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Tourism Bay of Plenty has announced the appointment of its new general manager, Oscar Nathan.
Nathan has been acting tumuaki since April and after a robust and highly competitive recruitment process has been appointed permanently to the role.
Board chair Laurissa Cooney says Nathan has been chosen for his extensive background and expertise in domestic and international tourism, including roles as the head of Tourism Rotorua and Destination Rotorua respectively.
"Oscar is an incredibly strong leader with a superb reputation both within and outside the industry," Cooney said.
"His experience will be invaluable as we seek to galvanise the interests of stakeholders, industry and the community to achieve mutual outcomes.
"Oscar is known for being an approachable, on-the-ground communicator, with an ability to lead teams and bring strategies to life and we are extremely excited about his leadership of the team."
Nathan has a history of visionary thinking and delivering in tourism, having been a pivotal figure in the New Zealand industry for more than two decades.
He is a previous winner of NZ Young Executive of the Year, with an extensive consulting background and roles in the private sector as chief executive for Tamaki Tours, business adviser for Māori Business Trust Poutama, and as acting chief executive for Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) in Wellington.
His governance roles include the boards of Regional Tourism NZ, The Moko Foundation, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Waiariki Institute of Technology (now Toi Ohomai), Hospitality NZ, and Te Puia | NZ Māori Arts and Crafts Institute.
His whakapapa links are Te Aupōuri | Te Rarawa in the Far North, with strong networks and experience in the Māori SME and operator spaces across the central north island and wider Bay of Plenty.
Hayley Bilton's business is a Covid-19 lockdown success story.
The Rotorua-born chef went all-in with her business idea during an unprecedented time and her business has since gone from strength to strength.
Bilton, who now lives in Pāpāmoa, has created a wholefood veggie snack for children and started a business called Marlie Bites.
Marlie Bites made its debut in supermarkets across the country three months ago, displaying a five-star health rating.
The small family business has grown as the allergen-friendly snack becomes a staple in many homes.
Bilton, a NZ MasterChef star, said her daughter Marlie was a fussy eater and she knew she had to come up with creative ways of feeding her essential nutrients.
"I wanted to create a product that she would actually eat," says Bilton. "I was time-poor, bone-tired and needed convenient meals without the guilt, so I would make these bites and keep them in the freezer for when I needed them."
During the first Covid-19 lockdown, Bilton and her fiance Shane Snaddon shifted their business idea into overdrive.
They noticed there was a gap in the market for fast, healthy snacks for toddlers and
children, and set about creating the Marlie Bites brand from their home in Pāpāmoa.
There are three different flavours to choose from: Sweet Pea and Mint, Carrot and Turmeric, and Beetroot and Garlic.
Marlie Bites are vegan, dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free.
Since finishing third place in the reality cooking show NZ MasterChef, Bilton knew she
wanted to make a difference and said she's finally found her perfect niche.
"When designing Marlie Bites we were all about creating those guilt-free moments for parents, to give them back their time."
Rotorua medical doctor Tamsin Lillie is helping local hairdressers recycle used hair care packaging.
Chief executive of a small charity called Medic to Medic, Lillie has raised $1887 by returning waste to TerraCycle, which partners with brands to sponsor free recycling programmes for hard-to-recycle waste that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Much of this was raised in the United Kingdom before Lillie moved to Rotorua, where she aims to replicate her success.
Medic to Medic provides scholarships for trainee healthcare workers in Africa who are at risk of dropping out of their training because of economic hardship.
To boost fundraising efforts, Lillie joined TerraCycle's Schwarzkopf Cares Recycling Programme, which accepts any brand of used hair care, hair colour or aerosol packaging.
Lillie collects waste for two Rotorua hairdressers, Salon Bruno and Vivo Hinemoa. This helps support them to recycle waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, and raise money for an important cause.
Raising funds through TerraCycle has enabled Lillie to promote a charitable purpose with an environmental ethos. Particularly during Covid-19 times when there are more financial pressures on families and individuals, it's easier to ask people for their waste, rather than donations.
Perseverance has paid off for Tauranga man Luke Oxford, who is fulfilling a lifelong dream of a career in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).
The 23-year-old has just graduated the 17-week RNZAF Officer Commissioning Course at Base Woodbourne.
There, Oxford was awarded the RNZAF Officer Commissioning Course Trophy – for demonstrating the most application, determination, commitment and resilience to succeed.
Oxford had applied to be a pilot in his final year of school but was turned down.
"At the time it was the most disappointing event in my life."
But he says he continued to follow his aviation passion and attended Massey University graduating with a Bachelor of Aviation in 2019.
