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  • Massey sponsors Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal events

    Massey sponsors Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal events

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    “Massey is the perfect partner to take this event through the 2022 and 2023 season as students heading towards their next phase in life will have the opportunity to learn about the possibilities at university” – Sport Advancement Manager Jacob Oram.

    Last updated: Thursday 17 March 2022

    Physical activity events of any nature provide competitors with the opportunity to test their abilities against others, face a challenge they’ve set themselves, take time out to compete with friends, family, or colleagues, and visit new places around New Zealand.

    Massey University knows the positive outcomes from events such as the Tough Guy and Gal Challenge Series, and has recently signed on as the naming rights sponsor for the Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal Challenge for 2022 and 2023.

    Jacob Oram, Sport Advancement Manager, is excited the university has chosen to be part of the events. “This is a great opportunity for the university to partner with an event that sees participants across a range of ages and abilities challenge themselves in a unique and enjoyable race.

    “For the past two years the Manawatū campus has hosted the Palmerston North Junior event, which has seen an amazing number of committed young runners descend on Massey’s fields, farms and the Community Athletic Track. The engagement between the wider community and the university is something that Massey values highly, so the Tough Guy and Gal Challenge is a fantastic vehicle to strengthen that connection.”

    This year marks 20 years since the mud run began

    New Zealand’s original mud run series, the Tough Guy and Gal Challenge started 20 years ago through the idea of Event Promotions General Manager, Murray Fleming. The event series gave Kiwi adult’s the opportunity to tackle a unique off-road running event where they get down and dirty through either a six kilometre or 12 kilometre muddy obstacle course. The courses consist of man-made and natural obstacles resulting in competitors having to crawl, climb, balance, or run and jump to make their way to the finish line.

    The Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal Challenge was established shortly after in 2012 and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, alongside the original Tough Guy and Gal Challenge’s 20th anniversary.

    The Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal Challenge not only offers an event specifically catered to secondary school aged students to attend alongside their school and see if they can be the Toughest School in their region, it also offers students the opportunity to gain NCEA Level 2 and Level 3 credits, making it a highly sought-after event from secondary schools around the North Island.

    “Massey is the perfect partner to take this event through the 2022 and 2023 season as students heading towards their next phase in life will have the opportunity to learn about the possibilities at university,” Mr Oram says.

    Event details

    The Massey University Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal Challenge will take place in Wellington on Friday 27 May, Hamilton on Friday 1 July, Auckland on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 August and finish in Rotorua on Friday 26 August.

    Click here to find out more.

  • Decoy helps endemic pūtangitangi through rehab

    Decoy helps endemic pūtangitangi through rehab

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    The male pūtangitangi during his time at the Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery Centre.

    Last updated: Tuesday 22 March 2022

    A young pūtangitangi, or New Zealand Paradise Shelduck, who had a traumatic start to life is now ready to take on the world after a somewhat unconventional rehabilitation process.

    In late 2021, the male pūtangitangi was admitted to Wildbase Hospital at Massey University after falling victim to a dog attack on a property in Whanganui. After 14 days of treatment and observation, he was transferred to the Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery Centre in Palmerston North to begin the rehabilitation process.

    Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician Carina Svensson says transitioning to the new environment proved daunting for the young male. “It was a lot for the little duck to have to go through, so he preferred to hide away in a corner for most of the day, and would only emerge for an hour or two in the morning when no one was around for a quick feed before quickly seeking out safety again.” 

    After a brainstorming session led to the idea of a companion duck, Ms Svensson set out to find a suitable option in the local area. A visit to the local Hunting & Fishing store paid off, where she was offered a bright blue plastic decoy duck. MoreFM had used the decoy in a competition earlier in the year, and the staff at Hunting & Fishing kindly donated the decoy duck to help provide support and comfort to the nervous patient.

    The decoy duck getting a paint job to resemble a female pūtangitangi.

    With a paint job to transform it into a female pūtangitangi, the decoy was introduced into the aviary, and it wasn’t long before she was being investigated by the young male. Ms Svensson says he began spending more time out in the aviary swimming and hanging out with his new friend. “After nearly a month in our care he’s now grown into a beautiful, confident young male. Hopefully he’ll return to freedom with a fond memory of his friend and a vivid image of what to look out for in his future quest for a female companion.”

