Tahi Today | October 2020 - Tahi New Zealand

HONEY • ACCOMMODATION • VISIT TAHI • BEE FRIENDS SCHOOL PROGRAM

Kia ora koutou (greetings to all), as we enter the last few months of a very challenging year, we wanted to share some of our latest news.

Our rewilding efforts have continued this year, with work underway on creating two additional reintroduced wetlands. We’ve also launched our groundbreaking Biosphere Value to manage our planting and keep track of the health of our ecosystems. As part of our pioneering approach to sustainability, we’ve measured each plant species’ value to restoring our ecosystems, including its carbon value – a major step on our way to our pledge of planting one million trees.
Read on below to find out more…

Thank you to the Tahi team for going above and beyond expectations to keep daily life, honey production and our sustainability efforts on track this year. Thank you also to our community, distributors, partners and honey lovers for being part of the Tahi story.

Suzan Craig · Tahi Founder

Biodiversity First, Always

At Tahi, we’ve always put biodiversity — our unique ecosystem and interconnected flora and fauna — first, and, despite all the challenges that 2020 has brought, this work continues to guide us.

Since our restoration efforts began in 2004, we’ve witnessed the cumulative regeneration of our soil, water, flora and fauna. To date, 93 native plant species have been reintroduced, 349,000 trees planted (we’ve just finished this year’s planting), and 71 species of birds have returned to our forests, dunes and wetlands.

To prove how interconnected our landscape is, and the importance of holistic environmental management, we’ve spent 2020 refining our Biosphere Value. This measures the sum of the bird, invertebrate and carbon values multiplied by each tree’s longevity, enabling us to track which plants and trees have the most positive impact on everything, from carbon retention to supporting endangered species. This level of detail is unprecedented, and we’re looking forward to sharing our methodology with friends all over the world. Watch this space!

Tahi means ‘one’.
Number one.

This year, Tahi has been awarded the number one luxury honey brand in the world by the Luxury Lifestyle Awards. Not only that, we entered four honeys into the London Quality Awards 2020 and each one was awarded gold: our Beelicious, Kānuka, Pōhutukawa and Mānuka UMF5+ honeys.

We’re also honoured to be a finalist in the ‘Restoring Nature’ section of the 2020 New Zealand Sustainability Awards. This award is presented to businesses that take a leadership role in restoring New Zealand’s nature: our beautiful, wild, unique and fragile environment. The winners will be announced late this year, so we’ll keep you posted!

We’re thrilled that our passion for sustainability — and our deliciously purposeful honeys
— have been recognised on both the New Zealand and global stage.

For the purists:
Tahi 100% Mānuka
Honey Lozenges.

Delicious and naturally soothing, Tahi Mānuka Honey Lozenges contain only 100% pure UMF™ 15+ Mānuka honey and nothing else: no added water, sugar or artificial anything.

Sustainably produced in New Zealand, they’re ideal for soothing coughs, colds and sore throats*, or for a natural energy boost. What’s more, these biodiversity-positive lozenges also soothe the conscience, with 100% of profits from every pack going directly to community, culture and conservation projects.

*Click here to read the study.

Tahi UMF™ 23+: Our most premium honey yet

Recently, we released our richest, rarest, most complex Mānuka honey yet: Tahi UMF 23+. Expected to be highly sought after, this exceptional honey has a smooth, shiny consistency and an intense, complex ‘woody’ flavour.

A little wild,
A lot delicious

We’re delighted to announce two new Tahi wildflower honeys. Our Rewarewa honey is a darker, golden honey sourced from the nectar of New Zealand’s Rewarewa tree (our native honey-suckle) with rich and malty melt-in-the-mouth butterscotch flavours.

Smooth, sweet and
slightly nutty

On the opposite end of the scale, our Kamahi honey is smooth, sweet and lightly golden. The ‘nutty’ flavours come from the nectar of the Kamahi tree’s creamy coloured flowers.

Yours Securely, From Tahi

Our new UMF™ 23+ jar also marks the launch of our new ultra-secure packaging. With two levels of security and our unique branding, it’s impossible to tamper with – or imitate – the purity and potency of Tahi honey. So our customers know they’re getting the real deal, every time.

Kiwis looking after kiwis

Kiwi footprints, including those of chicks, have been recently spotted throughout Tahi, which is a wonderful sign that many of these endangered, flightless birds are enjoying the safety of our restored nature sanctuary.

Two hundred years ago, millions of kiwis (our national birds) lived all through New Zealand’s forests, and the night air echoed with their calls. Now, kiwis are under threat, which is why we’ve been introducing and monitoring these feathered friends on our Northland estate.

Tahi’s conservation expert, Dr John Craig, says that to date, 37 kiwis have been introduced in our local pest control area, and a small number (four males and two females) have transmitters fitted so that we can follow their nesting. Four of these nocturnal birds regularly use part of Tahi but also move around neighbouring properties.

Breeding started two months later this year, most likely due to a long summer/autumn drought. We currently know the location of three nests and suspect that a fourth nest sits near where his female companion is spending time.

“Greg, one of our male Kiwis, has been living on Tahi for three years and nested for the first time this season on an adjacent property,” says John. “Ross, released earlier this year, has nested under a small pampas bush near the northern boundary of Tahi and within 100m of Greg’s nest. Pengu is also on his first nest, which we suspect is on a neighbouring property, and Sharon appears to be his constant companion and retains her transmitter.”
All good signs that our Kiwi population is on the up and up!

BEE FRIENDS PROGRAMME

‘buzzing with activity’

Every year, Tahi pours time and resources into our Bee Friends school and education programme to ensure that our local younger generation learns to love and care for our unique flora and fauna. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re delighted that Tahi’s 2020 Bee Friends Programme has now started again.

Tahi Tasty Recipe

A honey-sweetened version of an Italian classic, Tahi’s Kamahi Honey Cake with citrus syrup is a refreshing pick-me-up. It’s nutty and moist with a gentle sharp tang of citrus and a sweet drizzle of our new Kamahi honey (featured above). We used a combination of lemons, limes and oranges, but any citrus fruit in season will work.

By DR NEIL MITCHELL, ECOSYSTEM SPECIALIST

Restoring our earth: Understanding Soil Carbon

Most of us are familiar with the problematic emission of excess greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Tree planting is the best known way of actively offsetting these gases into a permanent biological store. That’s why we’ve planted over 349,000 trees to date at Tahi, and we’re aiming to plant one million trees over time.

There is also a worldwide loss of GHG from the soil (an enormous carbon store) a problem wherever people do not take care of the soil. We take our land management practices very seriously and estimate that we have already caused an estimated 7,000+ tonne of additional carbon (25,667 tonne of CO₂) to be stored. Success in this arena means that nearly as much carbon can be stored underground as above ground. To understand more about the carbon economy at Tahi. Click here

Pictured; Environmental Grounds Manager, Evan.