Writing that celebrates who we are and where we live.

A selection of stories on the places, species, people and creative practices that make Aotearoa New Zealand special.

Re-wilding language with Robert Macfarlane

Once, there was a word to describe every kind of mountain, mist or quality of light that touched our landscapes. The writer Robert Macfarlane understood they spoke to the depth of our relationship with the natural world, and set about gathering lost words for nature in his book Landmarks. How we describe our natural world matters more than ever, when you consider that ancient and unique landscapes like the Denniston Plateau are under threat.

Life savers, sea-sentinels and shapeshifting carnivores – Sea sponges

Sea sponges are almost description-defying. Spongy? Some are, but others are rock hard. But definitely filter-feeders? Mostly, but a few have evolved to be carnivorous and lucky for us, New Zealand is thought to be a global hotspot.

A fine-tuned desk

By his own admission, composer Mike Newport is not a handyman. But when he bought a desk for $20 from the Salvies seventeen years ago, he did a pretty good job of recessing in a keyboard using a borrowed circular saw. To hide the clutter of cables and sound paraphernalia, he took a note from roadies and added the ubiquitous black curtain.

Tūturuatu Telegraph: How a poster can set your life on a course

One of our earliest forms of self-expression are the posters we put on our walls. Sure, that puppy-in-soft-focus might be ripped down in teenage angst, replaced with your favourite music idol / movie / heart throb (Luke Skywalker, guilty as charged). But you can’t underestimate the impact of those early posters and their subliminal messages as you drift off to sleep.

Teeth of the taniwha turns lounge lizard

Imagine the day when we might share our lives and properties with endangered native birds, insects, and a lizard to two. But would you share your couch with our longest skink? Over on Aotea/Great Barrier Island, this happened to locals, Kim and Frances, thanks to local conservation efforts and a lack of certain predators. Living up to the title of a ‘lounge lizard’, a chevron skink was found perching on the arm of their sofa, living la vida.

And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul

Today is International Day of Forests. We celebrate the diversity and importance of our forests – some strange, others ancient, many young, and one commemorative – found in and around the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

A symbiotic relationship

Paula and Mike Babich have lived in their 1923 Point Chev villa for twelve years, and while there was plenty of space thanks to a renovation completed by previous owners, it didn’t function the way they liked to live and entertain.

Whio Journal: Saving our iconic blue duck

The whio, or blue duck, appears on our $10 note and the wild rivers of the back country, and not many places in between. As such, few New Zealander’s know whio exist, and most will have never seen or heard one. With just 3,000 left in the wild, a partnership between Genesis and DOC called Whio Forever was struck in 2011 to protect and grow the population of this national taonga. We take a closer look at what it takes to bring this iconic species back from the brink of extinction.

The secret life of plants on Tiritiri Matangi – an island re-planted

Bringing the story of our native plants and trees to life takes special skill, especially when competing with our unusual and charismatic birds. But for readers of Dawn Chorus, Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi’s membership newsletter, 81-year old Warren Brewer weaves the worlds of linguistics, history, rongoā Māori and botany into a riveting read on flora found on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

Tūturuatu Telegraph: Turning the tide for a unique shore bird

What sports a cap, bobs like no-one’s watching, is equal parts feisty to friendly, and number around 285 across their wild and captive populations? One of our most threatened endemic birds, the tūturuatu or shore plover, also known as tchūriwat’ to Moriori on Rēkohu / Chatham Islands, where the largest wild population resides.

Flamboyant, fantastical and fascinating: Nudibranchs of the Hauraki Gulf

The term ‘sea slug’ may conjure up drab, lumpish-type creatures, but thankfully the names of its 11 sub groups, such as nudibranchs, sea butterflies, sea hares and sea goddesses, more evocatively describe these strangely-shaped, flamboyantly-coloured species.

Writing that celebrates who we are and where we live.

A selection of stories on the places, species, people and creative practices that make Aotearoa New Zealand special.

Re-wilding language with Robert Macfarlane

Life savers, sea-sentinels and shapeshifting carnivores – Sea sponges

Sea sponges are almost description-defying. Spongy? Some are, but others are rock hard. But definitely filter-feeders? Mostly, but a few have evolved to be carnivorous and lucky for us, New Zealand is thought to be a global hotspot.

A fine-tuned desk

Tūturuatu Telegraph: How a poster can set your life on a course

Teeth of the taniwha turns lounge lizard

And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul

Today is International Day of Forests. We celebrate the diversity and importance of our forests – some strange, others ancient, many young, and one commemorative – found in and around the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

A symbiotic relationship

Paula and Mike Babich have lived in their 1923 Point Chev villa for twelve years, and while there was plenty of space thanks to a renovation completed by previous owners, it didn’t function the way they liked to live and entertain.

Whio Journal: Saving our iconic blue duck

The secret life of plants on Tiritiri Matangi – an island re-planted

Tūturuatu Telegraph: Turning the tide for a unique shore bird

Flamboyant, fantastical and fascinating: Nudibranchs of the Hauraki Gulf

The term ‘sea slug’ may conjure up drab, lumpish-type creatures, but thankfully the names of its 11 sub groups, such as nudibranchs, sea butterflies, sea hares and sea goddesses, more evocatively describe these strangely-shaped, flamboyantly-coloured species.

Jana Beer