Before I get started on an update, I thought it would be good to clarify who “TOSSI” is. The Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary Society (TOSSI) was formed in 2002 to help make the Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary project a reality. TOSSI works in partnership...... Read More

We’re coming into autumn, a time of change. The days are getting shorter and cooler, leaves on deciduous trees are yellowing, and we start thinking of the winter ahead. Rats and mice are also getting ready for the colder months, moving around in...... Read More

With the onset of winter, we usually prefer to be inside in the warmth as soon as the sun goes down. The downside is that we miss the time when the skies give us the very best things to see. The Southern Hemisphere night sky contains a far greater range...... Read More

Despite a few recent incursions, reported in recent issues of Hibiscus Matters, what’s important is that overall the pest management works as it should, and so far it has. This allows our native birds to thrive and breed, and this season they...... Read More

Within the rainforest on our Kaipara lifestyle property, the largest and most impressive tree is a majestic kauri that may have been seeded half a millennium ago – only a few hundred years after Maori arrived and settled in Aotearoa, and about the...... Read More

New Zealand is among the highest producers of urban waste in the developed world, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and causing horrendous immediate damage to the environment. But what can you do? Here are six tips for reducing your household...... Read More

There are three species of native New Zealand frogs (Leiopelma), found nowhere else in the world. They come from an ancient lineage of primitive frogs with attributes not found in modern frogs: they don’t croak, they have no eardrums, their young...... Read More

As the seasons change, so do our night skies. We start saying goodbye to Matariki and Orion as they disappear over the horizon, and start saying hello to the constellation of Scorpio and a number of other interesting objects. Many of these objects can...... Read More

Dogs love beaches, and there’s nothing that quite represents freedom and summer as a dog running on the beach. Unfortunately, not every beach is appropriate for dogs. So all those instances this summer when dogs have been in wildlife refuges, on...... Read More

Most New Zealanders probably know that we have an ambitious goal of our country being predator-free by 2050. But how many people really know what that means? How will it be achieved? What will it cost? Who will be involved in the work that needs to be...... Read More