikanga and whakapapa of the land with a traditional sustainable horticultural and agricultural practice. The aim of Pourewa Māra Kai is to preserve traditional practices and encourage food sovereignty - knowing where food comes from and how it is grown. “We want healthy mauri rich soil. As a part of this mentoring programme and AKL network we hope to improve yields, resilience to changing climate/seasons, nutrient density and to gain a better understanding of healthy soils and enhanced food production” Rob Small, Curator at Pourewa Māra Kai Our Communities of Regenerative Learning programme looks to build on our five day Regenerative Horticulture 101 course, Earthworkers. Rob Small participated in Earthworkers in 2023 and we are happy to have Wendy, Levi Makoare and Maree Guest join our Communities of Regenerative Learning programme this year. - Thanks to our funders Foundation North, Awhero Nui, The Jenkins Foundation, Auckland Council Climate Fund for making this programme possible. And to Petra Leary for her drone photography.