    The decoy and the male pūtangitangi hanging out at the Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery Centre.

    The pūtangitangi was transported to Bird Rescue in Whanganui this morning, where he will be housed with three others who are also about to be released. He will spend a few days with them, giving him the opportunity to live alongside and interact with others of the same species. They will all be released together next week.

    Ms Svensson says it’s the best possible outcome for this patient. “This gives him the opportunity to socialise with other pūtangitangi and be released with the group rather than on his own as a naïve and young bird who, due to his ordeal with the dog, never got the opportunity to get to know his own kind.”

    She adds that dog attacks on birds often result in fatal or severely debilitating injuries. “It’s a timely reminder to all dog owners to keep dogs on a leash, particularly in areas where birds are feeding, nesting, raising young or moulting. By doing so we can help protect our precious fauna.”

    The pūtangitangi is New Zealand’s only species of shelduck. It is endemic to New Zealand and is protected under the Wildlife Act.

    The recovery team wish to extend a special thanks to the team at Manawatū Hunting & Fishing for kindly donating the decoy duck.

  • Grasshoppers show how alpine fauna will be lost as global temperatures rise

    Grasshoppers show how alpine fauna will be lost as global temperatures rise

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    An alpine green rock-hopper grasshopper (Brachaspis collinus) at Rainbow ski area, Nelson Lakes. Image credit: Professor Steven Trewick.

    Last updated: Monday 28 November 2022

    New research indicates anthropogenic climate change will result in a quarter of Aotearoa New Zealand’s alpine grasshopper species becoming extinct. Species that are already endangered and others that are currently widespread could lose all of their current habitat due to global warming.

    The research paper, recently published in Royal Society Open Science journal, suggests devastating impacts on all 12 alpine grasshoppers in New Zealand.

    The paper, co-authored by Massey University PhD graduate Dr Emily Koot, Professor Mary Morgan-Richards and Professor Steven Trewick from the School of Natural Sciences, infers the future distribution of the species by projecting current niche models onto the predicted New Zealand climate, with one or 3.7 degrees Celsius warming.

    “The conclusion was that most of these alpine species that occur nowhere else on the planet, would lose at least 30 per cent of suitable habitat. Even with just one degree warming, both the green rock-hopper [Brachaspis collinus] and the endangered Alexandra grasshopper [Sigus childi] would have nowhere to live.”

    Professor Trewick says temperatures on Earth have risen by 0.66 degrees Celsius in the past twenty years. “The one degree threshold will soon be passed, when we can expect the green rock-hopper will be extinct and our other widespread flightless grasshopper species will have reduced and fragmented habitat. Our model projections show that the only habitat available for the endangered Alexandra grasshopper will be outside of its current range, so will require human transportation if it is to be saved.

    “Most of our alpine animals have populations that are restricted to high-elevation ‘islands’ and cannot jump or fly the gap to unconnected mountain habitat. This means that as the Earth warms alpine species will find their habitat dwindling. In Aotearoa New Zealand, most of our alpine plants and animals are found nowhere else in the world. When their habitat shrinks, we are set to lose a quarter of all our endemic alpine biodiversity,” Professor Trewick says.

  • New Zealand’s communication of volcanic risk under the spotlight

    New Zealand’s communication of volcanic risk under the spotlight

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    Dr Julia Becker is the lead researcher of this new project.

    Last updated: Thursday 1 December 2022

    New ground-breaking research could drive fundamental changes to the way New Zealand agencies communicate and respond to volcanic risk.

    Funded by the Earthquake Commission (EQC), the Massey-led research project will investigate how agencies have communicated risk during times of inactivity, unrest, eruption, and post-eruption in previous volcanic events in this country and globally, to create an effective approach for future events.

    Lead researcher Associate Professor Julia Becker from the Joint Centre for Disaster Research says communication of volcanic risk varies over time, depending on the status of the volcano and the population at risk, and is challenging due to the unpredictability of an eruption.

