Can Do Kiwis, PO Box 84, Nelson (2026)

12/10/2026

Do you have a passion for being active?

Positive news with

'Get going and move': Southland man hopes to crack cycling world record for his 95th birthday. A Southland man is attempting to break a cycling world record for his 95th birthday next month. Peter Grandiek, 94, will attempt to break a cycling distance record for the 95-100 year age group on his 95th birthday in October. To do this, he would need to do 21.5km in an hour. Grandiek told Checkpoint, he was already on schedule to do just that and was training twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Southland Velodrome, along with spending a bit of time at the gym or on his at-home stationary bike on his days off. He believed he would be able to achieve the record as he already cycled about 3km more than needed during his training. Grandiek said he chose to take up cycling in 2007, when he was in his 70s, after finding running was becoming too hard on his joints. When asked why he wanted to set a new record, Grandiek said it was "something to do". "Something to fill in time... I'm trying to keep as mobile as I could possibly be..." His advice to others was: "Get up and do something... get going and move." Grandiek will turn 95 on 20 October and will attempt the world record at 6pm that evening at the Southland Velodrome.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/1522335/get-going-and-move-southland-man-hopes-to-crack-cycling-world-record-for-his-95th-birthday

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

28/09/2026

Do you have a passion for te reo Māori?

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From wanting to be seen as white to finding his way back to te reo Māori. Nathan Grey (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa) grew up knowing he was Māori but not knowing much about what that meant. His grandparents belonged to a generation where te reo Māori had been suppressed, and he was taught that success meant moving away from his Māoritanga, his identity. "I didn't grow up with te reo. I didn't know anything and I didn't actually want to know anything," he said. "I was always told that to be successful you had to be white. "So I made that my mission to surround myself with Pākehā... in high school I was white. "I was called the Dalmatian and I was proud of that. I was like, yo, that means it's working. Like I am brown, but actually people see me as white." His older brother would eventually give him a different way of seeing himself. After his brother completed a full-immersion te reo Māori course at Te Wānanga Takiura, Grey felt a pull to reclaim his ancestral language. Grey enrolled at the same wānanga and began a journey that would eventually lead him to teaching te reo Māori himself.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-maori/1470335/from-wanting-to-be-seen-as-white-to-finding-his-way-back-to-te-reo-maori

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

27/09/2026

Do you have a passion for te reo Māori & water safety?

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Hundreds of children embracing te reo swim safety lessons. A swimming sports event on the Kāpiti Coast has given a few hundred local kids the chance to flex their skills in the water - while speaking entirely in te reo. Three schools from Ōtaki, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito, Te Kura ā iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano and Te Kura o Ōtaki, took part in Kauroa Ahurei in Paraparaumu on Thursday, learning about water safety in a space created specifically for te reo Māori. Kauora Ahurei organiser Terina Raureti said the idea for the event came from her nieces and nephews, who wanted the chance to use their swimming skills in a competitive setting. "It's really important to me that they don't have to change who they are to come to Kauora, and that's the whole point that it was created, because we want our kids to be able to fully immerse in their mātauranga, in their worldview, in their reo Māori, to learn how to swim and to engage in the taiao and the wai in a way that is actually reflective of how they live their lives."

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-maori/1447034/hundreds-of-children-embracing-te-reo-swim-safety-lessons

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

26/09/2026

Do you have a passion for farming?

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Country Life: 'Looking for an edge' on a Māori-owned farm. In the past 16 years, the Pukepoto Farm Trust near Taumarunui has never not made a profit for its more than a thousand shareholders, descendants of Ngāti Maniapoto. It's something the trust prides itself on, as it allows them to give back to the community. "We can't do a lot on 1000 effective hectares, but we can certainly do a little bit," Trustee Weo Maag told Country Life. Now it's sharing the secrets to its success with other neighbouring farmers as part of Beef and Lamb's Hub Farm Programme. Meaning 'little hill', Pukepoto was established by the Māori Land Court in 1978. Trustee Weo Maag inherited his shares from whakapapa on his mother's side. "I've always maintained that the land should provide to our people." He said the trust initially started by paying dividends to shareholders, then moved to providing education grants and most recently, kaumātua grants. Returning a profit to the shareholders comes from careful planning, he added.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/1475400/country-life-looking-for-an-edge-on-a-maori-owned-farm

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

25/09/2026

Do you have a passion for photography?

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Country Life: The farm photographer who captured a changing New Zealand. Ron Vine's crisp, observant and sometimes intimate black and white photos capture New Zealand farming at a turning point. Now a collection of more than 1400 images he took between 1934 and 1947 has received UNESCO recognition, sitting alongside the papers of Katherine Mansfield and the photography of Marti Friedlander. Vine travelled to remote parts of the country as the Great Depression was easing, towing his mobile dark room behind him to record how farmers and communities were transitioning into more modern methods. His photojournalism helped influence the take-up of new agricultural trends and developments, according to archivists.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/1465841/country-life-the-farm-photographer-who-captured-a-changing-new-zealand

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

24/09/2026

Do you have a passion for native birds?

