How Reckitt NZ and WWF-New Zealand are working together to reblossom Aotearoa.
This year Aotearoa has experienced some of the worst weather this country has ever seen¹, having devastating effects on our people and our environment. These events raise important, pressing questions about our relationship with nature, and have put a spotlight firmly on the impacts of climate change, deforestation, and land development on our natural environment.
This is why New Zealand is ranked the worst country in the world for endangered species² - 4,000 species are currently threatened or at risk of extinction, half of which are only found in New Zealand³.
One of the key causes and concerns, highlighted by environmental leaders and experts, is the removal of wetlands from New Zealand’s landscape4. To date, approximately 90 percent of wetland areas across the country have been lost5, mostly replaced with farmland and urban developments6. Now there is a call for urgent action to protect them for the good of our planet and its sustainable future7.
Wetlands form a critical connection between land and water. They not only support an incredible array of plants and animals but also play an essential role in improving water quality and protecting against floods8. By acting as a natural sponge, wetland habitats can absorb heavy rainfall and filter the water as it is released gradually. They are also critical to protecting our communities from the effects of climate change and increasing our climate resilience8.
Botanica by Air Wick, Reckitt’s home-fragrance brand, and WWF-New Zealand have been working together since 2021 when they joined forces initially for a three-year partnership, developing the #ReBlossomNZ initiative - a campaign aimed to help restore biodiversity in key areas around Aotearoa through the planting of flowering natives in vital habitats. The campaign, now in its third year, has seen fantastic results and is on track to meet its goal of planting 27,800 flowering natives across the motu.
In its first year, WWF-New Zealand and Botanica by Air Wick collaborated with Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Porirua City Council, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council to help restore the Porirua stream - a degraded urban stream with cultural significance suffering from bank erosion, lack of riparian vegetation and channelisation. The partnership replanted 8,800 flowering natives across an area of 5000m2.
In 2022, a symbiotic relationship between Botanica by Air Wick, WWF-New Zealand, the Department of Conservation, Te Ara Hīkoi, Auckland Rowing Club, Auckland Golf and Auckland Council was formed. Its #ReBlossomNZ initiative aimed to focus on re-planting riparian areas surrounding urban waterways across some of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s most prominent golf courses, many of which back onto life-giving streams. The project involved planting 9,000 natives along the banks of the Tamaki Estuary at Ian Shaw Park in Mount Wellington, the banks of the Taihiki Waterway trail, Pukekohe Golf Course, and the Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Course in Papatoetoe, to help reblossom the area, with the aim of helping the freshwater ecosystems and green spaces surrounding local communities to flourish.
By the end of 2023, the third year of #ReBlossomNZ, the initiative will have planted a further 10,000 natives, this time in the South Island where Botanica by Air Wick and WWF-New Zealand are working with partners such as Timaru District Council and Predator Free Canterbury, to undertake planting projects in Gleniti, Temuka, Geraldine, Pleasant Point and Te Ara.
“One of our key strategic ambitions at Reckitt is to protect, heal and nurture in the pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. This means aiming to work responsibly and sustainably, and one of the ways we can do this as an organisation - across all of our brands - is by building strong and collaborative partnerships, between business, government and the charitable sector. We can be more effective when we work together to achieve common goals, such as those of #ReBlossomNZ - to help enhance the biodiversity of our natural environment and provide a sense of place for our local communities9,” said Rachel Bainbridge, Head of Brand & Trade Marketing at Reckitt NZ.
Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, WWF-New Zealand CEO, agrees, “Collaborative conservation has made it possible for Project #ReBlossomNZ to help re-wild and re-blossom some of New Zealand’s urban spaces. WWF is proud to partner with Botanica to play a part in helping the national Predator-Free 2050 movement reach its goal of ridding Aotearoa of destructive predators and significantly improve our native habitats.”
Botanica by Air Wick customers have also been invited to help reblossom New Zealand by planting native trees in their own backyards and enjoying the native birds that come to visit. A gift with the purchase of Kōwhai or Mānuka seeds was offered at participating New World stores last month, for anyone who bought a Botanica by Air Wick home fragrance throughout July, alongside a series of giveaways and competitions on social media to celebrate #ReblossomNZ.
Legend:
1 Niwa.co.nz
2 MfE, StatsNZ, DOC
3 MfE, StatsNZ, DOC
4 RNZ 8 April 2023
5 MfE, StatsNZ, DOC
6 MfE, StatsNZ, DOC
7 NZ 8 April 2023
8 Environment Canterbury
