The Greening Waipara research project is going from strength-to-strength, with four vineyard biodiversity trails now in place. A fifth is being built at Omihi School.

Mud House, Pegasus Bay, Waipara Springs and Torlesse Wines have each developed the trails close to their respective tasting room or restaurant, complete with information boards and an educational quiz for children. The trails wind through vines and native plants, leading visitors to areas where Greening Waipara is in action.

Visitors see how Greening Waipara benefits New Zealand's wine production by encouraging nature's services - pollination and pest and disease control, as well as weed suppression, improved soil quality, conservation and eco-tourism.

Nature's services add value to the vineyards while reducing reliance on herbicides and chemical pesticides.

To date, 50 North Canterbury wineries have signed up for Greening Waipara, a project funded mainly by the Bio-Protection Research Centre, the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology and Waipara Winegrowers.

The team behind the biodiversity trails includes Bio-Protection Research Centre staff  Anna-Marie Barnes, Jean Tompkins, Mark Gillespie, Mariska Anderson, Shona Sam and Dr Marco Jacometti - a 2007 MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year award winner.

It also includes Dr Colin Meurk of Landcare Research, the Waipara Promotion Association, Hurunui Natives, Hurunui District Council, Lane Neave Lawyers, Signwise and Four Leaf Japan Co., Ltd - a Japanese food company that is sponsoring the trails.

Four Leaf are the only Japanese company involved in the Greening Waipara project, and have contributed nearly NZ$100,000 over the last three years. As part of their support in 2010 Four Leaf are sponsoring Alayna Renata, the landscape architect who designed the biodiversity trails, to attend the URBIO2010 Urban Biodiversity and Design Conference in Nagoya, Japan.

Our Changing World radio interview with Prof Steve Wratten and team - aired National Radio 4 March 2010. Click on attachment in list below.

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Our Greening Waipara newsletters are attached below.