Vote for NZ's Fungus of the Year 2026 - Interactives | Bioeconomy Science Institute (Manaaki Whenua Group) Vote for your favourite fungus, or maybe vote for a fungus that is threatened, or culturally important, or edible, or (on the negative side) one that’s causing an important disease.

I just voted! Vote for NZ's Fungus of the Year 2025: interactives.landcareresearch.co.nz/foty/

Another peak - medicinal plants - seems to be here - at least in Akl. Lots of weed research to do!

Not convinced - lots of new low incidence plant spp - but worthy of research as you say….

It really is crazy out there now - the new weeds popping up. Sheer abundance of Bangalow palm seedlings in forest patches is shocking

How house plants can threaten the environment We're all familiar with our strict boarder biosecurity rules, so it might be surprising that we can buy invasive species at our local garden centre.

With @ecostanley.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

The Hauraki Gulf is getting noisier, pushing sea life to the brink Lockdown was a great time to be a fish as humans stopped drowning out their environments with shipping and recreational boating. It’s time to consider quiet zones in the Hauraki Gulf.

The Hauraki Gulf is getting noisier, pushing sea life to the brink newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/31/t...

Invasion of the house plants Every year, several previously harmless plant species go rogue, escaping from homes and gardens and multiplying unstoppably – but we could stop them before they destroy local ecosystems.

"New research by University of Auckland PhD candidate Diana Borse found that more gardens translated into more weeds." Excited to see Diana's research in the media. She submitted her thesis 2 weeks ago! More to come on this! @dianaborse.bsky.social 🧪🌏🌐

Auckland's love affair with lawns comes with a hefty bill They’re expensive and time-consuming, sources of carbon emissions, and make up a high proportion of NZ cities. What else could we do with that green space?

20% of urban areas in NZ are lawn - the costs to health & pockets is massive!

A more critical history of Forest & Bird | E-Tangata “For all intents and purposes, Forest & Bird waged a media and political war on Ngāi Tahu and the Crown during negotiations.” — Martin Fisher.

Very worth reading: e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...

New bill to disband environment ministry as part of agency merger The environment department will be abolished and folded into a new super-ministry for cities, environment, regions and transport.

Aotearoa's environment keeps taking hits....

Check out my first ever paper!
@kecain.bsky.social @ecostanley.bsky.social and @jgmussoi.bsky.social summarised our knowledge on sleep disturbance in birds

A graph showing daily temperature anomalies since the 1940s

Not a single day in 2025 was cooler than the 1991-2020 average, on a global scale. @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social

😂 Nah - invertebrates need the PR even more than bats!

Are you a hellraiser mite or a knobbled weevil? Take the quiz and vote for NZ’s Bug of the Year Take the personality quiz to match with one of NZ’s larger-than-life little creatures, then cast your vote.

Are you a hellraiser mite or a knobbled weevil? Take the quiz and vote for NZ’s Bug of the Year
theconversation.com/are-you-a-he...

Want to be on the right side of biodiversity this summer? It's your choice New Zealand’s biodiversity is under immense pressure, but we can give native species a boost this summer by making some simple choices.

Give nature some help this summer? Some tips...keep 4WDs off beaches/riverbeds, keep dogs out of conservation areas, keep your distance from wildlife, mow your lawn less, contain pets, keep your yard dark, have a (clean) water bath for birds... & loads more tips...🧪🌎

Absolutely!

Not sure sorry

Dunedin’s inner-city greening project shows even small spaces can be wildlife havens Medium-density housing has limited green spaces, but even small planted patches can provide enough food and habitat to enhance urban biodiversity.

Dunedin’s inner-city greening project shows even small spaces can be wildlife havens
theconversation.com/dunedins-inn...

Some big diffs between citizen science observations (from iNaturalist) and specimen records (from digitised museum collections) - cit. sci records biased towards large inverts & exotic spp. Great MSc project with recommendations 🌏🧪@nzhymenoptera.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Hiring in our school!! Come & join us! 🌐🧪🌏

Under the Lens Podcast | Bioprotection Aotearoa

Soft launching our new podcast series - Under the Lens 🎙️

This is our pilot series… warming up the mics, dusting off the pipettes and pulling together the crew for something new.

Its part science, part 80’s nostalgia and all about what keeps our ecosystems thriving.

Awesome weedy discussion with my phenomenal award winning hoamahi Margaret (with the fab Peter, Amanda and Nick) - our natives need more PR, and let's all be on the lookout for newbies!

Under the Lens Ep05 | Weeds hidden in plain sight YouTube video by Bioprotection Aotearoa

This was a fun chat with the Bioprotection Aotearoa team about everything weeds! What's the issue & what can we do about it? So many weeds & so little money! @bioprotection.bsky.social 🌏🧪🌐🌿#invasive #weeds

Jones’ penguin plan doesn’t go far enough, experts say A University of Otago researcher says proposed protections for endangered hoiho will just slow their decline.

"“We’ve got to make a decision: do we want to have penguins on the mainland, or do we want to have fishing? And maybe it’s as tough as that." newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/27/j...

Biodiversity takes beating from land-trampling deer In the second of a series on southern pest problems, Newsroom looks at the deer’s devastating impact on agriculture and the already-struggling conservation estate. Jill Herron reports.

"deer are causing severe, possibly permanent damage to native forest on public and private land" newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/24/b...

The fire is out, but Tongariro is now at risk of losing its unique biological legacy The disaster should raise questions about how we fund, manage and protect these vulnerable habitats when climate change is outpacing conservation efforts.

Weed management is going to be critical.... theconversation.com/the-fire-is-...

Cloven-hooved ruffians ripping up the south In the first of a series on the south’s pest issues, Newsroom looks at feral pigs, which are threatening national parks and wreaking havoc on farms and public conservation land.

With the focus on mammalian predators, browsers & omnivores populations are growing - see this series on feral pigs newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/17/c...

And Martin for ‘clear articulation of research impact’ ! Woohoo! EEB cleaned up!

And @annabellecranswick.bsky.social & Athena got special mentions for creative poster designs!

And Inke takes out the @aucklanduni.bsky.social postgrad poster runner up prize! #scicomm Loving our awesome science communicators!