TechWeek 2019
Mānuka honey’s sticky situation and the project working to solve it
Mānuka honey has quickly become New Zealand’s latest gold rush, and honey-lovers across the globe can’t get enough of the ‘liquid gold.’ But with at least 879,750 registered beehives across the country, twice as many as 15 years ago, the industry is working at a rate that both our flowering vegetation and honey bees can’t sustain.
Could algae be the next source of omega-3?
Omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) provide great health benefits to the human cardiovascular system, nervous system and anti-inflammatory reactions in the immune system. Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research’s Dr Phil Novis and University of Canterbury PhD student Mehrnoush Tangestani are investigating an alga, found in Southland’s Awarua Wetland, mahinga kai site for Ngāi Tahu, that has clinically proven high levels of EPA.
Achieving results for the environment through technology: lasers, scanners & drones
Join us online as our researchers showcase their work and the impacts of technology on our environment. We will host a live Q+A with Ben Jolly and Andrew McMillan who will showcase technology ranging from terrestrial laser scanners and drones to virtual reality headsets and how they can benefit research of our environment. Viewers will be able to look at the equipment throughout the session and ask Ben and Andrew questions.
New technology helps uncover ancient secrets
Manaaki Whenua uses international biotech methods to achieve results in our labs, including obtaining information from ancient DNA. The process of entering the lab is documented in this behind-the-scenes video and shows why DNA is sensitive to contamination.
Achieving results for the environment through technology: Predators
Join us online as our researchers showcase their work and the impacts of technology on our environment. Bruce Warburton will host a live session and detail the advances that have been made in predator control. Bruce will discuss the issues around expanding wallaby populations in New Zealand and the technology we have created to monitor their movements.
The Lake Snow Toolbox: Developing a tool to analyse slime in NZ lakes
Lake snow is produced by a microscopic alga and is a major problem in Central Otago and Wanaka. The reason why this is growing in lakes in these regions is unclear, but due to the impacts it has on homes and businesses, Manaaki Whenua are developing a monitoring device for regional councils. The laser-based device provides real time data and sends a beam out in the water, and characterises what bounces back by using the molecule structure to identify,
Digitisation Expedition (Citizen Science)
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research is custodian of the Allan Herbarium – a collection of dried plant specimens from around the world and is the largest in Aotearoa. The Herbarium is a collection of flowering plants, mosses, liverworts, lichens and algae. The specimens in the collection provide a permanent, irreplaceable resource to researchers and managers that seek to understand and document New Zealand’s flora. This Expedition needs volunteers like you to help us increase our digital specimen records. We have a massive 660,000 specimens and objects at the Herbarium but only 45% have been ‘digitised’ for researchers and biosecurity and biodiversity managers to access from anywhere in the world.