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Black robin bucks shy tag to take Bird of the Year 2026. The diminutive karure black robin has won Bird of the Year. The kākāpō came second, leaving the kārearea in third place. Fourth and fifth place went to the kea and takahē respectively. It is the first time the karure has topped polling for the Forest and Bird-run election, despite coming close several times. Found in lowland coastal forests in the Chatham Islands, the shy birds are a conservation success story, going from just five birds in the 1980s to about 350 today. Forest and Bird's Rebecca Hatch told RNZ that despite the success, the karure black robin was critically endangered. "While the birds live on predator-free islands, those small islands are nearly at capacity in terms of good black robin territory," she said. "For the population to keep growing, a third population needs to be established on another island." A project was under way by the Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust to remove feral cats from Pitt Island (Rangihaute / Rangiauria).

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/environment/1485423/black-robin-bucks-shy-tag-to-take-bird-of-the-year-2026

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

23/09/2026

Do you have a passion for art?

Positive news with

'Yarnarchists' blanket Christchurch for annual yarn bomb festival. Central Christchurch has been blanketed with knitted and crocheted installations as a talented band of 'yarnarchists' stitch together the city's annual public art festival Yarnarchy. The event is in its fourth year and adds a handmade element to the city's post-quake Gap Filler programme, which temporarily transforms vacant downtown lots into vibrant community areas. Organiser Kate Finnerty says Yarnarchy is a showcase for the depth of talent and creativity in Ōtautahi. She started the festival in 2022 as part of her work as Gap Filler's urban play coordinator. "I quite like that title," she told RNZ.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/1474352/yarnarchists-blanket-christchurch-for-annual-yarn-bomb-festival

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

22/09/2026

Do you have a passion for science?

Lifelong Learning with

Interesting fact. Sea floor around Tongan volcano dropped more than 700m. The Hunga volcano near Tonga produced the most explosive eruption of the last century, and its impact was so strong it dropped the surrounding sea floor by more than 700 metres. The massive eruption and its after-effects have continued to be studied by scientists from around the world, including marine geoscientist Dr Marta Ribo from AUT, who's led work studying the sea floor changes. Comparing with pre-eruption data, Marta and her team found the sea floor had dropped from 150 metres down to 850 metres. There was also 8.9 cubic kilometres of displaced material - but that was just 30 per cent of the volcano's total magma reservoir. Dr Ribo says the research will be used to improve monitoring and early-warning systems.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019051940/sea-floor-around-tongan-volcano-dropped-more-than-700m

Can Do Kiwis believes learning never stops. Every day is a chance to discover new passions and grow into the person you want to be. Your passion can change and that’s okay. Lifelong learning helps you find what lights you up, no matter where you are in life.

Develop a growth mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/develop-a-growth-mindset

21/09/2026

Do you have a passion for science?

Lifelong Learning with

Interesting fact. Plantwatch: The insect-eating alpine plant that proves Darwin was right. Study shows Saxifraga candelabrum traps and digests midges – just as the evolutionary biologist predicted back in 1875. In 1875, Charles Darwin predicted that Saxifraga candelabrum, a small alpine plant, could eat insects. Its leaves, petals and stems are smothered in tiny, sticky hairs and – just as the evolutionary biologist suspected – the sweet glue on the hairs can lure and trap midges before digesting them with an enzyme. The nitrogen from their remains is absorbed into the plant, which is essential for it to survive in the nutrient-poor soils of the Hengduan mountains in south-west China. The plant was also found to have genes related to those found in carnivorous plants. The study findings may point to other killer plants that trap insects with sticky hairs and feed off their remains.

Read more here on the Guardian website.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/16/plantwatch-the-insect-eating-alpine-plant-that-proves-darwin-was-right

Can Do Kiwis believes learning never stops. Every day is a chance to discover new passions and grow into the person you want to be. Your passion can change and that’s okay. Lifelong learning helps you find what lights you up, no matter where you are in life.

Develop a growth mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/develop-a-growth-mindset

20/09/2026

Do you have a passion for the environment?

Positive news with

Kahurangi National Park predator control programme hailed as success. A conservation group has completed a successful predator control operation in the Kahurangi National Park in the north-west of the South Island. Checking over a thousand traps, they found just one rat this year. Robin Toy who is one of the volunteers who conducted the operation told First Up that Friends of Flora had 1342 double set trap boxes in the area and a 1080 drop was conducted at the end of June. "We've now done two checks since the drop and we have now found a total of one rat." During the same period last year they found about 300 rats in the area, he said. "There's no rats so there's no stoats or weasels either, which normally we would catch just a few at this time of year but we've had none." There had been successful 1080 drops in the area before but this one was "wildly successful," he said.

Read more here on the RNZ website.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/environment/1414241/kahurangi-national-park-predator-control-programme-hailed-as-success

Can Do Kiwis shares only positive news to balance out all the negativity you see in the media. We bring real stories that show the good happening every day, helping you see the world and yourself in a more positive light. It’s about flipping the script with facts that build a strong, hopeful mindset.

Create a positive mindset with Can Do Kiwis.
https://www.candokiwis.org.nz/create-a-positive-mindset

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