    “We want to learn from our previous responses and use our results to help improve New Zealand’s volcanic preparedness, resilience, emergency management and warnings. Communication about such aspects is essential to inform decision-making and keep New Zealanders safe.”

    While Dr Becker’s research primarily focuses on volcanic risk communication, the research scope will also include aftershock communication approaches that were useful to agencies and the public during the Canterbury earthquake sequence.

    “We want to see whether communication for earthquakes could be transferable to a volcano context. It’s clear that an integrated approach would help to understand the range of ways to effectively communicate volcanic risk and provide advice for decision-making.”

    Dr Becker is one of 13 recipients of EQC’s 2022 Biennial Grants. She will be leading a research team from Massey and GNS Science, working alongside the Department of Conservation, local iwi and  agencies responsible for volcanic risk management in New Zealand, including Determining Volcanic Risk in Auckland (DEVORA).

    EQC Research Manager Dr Natalie Balfour says communications about any natural hazard are crucial to keep the public safe and informed.

    “This research will ensure that important lessons from the past are not lost and will help us communicate volcanic risks more effectively in the future. New Zealand experiences a range of volcanic activity and eruption styles.

    “The eruptions of Mt Ruapehu [1995/96], Te Maari Crater [2012], and events overseas such as in Tonga, all provide us opportunities to learn. Successful communication of volcanic risk will help the public and other decisionmakers to better plan and prepare. 

    “We’re funding this project as it fits perfectly with EQC’s vision to create better understanding of the natural hazards we face and how we can better prepare for them.”

  • New research calls for consistent guidance during euthanasia of stranded cetaceans

    New research calls for consistent guidance during euthanasia of stranded cetaceans

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    Common dolphin that live stranded on a New Zealand beach. Photo Credit: Rebecca Boys.

    Last updated: Monday 28 November 2022

    New research reviewing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for euthanasia of stranded cetaceans across Australasia has highlighted the need for more detailed guidance and consistency in end-of-life decisions and euthanasia procedures.

    The Massey University-led study assessed the New Zealand SOP alongside state/territory SOPs across Australia, which are utilised to provide guidance to managers at stranding events. The review has reported variability in the criteria used to determine the need for an end-of-life decision and the procedures and equipment recommended to perform euthanasia.

    The study, published in the international journal Marine Policy, also revealed a significant lack of welfare-relevant parameters were being collected at euthanasia events, such as assessing and recording time-to-death.

    Lead author Rebecca Boys, a PhD student at Massey University’s Cetacean Ecology Research Group, says despite the importance of SOPs to ensure consistent and humane management practice, detailed, scientifically underpinned information is currently lacking.

    “This can not only place field officers in complex situations but may also lead to prolonged suffering for stranded cetaceans,” she says.

    “We need to ensure criteria informing end-of-life decision-making are objective, science-based and well-defined. Additionally, detailed information on the specific equipment and procedures required for end-of-life scenarios must be provided. This will ensure we are improving animal welfare outcomes for whales that cannot be returned to the sea.”

    Ms Boys says very limited data on the welfare impacts of the procedures are actually recorded, including time taken until death. “The insufficient information hinders assessments of procedures and understanding of their welfare implications.”

    Research Director for the Cetacean Ecology Research Group Professor Karen Stockin says the review was timely and needed to be considered in the appropriate context.

    “New Zealand’s continued aim to save whales when they strand should not change. However, what does need attention is how we assess welfare during human intervention efforts, and that includes euthanasia itself. This is particularly important, so as to ensure consistent international best practice.”

  • Male athletes needed for ground-breaking blackcurrant juice and caffeine study

    Male athletes needed for ground-breaking blackcurrant juice and caffeine study

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    A study being run out of Massey’s School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition is looking to find out whether a blackcurrant juice and caffeine combination will benefit sports performance in male athletes.

    The study is being led by Professor Ajmol Ali, with funding from The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research and in partnership with 2Before Performance Nutrition Ltd, a New Zealand-based performance nutrition company.

