Debbie Griffiths

1 week ago | newstalkzb.co.nz | Debbie Griffiths

It’s home to Scruffy the rabbit that’s often mistaken for a stuffed toy, Rosie the cantankerous goat, a one-eyed chicken, horses, guinea pigs and a friendly water dragon. And this Easter weekend, you can pat, stroke, cuddle and feed all of them as well as ducks, dogs and eels at The One and a Half Acre Wood in Whakamārama. “I’ve got all the misfits,” owner Dianne Amott said.

1 week ago | nzherald.co.nz | Debbie Griffiths

“For working parents who live on smaller properties with their animal-loving kids, we offer a way for them to get their pet ‘fix’,” Amott said. “Also, the high amount of screen time most kids get these days means they’re not outside connecting with nature like they used to, which can be detrimental to their mental health. “There is research showing how skin-to-fur contact decreases cortisol levels, improving feelings of well-being.

1 week ago | nzherald.co.nz | Debbie Griffiths Coast |Debbie Griffiths

NZME has launched On The Up — a national campaign showcasing amazing stories of inspiration, success, courage and possibilities. Debbie Griffiths from Coast & Country News catches up with 18-year-old Lucy Penellum, whose photography folio capturing the realities of farming got her into the top 3% of students and earned her a scholarship.

1 month ago | nzherald.co.nz | Debbie Griffiths Coast |Debbie Griffiths

Leanne Benjamin with two of her horses, Dazzle (left) and Tommy. It’s the horses that do the teaching at Ōropi’s Equine Dynamics. Inspired by the experience of her own battle with anxiety and depression, Leanne Benjamin launched Equine Assisted Learning programmes in February 2022 and now has three horses that work with clients on her rural property. “I can’t imagine the difference it would’ve made for me if this kind of therapeutic session had been around when I needed it,” she said.

1 month ago | newstalkzb.co.nz | Debbie Griffiths

A Katikati couple who have owned an avocado orchard for only five years are “branching out” with clever solutions to survive market downturns. Alistair Niven and Carol Palmer flipped their lives from corporate city dwellers to hands-on orchardists, after an “a-ha” moment while sitting on the deck of their 12th-floor Auckland apartment during Covid. “We were thinking, this really isn’t the ideal place to be,” Niven recalled.