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As part of her PhD in Environmental Management at Massey University, Charlotte Sextus is is inviting readers from the Manawatū to participate in a survey exploring environmental volunteering.

Community-based environmental groups make a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation in New Zealand. This survey aims to help us understand why people volunteer for environmental groups. These findings will be useful for groups seeking to recruit more volunteers to help protect our local environment.

The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. Participation is completely voluntary, and all responses will remain completely anonymous.To participate please use the link below:

https://massey.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_87fjPQkllVZ8T8q

If you would prefer a printed version of the survey please just email her at [Enable JavaScript to view protected content] or you can pick one up from the ENM office on 145 Cube st, Palmerston North.

Auckland Council received a total of 2180 formal survey submissions about driving on Muriwai Beach.

Key feedback themes

When asked which of the three options to manage the future of vehicles on the beach they prefer – seasonal closures, controlled access, or permanent closure:

• 37 per cent prefer seasonal closures, restricting vehicle access to the beach at core times.
• 32 per cent prefer controlled access
• 21 per cent prefer permanent closure of all public vehicle access points.

For the full story and a link to the feedback document go here.

Lophomyrtus bullata leaf with brown telia, sexual spore stage of A. psidii. Photo: Michael Bartlett, Scion.Austropuccinia psidii (myrtle rust) is likely bipolar and may outcross on universal hosts - Presented by Alistair Mctaggart, Plant Pathologist, The University of Queensland

Austropuccinia psidii reproduces sexually and asexually. A knowledge gap about its reproductive biology is whether populations of this pathogen that were formerly structured (separated) by host range can reproduce on shared hosts. Join us for this webinar by plant pathologist and mycologist Alistair McTaggart, who has been delving into this research area. Recent work by Alistair and colleagues determined whether mating genes in three genomes of A. psidii (from Australia, Brazil and South Africa) were under selection, as a proxy for whether different strains can reproduce sexually on a shared host. They examined contigs that contained three homologs of the STE3.2 gene, which were near-identical in the three genomes, and the homeodomain locus, which contained two alleles of two homeodomain genes in each genome. The lack of variation in STE3.2 genes may indicate A. psidii uses bipolar mating, and there are implications for biosecurity if different strains are sexually compatible based on variation in the homeodomain locus.

To attend this webinar, or to receive a recording to watch after the live session, register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Topic: Gob-Smacking Godwits

Description:

Adrian Riegen will follow the story of the 2021 godwit tracking project.
The marathon migrations of these extraordinary birds continue to amaze and surprise us.
If you have been following our regular updates, join us to discover the inside story and have your questions answered.

Tuesday 19th October 2021 - 8:00PM

To register go here

Over a year ago, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released Managing our estuaries, a report that clearly outlines many estuaries are in trouble. Join us for a conversation about designing long-term monitoring programmes for estuaries, informed by our research.

The webinar is on at 11am on Wednesday 27 October.

Judi Hewitt (Sustainable Seas Challenge) and Megan Carbines (Auckland Council) will present 7 lessons for resource managers to consider when designing long-term monitoring programmes for estuaries.

Go here to register.