Fieldays 2025: Innovation Hub highlights agriculture's future, using robots and kiwifruit leather
Jeffery To was twiddling his thumbs at home during the Covid lockdown when he came up with the idea of a robot that could scour our waterways and collect pollution
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NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
The Great New Zealand Road Trip: ‘You New Zealanders take your stars for granted' - the striking words of a tourist that helped turn this Kiwi region dark
Over there, Mars is descending below the horizon. On the opposite side, Saturn is rising. The Milky Way, directly above, dominates the space-scape. Visibility tonight is 100% – you'll not see the Southern Cross, and the two pointers, Alpha and Beta Centauri, more resplendent. Atop 1030m Mt John, we are in the centre of the Aoraki-Mackenzie dark sky reserve, the biggest in the world. The Aoraki-Mackenzie dark sky reserve is the biggest in the world. Photo / Supplied It's been literally billions of years in the making, of course, but the dark sky initiative and the tourist visits to Mt John were born from a conversation just over 20 years ago. 'You New Zealanders take your stars for granted' Graeme Murray moved to Lake Tekapo (Takapō) in the mid-70s, operating scenic flights in the area. His path crossed in 2004 with then Japanese tourist (and subsequent Kiwi resident) Hide Ozawa, who had been awestruck by the night sky above the Mackenzie Basin. 'This is the place I can show more people the night sky,' Ozawa recalled thinking on a recently released documentary for the 20-year anniversary of the Dark Sky Project. Graeme Murray moved to Lake Tekapo (Takapō) in the mid-70s. Photo / Supplied 'Not many Kiwis [are] aware of how special this night sky is. The centre of the Milky Way ... goes straight above on the east. It's wide up there and tapering to both horizons. That never happens in the northern hemisphere.' Ozawa sought Murray's help to support Nagoya University install a leading-edge telescope atop Mt John, with the support of Canterbury University. 'The only thing we hoped we would obtain as a result of our support was the key to the gate,' Murray says on the documentary. 'We would love to open it up for astrotourism.' The venture, then called Earth & Sky, was hardly an overnight success – Murray recalls occasions when barely three people would show up. Graeme Murray'ss path crossed in 2004 with then Japanese tourist (and subsequent Kiwi resident) Hide Ozawa. Photo / Supplied 'One night, [Hide] and I were sitting under the stars here with no clients, and he said what to me personally, are very famous words, 'You New Zealanders take your stars for granted – you don't appreciate the asset you have in your night sky'. 'He said if we had a sky like this in Japan, we would create a park to protect it. 'Now I've heard of people being hit by religion and all sorts of things, but that sort of got at me a wee bit.' Hide Ozawa had been awestruck by the night sky above the Mackenzie Basin. Photo / Supplied With the support of many, the Mackenzie-Aoraki area was awarded dark sky status in 2012. The trickle of tourists became a torrent, says Murray. Ngāi Tahu comes on board Earth & Sky and Ngāi Tahu Tourism teamed up in 2016 to become 50-50 partners in the business, and renamed it The Dark Sky Project. Tour times vary according to the season, anywhere from 6.30pm to 2am in winter. In summer time, the tours are between 10pm and 4am. 'I already was a night owl,' laughs Ngāi Tahu astronomer Victoria Campbell, who was appointed Dark Sky Project general manager last year. Ngāi Tahu astronomer Victoria Campbell. Photo / Supplied This year, the Dark Sky Project is forecast to attract around 48,000 visitors to Mt John. 'One of the most special things is sharing the amazing southern sky with people from all over the world,' says Campbell. 'A lot of those people don't get to see the stars in general, due to light pollution or air pollution. It's life-changing. They're blown away.' While there was still work to be done, she believed that Kiwis were starting to appreciate what lies above. 'The fact that here in Aotearoa, we have so many regions or communities looking for some type of dark sky status ... is indicative of the value and appreciation that people have.' Campbell relocated to Takapō from Dunedin for the general manager role last year. 'Knowing how special our view is of the Milky Way here in Aotearoa, that's never lost for me. Aoraki Mackenzie's Dark Sky Project is a Ngāi Tahu Tourism operation, which connects manuhiri (visitors) to our night sky. Photo / Supplied 'For someone who has been raised in the city and only recently moved into a dark sky reserve, I really noticed the difference in what we're able to see – just the magnitude and the multitude of the stars.' 'We're in heaven here' Weaved into the Dark Sky Project is an interactive experience which explains Matariki and the importance of the night sky in Māori culture, including how the stars were used for the earliest Polynesian navigators. Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua and Waihao Upoko Tewera King and Te Rūnanga o Moeraki Upoko David Higgins shared ancestral stories when Ngāi Tahu Tourism partnered with Earth & Sky. 