As published in the Herald last week, seven tonnes of kiwifruit has been rescued from an unmanaged site we’ve been aware of and working to get cleared, ahead of a large land development project in Riverhead, Auckland.

While planning a development of its Riverhead site, Fletcher Living faced the challenge of what to do with acres of kiwifruit ready for harvest. Seeking a sustainable solution that would avoid waste, it reached out to the New Zealand Food Network (NZFN) for help – who then enlisted its partners to rescue 16 bins of fruit - and got great assistance from Punchbowl too.

Unmanaged orchards and wild kiwifruit populations are a biosecurity risk and this a great news story of businesses and local community choosing to come together to proactively address such a critical issue. Thanks to Fletcher Living and Punchbowl for taking the lead.

Image below: Some of the collected kiwifruit. Credit: NZ Herald