    The study sits within The Beverage Lab – a team of experienced food technologists, biochemists and sport and exercise scientists providing academic facilitated solutions with a focus on health, wellness and performance.

    Professor Ali says New Zealand blackcurrants contain the highest levels of anthocyanins in the world, and have been shown to reduce cell damage, reduce inflammation, and enhance blood flow. “Published science has already shown that exercise performance improves with blackcurrant supplementation in a variety of settings, including running/sprinting, intermittent exercise, and rock climbing.”

    In terms of caffeine, it is one of the most widely-used psychoactive drugs in the world due to its accessibility, evidenced ergogenic effects and few negative side effects. Professor Ali adds that since its removal from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list in 2004, the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid has increased significantly, particularly in endurance athletes.

    “Both blackcurrant and caffeine seem to afford greater benefits to athletes when they are in a fatigued state, therefore it would be reasonable to assume that adding caffeine to a blackcurrant juice will provide greater performance benefit considering the different mechanisms of action.”

    The beverage will be provided to previously fatigued male athletes, and their performance and metabolic parameters examined through exercise tests that simulate a high-intensity team sport like football, rugby or hockey.

    The research team is currently looking for male athletes based in Auckland aged between 18 and 45 years to participate in the study. Participation will include athletic tests such as the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test as well as oxygen uptake testing and other general health tests. Participants must be available between now and June and able to attend early morning and early evening laboratory sessions on Massey’s Albany campus.

    If you are interested in taking part, please contact Darrien Holten at: D.Holten@massey.ac.nz or via mobile on 021 0279 2338.

  • Study finds users of unmanned aircraft need to view risk mitigation more holistically

    Study finds users of unmanned aircraft need to view risk mitigation more holistically

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    A recently published study has found that users of unmanned aircraft, also known as drones, need to take a more holistic approach to identifying and mitigating potential risks before undertaking a flight.

    The study, authored by School of Aviation lecturer Dr Isaac Henderson, examined the prevalence of key operational risk mitigations amongst 812 users of unmanned aircrafts (also known as drones) in New Zealand, their confidence in identifying and complying with airspace requirements, and their ability to read Visual Navigation Charts (VNCs) and use AirShare (a tool that shows airspace requirements).

    The study found that the only risk mitigation that virtually all users applied was conducting a pre-flight check of their aircraft. However, less than a quarter of users typically log their flights on AirShare, check the VNC for the area of operation (useful for seeing airspace requirements and potential dangers in the operating area), check Notices to Airmen that have been issued (these contain aeronautical information that is time-sensitive), or conduct a Job Safety Assessment of the operating area (where you consider potential ground-based and airborne risks in the area and how they will be managed operationally).

    Just over a quarter used air band radio to help enhance awareness of what was happening in the airspace around them. While a majority of users did typically apply Model Flying New Zealand (MFNZ) site-specific requirements, these are only applicable when operating at MFNZ sites, which are identified on VNCs so that manned aircraft pilots are aware of the potential for aeromodellers to be flying in the area. Outside those sites, other risk mitigations also need to be applied to ensure that airspace requirements are adhered to and risks are adequately managed.

    Dr Henderson says that users should view risk mitigation more holistically. “It was surprising to see such a low number of users applying risk mitigations where they check airspace requirements or actively consider airborne and ground-based risks. While many in the sample were MFNZ members who followed their own internal procedures for operating at their own sites, it is important that other risk mitigations are applied when operating outside of those sites.”

    As for unmanned aircraft users who are not MFNZ members, Dr Henderson has a clear message: “Mitigating risk is not simply a case of checking the aircraft is airworthy. That’s a great start, but even an airworthy aircraft can cause damage, injury, or disruption if the pilot operates it without being aware of the airspace requirements or considering how to minimise risks to people and property.”

    The study also showed that users were confident in their ability to identify and comply with airspace requirements. Participants who indicated they knew how to use AirShare or read a VNC were asked two follow-up questions to measure their accuracy at using these tools. For both AirShare and VNCs, roughly half the participants got both questions correct, meaning that the other half were not entirely accurate when using these tools. However, those who indicated higher levels of confidence at identifying and complying with airspace requirements were typically more accurate than those with lower confidence levels.

