25 May 2016

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A new Environment Canterbury initiative to help people build smoke-free fires is also helping local schools, clubs, teams, community groups and charities raise money.

Under the initiative Environment Canterbury supplies trailer-loads of high quality kindling and everything needed to ready it for sale to participating schools and community groups who then bag it and sell it on, keeping any money raised.

Each bag of kindling is sold with simple instructions for making a fire that burns more efficiently and costs less to run.

“One of the keys to a good fire is using enough kindling at the outset. We’ve noticed that some people aren’t using enough and they end up with a smoky fire. This is actually a waste of firewood as it sends their heat up the chimney as smoke,’’ said Environment Canterbury Commissioner David Bedford.

“To encourage people to use enough kindling we’re working with local community groups and schools like Te Waka Una to help wood burner users have easy access to affordable kindling.’’

Te Waka Una principal Janeane Reid said funds raised from kindling sales would be used to help students travel to Dunedin to compete in the 2016 NZCAF National School Aerobics and Hip Hop Championships later this year.

“We’ve noticed that Woolston is a reasonably smoky suburb in winter so this is the perfect opportunity for us to teach our students and their family how they can save money while looking after the environment and reducing air pollution in our community,’’ she said.

“It’s great hands-on fundraising initiative for students to be involved in because it educates people about the process for easily making a smoke-free fire and this will have a genuine impact in our community.’’

When a fire gets hot enough, the chemicals in wood that produce smoke turn to gas and steam. A smoky chimney often means the fire is not hot enough and this can be due to people not using enough kindling.

“Unburnt firewood wastes money and heat, so learning to burn smoke-free saves on firewood and makes for a cosier home,” Mr Bedford said.

Environment Canterbury encouraged wood burner users to check their fire after it had been running for 15 minutes to see if the chimney was smoke-free. If smoke was present, it might be time for them to review their burning technique. Tips on good woodburning techniques were available on Environment Canterbury's website.

Kindling orders can be placed until the end of July and any unsold bags of kindling can be returned at no cost. Register now by emailing fundraiser@warmercheaper.co.nz.