AVONDALE HIT AND RUN

Police are seeking witnesses to a hit and run in Auckland on July 25. Detective Sergeant Richard Sami said in a press release that a red vehicle hit a pedestrian at the intersection of Blockhouse Bay and New North Rds in Avondale at about 6.45am. The 22-year-old woman was ‘‘seriously injured’’. Sami said the driver fled the scene and should turn themselves in. Anybody who witnessed the event or saw the vehicle could contact Sami on

021 191 2981 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS

Applications for Auckland Council’s Regional Environment and Natural Heritage grants programme opens on August 1. Funding of up to $40,000 is available for eligible projects. The grant is open to a range of community-led environmental initiatives. Applications close September 10. Go to auckland council.govt.nz for more info. Email environmentalfunding@ aucklandcouncil.govt.nz for assistance with applications.

NATIONAL WINNERS

Henderson High School scooped top honours at the National Stage Challenge 2017 event, taking out the open division. The event is a youth performing arts event for primary, intermediate and high school students across New Zealand. Henderson High had won the Auckland division on July 7 before the team went to nationals.

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

Monarch butterfly sightings are flourishing in west Auckland but not so much in other parts of the country. Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust had been left wondering where the monarch butterflies had gone after a lack of sightings this year. The trust’s secretary Jacqui Knight said sightings have been reported in locations such as Te Atatu, Glen Eden and Blockhouse Bay but not in places such as Christchurch, Timaru and Oamaru, where there are normally many reports. Knight said over winter, the butterflies are in diapause. This means they wait out the winter and only come out in sunny days to top up nectar reserves.