In defence of the humble moth
The humble moth often gets a bad rap compared to its more glamorous relative, the butterfly. But moths are actually an important part of our ecosystem. And Wairarapa local Jim O'Malley thinks so too - he's part of the region's first ever moth survey, which has revealed a surprising wealth of biodiversity, as well as the discovery of a very rare moth.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Science with Allan Blackman
Science commentator Allan Blackman joins Susie to talk about why today is World Mosquito Day. He'll also look at a study that's found a link between lithium deficiencies and Alzheimer's and another which has found magnets could help with the electrolysis process in space. Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
The Auckland Uni student's plans to help dementia research
People over sixty are wanted to hang out with a tiny robot called iRobi and play some games. University of Auckland Master of Robotics and Automation Engineering student Zahra Ally is developing a new game to assist people with cognitive decline or early symptoms of dementia, and she needs help. She chats to Jesse. Please email zall683@ if you're keen to help! Photo: Zahra Ally
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Education Minister Erica Stanford on raising writing achievement
Education Minister Eric Stanford is announcing the government's new Writing Action Plan to supercharge writing achievement and better set Kiwi kids up for success The announcement comes the same day as a new study shows only a quarter of children at the end of intermediate school were writing and doing maths last year at the level expected by new curriculums introduced this year. The Curriculum Insights study tested children in Years 3, 6 and 8 last year and results were released on Tuesday. The study found children were doing about as well as in previous years. But it found few were performing at the level expected by the incoming maths and English curriculums. Just 22 percent of Year 3 children, 30 percent of Year 6 children and 23 percent of Year 8s were doing maths at the expected level. And in writing 41 percent of Year 3s, 33 percent of Year 6 children and 24 percent of Year 8s were at the level expected of their age group. The study was run by Otago University and the NZ Council for Educational Research for the Education Ministry. The projects conceptual lead, Dr Charles Darr, from the NZCER said: "These results provide an early indication of student achievement in relation to the national performance aspirations of the refreshed curriculum". "They give us an important starting point for understanding how students are progressing and how expectations are taking shape during this time of change." Education Minister Erica Stanford said the results confirmed why it was "mission critical" to focus on reading, writing and maths in classrooms this year. She said the results showed the government had "stemmed the decline of maths achievement" because maths achievement against the level of the new curriculum had increased from 22 percent in 2023 to 23 percent in 2024. However, the study's authors said: "In both mathematics and writing, average scores are similar to those recorded in previous assessments, indicating that achievement remains stable". "The study's new benchmarking, aligned to the refreshed curriculum, sets performance expectations that are higher than in the past. "These results show where students currently sit in relation to those expectations." The study was developed from the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement . Stanford was due to make an announcement at Brooklyn School in Wellington on Tuesday after lunch. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
