10 things we learned while making this issue

Audience Media Content Loader ISSUE 1. Dec12-Jan13

From crakes in lakes to buckets of bokashi, our first issue of Green Ideas was full of surprises

1. Laying hens – even some free-range chickens – are typically slaughtered when their bodies take a seasonal break +++from laying. Page 38.

2. Kiwi farms grow great clover. Clover puts nitrogen into soil, so more clover means less fertiliser is needed (which is good news for rivers). Page 21.

3. Most of the trash on Great Barrier Island’s beaches washes there from Auckland streets. Page 22.

4. If your worm farm has an eggy pong, chances are it has started decomposing anaerobically (without oxygen). Page 60.

5. New Zealand generates an impressive 73% of its electricity from renewable resources.

6. Huntly Power Station runs on both gas and coal and can produce up to 20% of the country’s electricity.

7. Millionaire winemaker Peter Yealands owns three pairs of shoes, including hunting boots and gummies. Page 28.

8. Using a CFL lightbulb can save you $110 over the bulb’s six-year lifetime. Page 42.

9. Bokashi buckets work by turning compost into pickle (eating not recommended). Page 60.

10. New Zealand is home to a shy marsh bird called the spotless crake. Crakes like hiding in raupo reeds. Page 18.