    Because users were grouped according to particular characteristics, there are some clear ways forward for improving the number and variety of risk mitigations applied. Having attended a course on unmanned aircraft operations had the strongest effect and improved risk mitigation across all measures (number, variety, confidence, and accuracy).

    A weaker effect was also found with operational competency assessments, a form of flight examination to ensure practical competency. Dr Henderson says it appears that the key way of increasing the number and variety of risk mitigations a user typically applies is through education, suggesting that educational requirements may be a suitable policy direction.

    Professional and semi-professional operators, members of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles New Zealand (a professional and industry body), and those that operated for Part 102 organisations (organisations that have been certificated by the Civil Aviation Authority to undertake operations that would not be allowed under general operating rules for unmanned aircraft) also typically apply more risk mitigations.

    Dr Henderson says he has an idea why this might be the case. “This is presumably because their livelihoods depend upon safe operations and because there is a greater reputational risk and potential for accountability for these operators than with other users.”

    He says the study is the first of its kind in the world by examining risk mitigation for unmanned aircraft operations from a user perspective.

    “There is little in the academic literature about how users are currently mitigating risks. While there are many papers that examine risk mitigation, they tend to take the view of what users should be doing rather than examining what they are doing. Without knowing what is happening now and understanding differences between users, it will be difficult to bridge that gap.”

    Ultimately, Dr Henderson says that while the risk posed by unmanned aircraft is generally low, there is always potential for an incident or accident if users are not applying a variety of risk mitigations. He hopes that the study will spur future research and regulatory work on this issue.

    Read the full article here.

  • Research reveals new insights into the biology of New Zealand’s pilot whales

    Research reveals new insights into the biology of New Zealand’s pilot whales

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    Stranded pilot whales on Farewell Spit. Photo credit: Project Jonah.

    Last updated: Monday 28 November 2022

    Each year New Zealand experiences mass strandings of long-finned pilot whales along its shoreline. Exactly why these whales strand remains unclear. However, new biological insights into these phenomenal events has just been published in an international peer reviewed journal.

    New research which examined more than 1500 pilot whales post mortem over an 80-year period has now revealed unique characteristics of Southern Hemisphere long -finned pilot whales. Estimates of length-at-birth, maximum ages, and sexual shape dimorphism (differences between male and female form) all differ significantly to those previously reported for the North Atlantic subspecies, indicating important subspecies differences in morphology (branch of biology that deals with form and structure of animals), longevity, and sociality.

    Maximum ages of 31 and 38 years were estimated for males and females, respectively. The study also reported pronounced sexual dimorphism with respect to shape, with males having proportionally longer pectoral fins, wider tail flukes, and taller dorsal fins compared to their female counterparts.

    The study, published in the Journal of Mammalogy, was undertaken by a team of scientists based at Massey University, Auckland University of Technology, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Ireland and The Institute of Zoology, London.

    Lead author Dr Emma Betty from Massey University’s Cetacean Ecology Research Group, says the value of long-term datasets and tissue archives collected during mass stranding events cannot be underestimated.

    “Knowledge of population biological parameters can contribute to assessing the resilience of a population in the face of increasing anthropogenic [human induced] pressures,” she says.

    Research Director for the Cetacean Ecology Research Group Professor Karen Stockin says the ongoing, long-term whale stranding research in New Zealand is really starting to bear fruit.

    “New Zealand’s international reputation for mass whale strandings is globally recognised. However, it’s the decades of data and samples collected in partnership with iwi and the Department of Conservation that is most exceptional.”

  • Research article explores lethal pulsing inside pyroclastic surges

    Research article explores lethal pulsing inside pyroclastic surges

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    Pyroclastic surges of the 9 December 2019 eruption on Whakaari/White Island. Image courtesy of Allessandro Kauffmann.

    Last updated: Monday 28 November 2022

    Pyroclastic surges are lethal hazards from volcanoes that exhibit enormous destructiveness through large dynamic pressures of 100-102 kilopascal inside flows that are capable of obliterating reinforced buildings. These hot, fast and turbulent gas-and-ash clouds create far greater devastation to life and infrastructure than can currently be explained scientifically. But why are they so destructive? Until now, the hostile conditions inside pyroclastic surges have precluded measurements of their inner workings and therefore their hazards remain poorly mitigated globally.

