Concerns over safety and public access have prompted the Christchurch City Council to close the North Beach Car Park temporarily to freedom camping during weekends.

The closure will apply from this weekend until Easter Sunday and again from Labour weekend until New Year’s Eve.

Entries are now open for the 21st annual National Contemporary Art Award at Waikato Museum with prize money of $20,000 for the winner, and other awards bringing the total prize pool to more than $27,000.

Powerball has rolled over to a jaw-dropping $50 million and must be won on Saturday.

Young Kiwi conservationists, gardeners and environmental champions at 34 schools and early childhood education centres across the country will now be able to kickstart their sustainability projects, thanks to $26,000 of grants awarded by Countdown.

There’s a whopping $42 million up for grabs with Powerball on Wednesday - the second largest prize in Lotto NZ history.

The NZ Vegetarian Society is welcoming news that more Kiwis are ditching meat in favour of plant-based diets. According to Colmar Brunton's ‘Better Futures: 2020’ report, 15% of New Zealanders aged 18 and over are now always or mostly meat free.

The Whanganui Community Awards are back and nominations are now open to the public. You can ensure your outstanding community heroes are in the running for an award, by nominating them for recognition in 2020.

Can you use that toilet with bed made up?

Many freedom campers in smaller vehicles would have had this question put to them in the past several years.

The anonymous benefactor responsible for funding the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards’ $50,000 annual fiction prize is ready to be known.

Ponytail Palm in bloom - must be a blue moon!

Maybe it’s because of Auckland’s dry spell; maybe it’s got something to do with the Moon - who knows?