Environmentalist, journalist and author, Dave Hansford was recently awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to the environment. His recent book, Protecting Paradise, examines the debates surrounding the use of 1080 in New Zealand, and makes the case for urgent intervention to rescue dwindling native wildlife. Laura Keown sat down with...
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Forty kākāriki have been released in the Far North this winter, as our Northland Advocate Dean Baigent-Mercer explains. Project Island Song is a shared vision for the restoration of an archipelago rich in native flora and fauna for all to enjoy. The seven wonders of Ipipiri are the pest-free islands...
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Standing as tall as a school ruler and weighing about the same as a bottle of milk is the worlds’ smallest penguin, the Little Penguin or Eudyptula minor, more commonly known as Korora in New Zealand and Fairy penguin in Australia. In New Zealand we recognise four variants - the...
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Fiordland crested penguins, or Tawaki are about to arrive on New Zealand’s West Coast beaches, locate their nests, woo their mates and prepare to breed. Weird, but they lay two eggs, one big and one small, however usually only the second larger egg and chick will succeed. If it’s not...
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James Muir, who recently travelled to Antarctica with Heritage Expeditions, explains why it’s vital to protect the Southern Ocean from further exploitation with photos by Gavin Klee. Indefinitely wild, mysterious, and full of fascinating creatures, the Antarctic – and, in particular, its oceans – are the last great mystery. In...
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Plastic is at our fingertips all day and every day; the keyboard, the mouse, kitchen utensils, drink bottles, and of course plastic bags. More plastic has been produced during the last decade than over the previous 100 years. The production of plastic uses around eight percent of the world’s oil...
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Spectacular Milford Sound. It is hard to describe it without resorting to clichés. It is almost too beautiful, it really does take your breath away, and it is easy to feel a sense of insignificance in the shadow of the towering cliffs that protect the Sound. “I will remember this...
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The latest research on the likely fate of our dearly beloved yellow-eyed penguins is disturbing indeed. The study, from Thomas Mattern and colleagues at Otago University, shows that climate change is responsible for about a third of their population decline. This means that most of the decline can be attributed...
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Allocating just 1 percent of the government’s annual $96 billion spending to core conservation work would more than double the Department of Conservation’s current budget, suggests Alex Stone. The Government announcement of a predator-free goal for New Zealand by 2050 sounds good. But, so far, the budget for this is...
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