    A research article just published in Nature Communications, co-authored by a team of scientists from New Zealand, Italy, the United States and Switzerland, provides new insights into this important volcanic hazard process. The researchers show, through large-scale experiments and the first direct measurements inside the pyroclastic surges from the deadly December 2019 eruption of Whakaari (White Island, New Zealand), that it is turbulence that controls and amplifies the destructiveness of these flows.

    Dr. Ermanno Brosch from the School of Agriculture and Environment explains, “It is well known that the damage-causing dynamic pressure of pyroclastic surges increases with both their speed and the relative amount of particles suspended inside them. Therefore, traditional hazard assessments rely on estimates of the bulk velocity and bulk density of pyroclastic surges that yield average dynamic pressure values, which can be compared, for instance, with the strength of buildings in the flow path.”

    Dr Ermanno Brosch.

    What is not known is how the velocity and density, and hence the destructive force, vary and evolve inside pyroclastic surges. That is why the researchers synthesised them in large-scale experiments using the Pyroclastic flow Eruptions Large-scale Experiment (PELE) simulator in New Zealand. Just like the collapse of a volcanic eruption plume, they heated natural volcanic ash and rock material, dropped it from a height of seven metres into an instrumented channel to generate a two to eight metre high pyroclastic surge that moved at speeds of more than 30 kilometres per hour before colliding with a cliff at runout length of 35 metres.  

    Professor Gert Lube from the School of Agriculture and Environment says much to their initial surprise, the measurements of dynamic pressure inside their synthetic pyroclastic surges were by no means chaotic.  “Instead, they occurred as two markedly regular sets of pressure oscillations, each showing recurrent peaks almost exactly every 570 and 800 milliseconds. These flow oscillations formed right after impact of the hot mixture on the ground and persisted and raced at high speed through the advancing surge. Importantly, the regular peaks in damage-causing dynamic pressure exceed mean values, which are traditionally estimated for hazard assessments, manifold leading to significant underestimation of the actual hazard impacts. Furthermore, the effect of repeated large pressure pulses on resulting damage is somewhat similar to strong damaging aftershocks in an earthquake sequence leading to successive weakening of building structures. What is also concerning is that the pressure oscillations closely coincided with similarly oscillating variations in the concentration of ash and temperature known to cause immense suffocation and burn hazards. The synchronous peaking of the flow characteristics that cause damage, suffocation and burning hazards is likely to exacerbate the impacts of pyroclastic surges.”

    Professor Gert Lube.

    Concurrent with these experimental findings, pyroclastic surges generated during the Whakaari eruption killed 22 visitors to the island and severely injured another 25, marking it as the deadliest eruption in Aotearoa New Zealand since the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera.

    “Working on the eruption data, we realised that pyroclastic surges, during their runout, had engulfed an array of pressure sensors that usually monitors explosion signals from within the volcano and its vent system. The characteristics of the pressure signals inside the Whakaari surges were the same as in our experimental flows, just that instead of 75 pressure pulses per minute in our experiments, the natural surges showed 12 such pulses per minute,” Dr Brosch says.

    The researchers showed that the hazardous pulsing inside pyroclastic surges occurs because the flow energy focusses into and is transported within the largest turbulent eddy structures. They developed a new flow model that allows prediction of these pulses in future volcanic events. This discovery, which is also applicable to snow avalanches, necessitates a re-evaluation of volcanic hazard models that aim to forecast and mitigate volcanic impacts here in New Zealand and elsewhere.

    This research was partially supported by a Royal Society Marsden Fund grant), a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Research program, and a Resilience to Nature’s Challenges Science Challenge Fund.

    The article, Destructiveness of pyroclastic surges controlled by turbulent fluctuations, was recently published with open access in Nature Communications.

