Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer.
Endangered moth crowned bug of the year
In case you missed it, a rare moth found only in certain places in the West Coast of the South Island has recently been voted New Zealand’s bug of the year. The Arctesthes avatar moth is named after after the Avatar films as its habitat was threatened by proposed mining activity.
“The Avatar moth won by a wide margin, earning 5,192 of the more than 11,000 total votes cast. It won 2,269 more votes than the runner-up, the mahoenui giant wētā, one of the world’s largest insects. Other contenders included the wonderfully spiky hellraiser mite, the country’s heaviest spider – the black tunnelweb – and a giant earthworm that glows in the dark.
“The Arctesthes avatar moth is from the Geometridae family and is endemic to New Zealand. It is a day-flying moth with brindled brown and marigold wings and lives only in the Denniston Plateau and nearby Mount Rochfort, on the South Island’s West Coast.
“The moth was discovered in 2012 by the entomologist Brian Patrick during a bioblitz’ – an intense scientific survey to identify species within a specific area – run by the conservation group Forest & Bird. The organisation then ran a competition to name the moth, with the winner – Avatar – picked to highlight the moth’s plight.” (Source: “New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner,” by Eva Corlett, February 19, www.guardian.co.uk).
5 stars – I’m sure all of the nominees would have been worthy winners but it’s nice to see one of our native creatures also overcoming adversity!
Kiwi snowboarder soars
Zoe Sadowski-Synnott set a remarkable record this week at the Winter Olympic Games in Italy. The 24 year old from Wanaka has become the first Olympian to win five medals in snowboarding and also became New Zealand’s most successful Winter Olympian. Zoe won a silver medal in the slopestyle event this week, making it two silvers at these games and five in the three Winter Olympics she has competed in.
“She is the most striking example of a trend that’s been brewing for about a decade now. Once known as the place where Shaun White, Chloe Kim and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere used to head for summertime training at a resort called Cardrona, New Zealand is investing its own money into its own athletes.
“’We get asked that question a lot — kind of, ‘What’s in the water?’ said Luke Hetzel, the general manager of high performance at Snow Sports New Zealand. ‘It’s going to be impossible to put a finger on why, but there’ve been trailblazers in New Zealand in all the different sports.
“‘Every year, it’s been bigger and better,’ Hetzel said. ‘We focus so much on what we do, who we work with and how we do it. The results are the outcome of the process here.'” (Source: “How New Zealand set an Olympic snowboarding record and became a power on snow,” by Eddie Pells, February 19, www.stuff.co.nz).
5 stars – it’s fantastic to see driven, hard working athletes like Zoe achieve so much in the biggest competitions on the planet. Total upside!
Kiwi golfer top of the world
I was quite excited when I read this story as I was completely unaware there was a sport called speedgolfing. Not only does such a sport exist but a Kiwi has recently been crowned the best male speedgolfer in the world.
“Harry Bateman, who also maintains a top 10 ranking on New Zealand’s domestic professional golf tour, showcased his talent in the high-intensity variant of the sport when he posted the official 18-hole world record score at the Wairarapa Speedgolf Open. His score of 106.14 (70 golf score + 36 minutes 14 seconds) eclipsed the previous world record that stood for five years set by American Scott Dawley.
“The unique combination of running and stroke-making in speedgolf means that going under par or running a fast time on its own is often not enough, both facets need to be in sync for a low score to be posted.” (Source: “‘I was shocked:’ New Zealand golfer Harry Bateman sets world record,” February 18, www.stuff.co.nz).
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