After graduating, Oxford spent time as a flight instructor in Tauranga and Australia.
But having a lifelong dream of flying for the RNZAF, he felt it was time to re-apply and was successful.
"My passions are firmly rooted in aviation," Oxford said.
His dream of flying for the RNZAF started at a young age after several family trips to Warbirds Over Wanaka in the family Cessna.
"The military aircraft displays at these air shows sparked my desire to fly for the RNZAF," he said.
Oxford was particularly excited to have the opportunity to fly one of the new RNZAF aircraft that are due soon – either the new C-130J Super Hercules or P-8 Poseidon.
"Long term I would like to instruct at No 14 Squadron and also be part of an air show display where I can inspire the next generation of military aviation enthusiasts, just like I was inspired."
Oxford says there were highlights and challenges in his initial training, which included getting to ride in the NH90 helicopter.
"It was surprisingly emotional as to me it represented the hard work and tenacity I have made over the past six years to get where I am currently.
"I am looking forward to now starting my Wings Course and flying the T-6C Texan. I expect it to be challenging and exhilarating yet extremely rewarding."
His advice to those wanting to join is to never give up.
"If there is one thing I have learnt over the journey to get to this point is to never lose sight of your dreams and commit yourself in striving to achieve them."
Educating guests and staff about recycling and minimising their waste has earned award-winning accommodation provider Pacific Coast Lodge a new accolade.
The Mount Maunganui-based business has earned gold status as part of the Tauranga City Council's Resource Wise business programme after a recent rubbish collection audit proved it was diverting 13,569kg of waste from landfill every year.
That means more than 70 per cent of its total annual waste, including glass bottles and jars, metal containers, cardboard, e-waste, plastic and food waste is being recycled.
Owner Sarah Meadows credits the achievement to her team's focus on educating guests and making it easy for people to recycle during their stay.
"People come from different countries where recycling is different, or they're not immediately familiar with the recycling systems here.
"We have colour-coded bins to make it easy for them to follow the rules and we encourage guests to scrape their food waste into a separate bin."
A pig farmer collects the food waste twice a week and co-owner Matt Young regularly takes all their paper, tins and plastic waste in dedicated wool fadges to a recycling depot.
Larger items, such as bunks, are also taken to metal recyclers, and any unclaimed guest clothing is donated to op shops.
Pacific Coast Lodge joined the Resource Wise business programme in 2019, first achieving Silver status by successfully recycling half of their annual waste.
Motivated to improve, Meadows says they further reviewed all their operations.
"Rachel, our manager, conducts rubbish bin spot checks and if she finds items that could be recycled she'll point those out to our team.
"Our focus is always on education, so we'll discuss as a team what we're trying to achieve. Everyone is on board and we're seeing some great results."
Being part of the scheme also motivated her to review their buying policies, which has cut back on further waste.
"We go to the op shop to buy cups and cutlery; we're trying not to buy for the sake of buying but when we do buy, we get quality items that will last.
"We also service all our fridges and dryers regularly to extend the life of the goods, and being conscious of buying glass, metal or wood over plastic goods."
Meadows says participating in the programme is another way her business demonstrates its commitment to caring for the environment – something her guests appreciate too.
"The backpackers of today are nothing like they were 30 years ago. As adventurers, they really appreciate what we have here in New Zealand, especially while travel is restricted due to Covid-19. They love being part of our monthly clean-ups at the beach or park; being involved makes them feel part of our community too."
Meadows and her team are aiming to achieve the programme's platinum status by diverting at least 85 per cent of their waste from landfill.
"As an industry, we really care about sustainability. To be a four-star accredited Qualmark operator, we've proven we do this but as an industry, we also do it because we care, and that's all part of the tourism industry's Tiaki promise, which shows our commitment to caring for people and place."
The Tauranga City Council runs the free Resource Wise Business programme to support local businesses reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
It provides each participant a free annual waste audit, resources and one-on-one support to help businesses improve their recycling practices. The programme consists of four stages for businesses to work through: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Waste programme officer Paris Mules-Kopae says achieving Gold was a significant achievement for Pacific Coast Lodge.
"It is very rewarding for Tauranga City Council to see Resource Wise participants really engaging with waste management practices. Pacific Coast Lodge has increased its recycling and composting rates, which decreases harmful methane gasses and leachates produced from landfill. Their efforts are having a positive impact on our environment and community."
Acting Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Oscar Nathan says Pacific Coast Lodge is a shining example of how the local tourism sector can play its part in caring for the environment.
