

The connection between nature & wellbeing
I see that a focus of this year’s Mental Health Awareness week was ‘Letting nature in’, encouraging New Zealanders to get out and connect...


Subterranean adventures
adjective Also sub·ter·ra·ne·ous. existing, situated, or operating below the surface of the earth; underground. existing or operating out...


New Zealand between the Wars
Question: What is the connection between these two images? Auckland children drinking the free issue of a daily half pint of milk which...


Is New Zealand on the verge of a tipping point?
In a recent article published in George Washington University’s online journal History News Network, I argue that New Zealand may be on...


'Re-wilding' our cities' lost waterways
The announcement of the upcoming symposium on Perth's 'lost lakes' - 'a 200 year history of infill, paving, draining, damming,...


Melding science and story-telling for a better future
I was privileged last month to be invited to be keynote speaker at the Fifth Biennial Symposium of the International Society of River...


Beyond Manapouri
Since my interview with Kathryn Ryan on RNZ yesterday, I have been inundated by inquiries about my new book Beyond Manapouri: 50 years of...


What is at the root of our most serious environmental problems?
I have been reading Max Harris' much acclaimed book The New Zealand Project (BWB Books, 2017). Harris believes that to face the major...


'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...





