    Authors includes Dr Eric C.P. Breard and Professor Joseph Dufek of the University of Oregon, USA; Dr Tomaso Esposti-Ongaro and Dr Matteo Cerminara of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Pisa, Italy; Dr Betty Sovilla of WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland, and Dr Luke Fullard of the School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University.

  • Two Massey projects awarded Unlocking Curious Minds funding

    Two Massey projects awarded Unlocking Curious Minds funding

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    The Unlocking Curious Minds fund supports projects that engage more New Zealanders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

    Last updated: Thursday 17 March 2022

    A project looking at ecological restoration approaches in the domain of Tangaroa, and one that seeks to enrich Māori and Pasifika science through Waka Ama, have both been awarded funding through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund.

    The fund supports projects that aim to engage more New Zealanders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Thirteen projects have been awarded funding for the 2022 round, totalling $1.592 million in grants which start on 1 February 2022.

    “He waka eke noa!”: Enriching Māori and Pasifika science through Waka Ama – Dr Andrew Foskett, Dr Kathryn Beck, Dr Paul Macdermid, and Dr Bevan Erueti, Taranaki, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi.

    This project will engage students in their communities through real world application of science to their performance during Waka Ama. In addition to fostering the curiosity and enhancing the scientific literacy of the students the project will, in line with the aims of Vision Mātauranga, take science and technology innovations into local (largely Māori) communities whilst fostering engagement in hauora and kaitiakitanga. A (floating) platform is proposed to engage students, communities and (future) scientists through participatory science.

    The target audience are 200 year nine and 10 Waka Ama paddlers from invited low decile schools in regions with large Māori and Pacific communities. Data from various New Zealand sources identify a decline in science performance in Year nine and ten students which translates into a drop-off of older students enrolling into science-related subjects. The sources report that students from richer communities perform better than those from poorer communities, and that the achievement gap for Māori and Pacific students narrows when socio-economic factors are taken into account. The data show that access to learning resources impacts on science achievement. As such, the proposed target audience are those who would most benefit from the provision of a resource-rich participatory science experience in their own communities in an activity that can build on their cultural confidence and identity. All of the above fit squarely within the strategies outlined in Vision Mātauranga, Curious Minds and National Statement for Science Investment documents.

    Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa’s (Massey University) vison is to foster lifelong learners and so a key performance indicator would be an elevated interest in and understanding of the applications of science in a meaningful context. The students will access their own performance metrics and participant groups will be provided with anonymised metrics that they can utilise for stair-cased learning within their school.

    This project has received funding of $136,837.

    Kotahi taku huata ki runga Hauruia, te mano, te mano, te mano  – David Aguirre.

    This project will develop active ecological restoration approaches in the domain of Tangaroa, building an advanced understanding of restoration ecology and aquaculture through an undeniably Te Whānau-a-Apanui lens. The whakataukī that guides the approach, “Kotahi taku huata ki runga Hauruia, te mano, te mano, te mano – For every kumara I plant in my garden at Hauruia there follows a progeny of thousands,” reminds Te whānau-a-Apanui descendants of the mana and prosperity that comes from mahinga kai and taking care of te taiao.

    Passive ecosystem restoration approaches (e.g. Marine Protected Areas) exclude people from the restoration process. Conversely, active ecosystem restoration approaches place the responsibility for nurturing our environment on the community. New Zealand has a long, distinguished legacy of active ecosystem restoration on land, with many national and grass-roots initiatives to remove pests and reforest disturbed areas. Why have we not applied this thinking in our moana?

    This project will build on existing mātauranga and significant investment in leading research to deliver the first applied example of an active, participatory, whole-ecosystem approach to marine ecosystem restoration. Accordingly, the teachers and rangitahi involved in the project won’t simply experience science, they will be at the forefront of scientific discovery, generating and defining mātauranga that will be used in Aotearoa and the rest of the world.

    The project is founded on a genuine partnership between mana whenua/mana moana and researchers, it increases science relevance for teachers, students and whānau as well as advancing scientific understanding, develops new ways of learning and empowers the community to shape the narrative underlying the development of new mātauranga.

    This project has received funding of $90,662.

    More information on Unlocking Curious Minds is available here.