Games aren’t just entertainment – it turns out the right ones can also teach us about conservation and looking after nature. Gaming and play specialist Tanya Marriot, a senior lecturer at Massey University, is working on a PhD that addresses how to engage kids in conservation. Through the idea of “wild play”, she’s looking at … Continue reading Move aside Fortnite: can games teach us to care for native species?
Out in the field traversing rugged rocky slopes or in the research lab analysing data, no day is the same for Maggie Nichols, a predator ecologist with a mission to rid Aotearoa of stoats. Hooked from the start Forget Nintendo 64 or rollerblades, Maggie Nichols asked for a camera trap for her tenth birthday. Studying … Continue reading A day in the life of a predator ecologist
Scientists are using genetic material sampled from waterways to discover populations of rare species, indicate river health and solve environmental mysteries. You’ve heard of forensic detectives looking for traces of hair and skin at a crime scene; Wilderlab scientists use genetic material found in waterways to track down invasive species and discover populations of hard-to-find … Continue reading A cupful of water reveals native and pest species
Tucked into cliff burrows vulnerable little fluff-balls are living alone, visited once a week by their parents for feeding. These ōi (grey-faced petrel) babies won’t fully fledge until the height of summer, which means many months of living alone – only a claw’s reach from passing stoats and rats. Luckily for the ōi, they won’t … Continue reading Protecting fluffballs: what it takes to save nesting ōi
We’ve nailed eliminating predators on offshore islands and fenced sanctuaries, but if we’re truly going to “get to zero” we have to crack how to do this everywhere else. With support from Predator Free 2050 Limited, Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) is inventing and trialling some “pretty cool tools” to eliminate predators on the mainland. On … Continue reading Giving it a crack: ZIP innovates mainland predator control
After hearing Aotearoa New Zealand described as “a cathedral without a choir” serial inventor and engineering wizard Grant Ryan (Kāti Huirapa) knew he needed to use his powers for good. Together with a bunch of mechanical engineers and software developers, Grant now runs The Cacophony Project, a space-age innovation project using technological tools and artificial … Continue reading Science fiction meets reality: “ultimate device” to bring back birdsong
Right down the bottom of Aotearoa, in the southwest corner – where kākā monkey around in the trees and humpback whales breach the surface of deep, silky water – there is a boat. On the hull of this 27m expedition vessel you can read its name written in bold, white letters – Flightless. It belongs … Continue reading Flora, fauna and Flightless: the predator free mission at the heart of a southwest business’s success