“Beyond Manapouri” has arrived, and looks amazing!
… but that’s just my opinion, so I canvassed a number of individuals in my community to gauge their reaction to the book.
Author: envirohistory NZ
envirohistory NZ is born again!
Long-time envirohistory NZ followers may remember that back in mid-2016, I decided to ‘retire’ envirohistory NZ and transition to a new website and blog with a slightly different focus (see envirohistory NZ lives on! (but somewhere else)). Since then, I have only blogged intermittently on envirohistory NZ, to mark big happenings, like the release of books. This move coincided more or less with some big life changes (good ones, I hasten to add!) (see Life changes). Continue reading
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The latest freshwater policy “bombshell” – like a rendition of “Hamlet”
The latest “shock” announcement by Environment Minister David Parker, that limits need to be set at a national level to curb further freshwater degradation (and this may mean less cows in some places!) has triggered all the predictable responses:
“Does David Parker hate farmers?”
“Most farmers are already putting a lot of effort into reducing pollution – regulation is unnecessary.” Continue reading
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News Release: Tackling reasons for New Zealand’s failure to address our biggest environmental issues
A new book, Beyond Manapouri: 50 years of environmental politics in New Zealand,traces the history of environmental governance in Aotearoa New Zealand since the heady days of the 1969 Save Manapouri campaign and tackles the reasons for our failure to address our biggest environmental issues.
Dr Catherine Knight, an environmental historian, says her book – published by Canterbury University Press – suggests there are key cultural shifts New Zealanders need to make if real progress is to be made in the environmental sphere. Catherine draws on her own insights as a government ‘insider’ having worked at the coalface of environment policy for nine years.
“We’re on the cusp of significant shifts in our environment and our attitudes towards it – Continue reading
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Are New Zealanders becoming more wasteful?
Earlier this year it was revealed that New Zealand has become one of the worst in the world for the generation of waste. This is according to World Bank data, which ranks NZ has tenth worst of all countries surveyed for the generation of urban waster per capita (see map above). Continue reading
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‘Beyond Manapouri’ is out!
For more information and ordering go to Nationwide Books or www.catherineknight.nz
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‘Playing god’ – 1837 and 2017
Decisions made by men more than a century and a half ago led to me facing an unpleasant ethical dilemma a few days ago.
That is, should I subject animals to an untimely but rapid death, or a prolonged and (I can only imagine) painful one? The animal I am talking about is the Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), introduced to New Zealand in 1837 for the fur trade. And it was a decision I was confronted with when I approached the regional council to have bait stations installed on our land, which borders a gully of beautiful regenerating forest.
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Autumn in the Pohangina Valley
It was mid-autumn when we moved to our new home in the Pohangina Valley, and the valley has been ablaze with autumn colour – one of the advantages of living in a colder climate where seasons are more delineated.
This has been one of my favourite scenes: a vista from our drive, across the farmer’s paddock out to the Ruahine Range. I love the vibrant contrast of colour: the red of the solitary pin oak, the green of the pasture and bush, against the backdrop of blue-tinged mountain range.
This post was first published on www.catherineknight.nz
See also: The influence of seasons on culture and environmental perceptions; More about seasonal change (fungi)
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Life changes
About three weeks ago my family and I made a very big life change. We moved from comfortable, convenient, leafy suburbia on the Kapiti Coast to a 7-acre block of land in rural Manawatu. This involved moving ourselves out of our 213 m2 4-bedroom, double-garaged home into a garage-less house of exactly half that size.
There is a very good reason for us doing this: it wasn’t the plan.
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Did you know moreporks mewed?
I woke up with the rain gurgling down the guttering at 5:30am this morning, made myself my customary morning coffee and sat down to do some work before the morning’s quiet was broken by the duvet-bearing preschooler sharing her first thoughts of the day with me. As I typed, my muted keyboard percussion was accompanied by a “mew mew mew” sound* from the lanky poplars that line our top paddock.
This curious mewing is the less well known call of the morepork (ruru) – the onomatopoeic “more-pork” call being the one we associate with them. (In fact, until only a week or so back I had no idea what creature this mystery call belonged to.) I am not sure what the mewing call means. I suppose, just like humans, owls would get bored with just saying the same thing over and over again (as a mother of young children, I can empathise completely), so perhaps it is just for variety – who knows? (Perhaps someone does – if so, please be in touch.)
In any case, as far as morning calls go, I think this is up there with the best.
*You can listen here (on the excellent NZbirdsonline site) to the various morepork calls.
Image: Newly fledged young. Wellington, January 2009. Image © Peter Reese by Peter Reese
[Originally published on http://www.catherineknight.nz, 29 April 2017]
envirohistory NZ 