Winter blues got you down?  Did you know that numerous studies have now confirmed that spending time outdoors is good for both your mental and physical health? So much so, that this even has a medical term, ‘greenspace exposure’, which...... Read More

Many of us identify with kiwi, given the nickname New Zealanders are often called. There is something special about being compared to this one of a kind creature. Kiwi cannot fly, they are mainly nocturnal and their coarse feathers are more like hair...... Read More

Up here on the Coast, we are used to seeing yachts skimming across the water, using just the power of the wind to propel them. Now imagine soaring through space in a yacht, using just the force of sunlight to move it. Over the past few weeks, this dream...... Read More

In many ways, being an environmentalist is like having a religion. Both require devotion, patience, compassion and a sense of higher good. Experiences of nature take on a reverent quality, they invoke meditative reflection about the world, inspire awe...... Read More

On a recent calm morning I was checking a rat-trap line on the shore near Stillwater and came across a pair of brown teal in a quiet corner. This may sound commonplace, but until recently it would have been unheard of. Brown teal are New Zealand’s...... Read More

This is the season of Matariki – the start of the traditional Maori and Polynesian new year. In astronomy, this group of stars brings with it a lot of surprises. Matariki is known by many other names around the world: Pleiades, Seven Sisters, Messier...... Read More

Having just returned from several weeks campervanning as far south as Hanmer Springs, I thought it timely to share some of our experiences and observations.  I’ll start by declaring that I am going to sing the praises of Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary....... Read More

When I was first studying environmental ethics and environmental law in the early 1990s, it was all about sustainability. Sustainability and sustainable development and management, though we thought they were oxymorons even back then. How can you have...... Read More

Most people have only ever seen one moon – our own. But this month, we are going to look at how to use technology to find and observe the four largest moons of Jupiter (Galilean Moons) – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. June is the best...... Read More

It’s planting time again. Volunteers at the SOSSI nursery have once again raised thousands of seedlings and a truckload more has arrived from the Botanic Gardens, so we have 15,000 waiting to get their roots down. Upcoming public planting days...... Read More