WTS Waikato

A few minutes out of Cambridge, in the countryside, is a huge shed containing toys, clothes, toiletries, books, shoes and PJs. Kids in Need Waikato loads all these into care packs to be given out to children who are in care with anyone other than their own parents - literally thousands of kids. WTS headed down to the shed to speak with co-founder Linda Roil.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

In Hamilton on May 14th a Rally for Safer Cycling is being held, and Sandra Jensen from Go Eco is involved with it. She’s also got a plethora of other interests, including the Kirikiriroa Society of Velocipede and Tweed Enthusiasts and Glo Ride, which both also pertain to cycling. WTS headed down to Frankton Village to grab a coffee with Sandra ahead of the cycling rally.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

Peat fires are a regular occurrence in the Waikato - the unintentional burning of ancient plant material located underground. WTS producer Gary Farrow spoke to Fire and Emergency incident controller David Brown at the site of a large peat fire, and visited the University of Waikato to hear from Dave Campbell who specialises in the study of peat and their associated wetlands.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

MP for Taupō, Louise Upston, who is also a representative for the residents of Cambridge, has seen the social divisions caused by the pandemic first hand. WTS spoke with the MP, as well as one of her former frontline staff Louise Allen, for their personal stories of dealing with anti-vax constituents.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

The NZ Podcasting Summit, taking place on 14 May at Auckland University of Technology, is supported by Free FM and is the inaugural summit providing a medium for Aotearoa’s podcast producers, focussing on collaboration, education, sharing and networking. A panel of over 15 experts will be speaking at the day-long event. WTS spoke with event organiser Dr Lewis Tennant from AUT.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

Micro moments fuel macro change. That's a mantra of the Microvolunteering Collective, which started out at the University of Waikato. The brandchild of comms student Chantelle Cobby, the collective is dedicated to breaking down the barriers to traditional volunteering, and enabling anyone to make meaningful contributions to their community. Chantelle joins us on WTS.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

Waikato University PhD student Clare Beet has been immersed in science from an early age, growing up in a family that started Whaingaroa Harbour Care. Clare has explored as far as Antarctica on her studies, and built knowledge in science that she is now putting to use here on the ground in the Waikato. She joins us for this episode of WTS.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

A fan of British band Oasis has popped up on Hamilton’s community Facebook pages. Kaz Sahota is an archivist on an impassioned mission to publish a small book about Oasis’ one and only New Zealand tour, which took place in March 1998. This involves reaching out to Aotearoa’s communities, including in the Waikato, in search of stories from people who were there at the historic concerts.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

The Regent Theatre in Te Awamutu is one of a very small number of high-quality provincial cinemas in Aotearoa. It was established in 1932, and has been managed by movie enthusiast Allan Webb since 1974. Now, a trust has been set up to ensure the cinemas future after Allan retires. He’s still there at the box office, and invited WTS in, to treat us to a coffee and a yarn.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.

Introduced predators are an ever-present threat to Aotearoa’s native species. But normal citizens are waging a battle on such critters as rats, stoats and possums, and we are gaining ground. Producer Gary Farrow spoke with Karen Barlow of Go Eco and Predator Free Cambridge - an expert on the frontline.

Telling the hyperlocal, controversial and quirky stories of the Waikato region under the new normal.