Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ counters soil erosion on local farms with Right Tree Right Place

Local officials want tree cover for 100% of highly erodible farmland by 2050. The pilot offers loans to five participants for approved tree purchases. Council officers work with farmers on identifying erodible land and planting trees. Farmers repay the loans with revenues from carbon offsets and timber sales while keeping profits for their operations. Project partner The Nature Conservancy is evaluating how external funding could serve 252,000 hectares of erodible land in the region.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ MyWay pilot brings public transit flexibility to Hastings

Three fixed-transit routes are replaced by the on-demand transit service for a one-year pilot. Hastings commuters travel anywhere in the district by requesting rides on the Via-powered app. Each one-way ride is $2 NZD with shuttles operating from early morning to late afternoon on weekdays. The MyWay app automatically routes shuttles based on current requests for maximum efficiency. Council officials tested this technology with a group of 100 volunteers prior to public rollout.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ provides landowners with incentives to protect biodiversity

Hawke's Bay Regional Council partnered with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust to launch a convenant support programme. The programme provides private landowners with funding to build retirement fencing to protect biodiversity and support healthy ecosystems. Participating landowners must make a convenant agreeing to build protections for their land that remain forever even when the property is sold to a new owner.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ launched the Sustainable Homes programme to improve local homes

Hawke's Bay Regional Council launched the Sustainable Homes programme to make local homes more sustainable, efficient, and resilient. The programme provides eligible participants a fund or grant check for clean heating, insulation, solar power systems, double glazing, water storage, and septic tanks. Participants can borrow up to $20,000 from the Council which is repaid over ten years at a voluntary targeted rate.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ launched an online Pests and Weeds Hub guide for residents

Hawke's Bay Regional Council's biosecurity team launched an online Pests and Weeds Hub guide on 171 species of local pests and weeds. The tool was designed to help residents learn about local pests, the problems they cause, and how to deal with them according to Council guidelines. Users can also filter pests by type and report locations of pests directly to the biosecurity team.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ is piloting a new tool to reduce air pollution caused by burning

Hawke's Bay Regional Council is working with local orchardists to pilot a new software tool to reduce winter air pollution caused by orchard burning. The Council developed an online tool which provides weather conditions based on the user's GPS coordinates including air quality, wind speed, presence of smoke, etc. Local orchardists are testing the tool's ability to properly indicate whether or not the current weather conditions are safe for burning orchards and vineyards.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ Civil Defence Emergency Management Group created COVID-19 help line

Hawke's Bay Regional Council's Civil Defence Emergency Management Group created a regional support line dedicated to helping residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The support line is designed for members of the local community that lack existing support networks and require urgent assistance. The group coordinates with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board to connect these callers with essential support services in the area.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council, NZ

New Zealand