The climate crisis and continuing biodiversity loss make this work a national and global priority. SBN is making it as easy as possible for everyone to take action.
For businesses the online 'pathway' provides step-by-step advice on how to reduce an organsiation's impact on nature, invest wisely in nature based projects, volunteer staff time and skills and create small nature refuges on business premises. There's also material on how to get involved in restoring urban waterways and weed and predator control.
The DIY resources for farmers and growers cover a range of actions, including caring for bush blocks, replanting waterways and wetlands, creating wildlife corridors, and weed and predator control.
Piet Tuinder leads this work for SBN.
He says:
“There’s a fair amount of great guidance and support out there. But we realised it’s hard to find the right resources for what you need to look after nature. We’ve used the experience and expertise in our network to curate all the key information into one place. We've linked that to the best of what’s already available. This makes it easy to get started in the right way, with everything you need at your fingertips.”
Fonterra is part of the Sustainable Business Network and a long-time supporter of its waterway restoration initiatives. It provided the seed funding for the new guides.
Trish Kirkland-Smith, Fonterra’s Head of Environmental Partnerships, says:
“Our farmers are really motivated to do more restoration work, so they can build farm resilience, contribute to the environmental goals of their catchment and be involved in the growing movement to regenerate Aotearoa. They have Farm Environment Plans that identify restoration activities, but were sometimes struggling to find a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the guidance on what steps to take and how to do it.”
SBN has also built resources tailored to businesses.
Piet says:
“These days all businesses should be thinking about their impact on nature. That includes their purchasing, what materials and processes are used, and what happens to their products after use. Businesses should also actively support nature regeneration wherever they operate. This can be done with team planting days, stream and beach clean-ups, or helping to create pest free refuges to support native plants and animals. Our Business Pathway makes it easy to get started.”
To start regenerating nature, go to: https://sustainable.org.nz/start-regenerating-nature/