"As a Destination Management organisation, we applaud Pacific Coast Lodge for their achievement and for demonstrating how tourism can bring about genuine environmental and economic benefits to Te Moananui ā Toi | Coastal Bay of Plenty."
Taupō master glass artists Lynden Over and Christine Robb's glassblowing studio Lava Glass has achieved carbon neutral status.
Lava Glass is a glassblowing studio, sculpture garden, art gallery and cafe in Wairakei, Taupō.
Over says he wasn't prepared to continue as a glass artist if he couldn't do it in a sustainable way.
"It has been a rewarding journey to convert the studio to carbon zero status and know that I am able to look after the planet while following my passion."
Environmental mindfulness in art is something the glass artists have been focusing on for the past two years.
Glass has not conventionally been associated with "environmental art". In fact, the act of turning sand into glass takes an incredible amount of heat. A furnace containing molten glass roars 24 hours a day in a glass artist's studio, and then a second furnace is fired up to keep the molten glass moving.
However, sustainability is incredibly important to Lynden and Christine and creating art with zero carbon was their new challenge.
The pair have worked relentlessly to reduce their carbon footprint and to sequester some of the carbon released in making their artworks.
First, they converted their gas-hungry furnace to an electric furnace and used the clean green electricity available in New Zealand to run it.
They have also converted to electric cars.
For the carbon sequestration programme, they have planted 100ha of pine trees
and 25ha of New Zealand native trees, which is part of an environmental benefit programme that links pathways of native bush creating wildlife corridors.
Waste reduction has also been a focus and in 2021 they diverted 67 per cent of Lava Glass waste away from landfills.
Lava Glass has measured its carbon emissions via independent auditing by
Toitū Envirocare.
This year they had to offset 90.14 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). Now it is all about drastically reducing these carbon emissions.
Together with Toitū Envirocare, Lava Glass developed a Greenhouse Gas emissions management plan and reduction targets for the coming years.
Lynden and Christine see their Toitū Carbonzero Certification as an effective way to reduce their environmental impact.
A Rotorua business has built a te reo Māori app for Bay of Plenty teachers as part of a Ministry of Education initiative to help strengthen New Zealand's education workforce in te reo.
Reo Ora is a fully automated te reo Māori app developed by one of New Zealand's leading linguistics and Māori language experts, Dr Rāpata Wiri (Te Arawa, Ngāti Ruapani) and built by Rotorua-based Salt + Tonic.
Wiri said the multi-dialect app is the only one of its kind, accepting answers in all different Māori dialects based on tribal differences.
Salt & Tonic director Josh Dillner said it also featured the world's first transcription service for te reo by Te Hiku Media, where students can record themselves speaking and transcribe it into text.
"It's been a privilege to deliver world-class technology with a local solution at the core."
Reo Ora is working alongside Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue Iho Ake Trust with the Ministry of Education's Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori initiative, with the aim of training 10,000 teachers and support staff in te reo Māori nationally per year, including 1000 in the Bay of Plenty.
"Reo Ora will initially be used to train 470 people in the wider Bay of Plenty region, including Rotorua, across early childhood, primary and high schools," Wiri said.
New real estate chief starts role
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand's (REINZ) new chief executive Jen Baird has started in her new role this month.
For the past three years, Baird has been the general manager of city growth for the Hamilton City Council.
Her role included responsibility for planning for the long-term future of a metropolitan scale city including growth funding and delivery of new growth cells, leading council's regulatory responsibilities for land use, resource and building consents, economic development, customer experience and city safety.
This broad role has also included considerable stakeholder engagement and risk management. She led the council's civil defence and crisis management during last year's Alert Level 4 lockdown period.
Previous to her GM role at the council, she was their manager for communications and marketing for a short period. Prior to this, Baird was chief marketing officer at Barfoot & Thompson for nearly 10 years, and she also spent two years as Manager Communications and Brand at Radius Health Group.
Commenting on her appointment, Baird says: "I've spent nearly 10 years working in the real estate profession, and like many Kiwis have a love of property; so, getting the role at REINZ is like coming home.
"I'm really excited to join REINZ at a time when the industry is rapidly changing and where the importance of data and digital transformation will be so important in the profession's future.
"Additionally, there are significant changes from a regulatory perspective which will require real leadership from the industry body, so I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity of being involved in everything that lies ahead."
Bridget Coates, chair of the REINZ board says: "Jen is a strong, strategic thinker with exceptional people management capabilities, and she is used to leading teams through challenging transformative environments.
"Her experience across diverse teams and dealing with a multitude of stakeholders will be an asset to REINZ and we look forward to welcoming her to the team later in the year."
A large plume above Whakaari/White Island prompted questions.