'We understood rather rapidly just how important it was to revive some of that mātauranga, some of those traditions and stories about the night sky,' Higgins said in the documentary. 'We're in heaven here, aren't we? Takapō is a very special place.' The Mackenzie Basin was traditionally a gateway for Ngāi Tahu ancestors to connect and trade as they travelled around the South Island. King described it as the heartbeat of the takiwā (tribal boundary) for his hapū. 'When you're up on Ōtehīwai [University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory] and the sky is perfect, it almost feels like you can reach out and touch the moon – it's a very spiritual place,' said King. Visitors looking at the night sky at Aoraki Mackenzie's Dark Sky Project. Photo / Supplied King tells me he's excited by the potential. 'I believe that's where we all should be heading and looking. We should be looking to go into the stars. 'I see it as a vehicle to interest Māori in our stars, but take that next step and get them into astronomy as well. I want us to be travellers in space. 'Our ancestors were people who crossed vast amounts of distances on oceans. Why don't we take that attitude and start looking at going across vast expanses of space?' On Wednesday night, that dream seemed like a perfectly reasonable reality as we peered through telescopes to get an even closer look at the likes of Saturn and even a dying star. As we descended Mt John, bus driver Philippa had one more song – Bliss. Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand's most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor.
Techday NZ
16 hours ago
- Techday NZ
2degrees migrates over 2m customers to new Tahi platform
2degrees has migrated more than two million customer connections across mobile, broadband and energy onto a single digital platform. The company said the migration, conducted ahead of schedule, completes a three-year integration programme which began following the 2022 merger with Vocus Group. The combined firm now has more than 2.3 million customers and reports over NZD $1.2 billion in annual turnover. Significant migration The project involved transitioning all mobile, broadband and energy customers from both 2degrees and legacy Vocus brands onto the new Tahi platform. According to 2degrees, the move constitutes one of the largest customer migrations in New Zealand's telecommunications sector. "This is not just a milestone for 2degrees, it's a landmark achievement for New Zealand's digital economy," said 2degrees CEO Mark Callander. "We've completed what we believe is the largest customer migration ever seen in the country's telco sector, and we've done it with Kiwi talent, ahead of schedule, and without disrupting customers." The Tahi platform, designed and built by the 2degrees technology team, provides a single view of all customers across service lines and market segments, encompassing Consumer, SME, Enterprise and Public Sector. In-house development Unlike typical large-scale technology integrations that rely on external vendors, 2degrees said it developed and operates its own platform internally. This approach, the company stated, provides greater flexibility to adapt to customer needs and streamlines operational control. "Unlike most large-scale integrations that rely heavily on overseas vendors, 2degrees chose to design, build, and operate its own platform in-house," said Callander. "We now have a tech backbone that we own, that we control, and that we can evolve to meet the needs of our customers faster than anyone else." The migration also incorporated more than 50,000 Vocus mobile customers onto the 2degrees mobile network. The company said this step generated operational efficiencies and end-to-end control over service delivery. Disruption avoided Callander highlighted that the timetable was met while also growing the business, an outcome he attributed to detailed planning and internal capability. "Too often, big integrations are delayed and inhibit growth," said Callander. "We were able to do this on time, all while growing the business. We have proven that with the right planning, capability and culture, you can deliver a transformation of this scale with the customer front and centre." 2degrees said the Tahi platform is already supporting new products and services such as 'Flex', a self-service portal for business customers, and is designed to support further business expansion. The platform gives the company a single system with a comprehensive overview of customer accounts across all services, intended to simplify experience and facilitate product development. "Tahi gives us the ability to simplify customer experiences, roll out innovations faster, and ensure our teams have a complete picture of our customers," said Callander. "It's custom-built, continuously improved, and scalable for the future." Integration history 2degrees stated that this latest integration builds on a track record of combining several New Zealand telecommunications businesses over recent years, including CallPlus, FX Networks, Slingshot and Orcon. "Integration is part of our DNA, but this was on another level. The fact that we delivered it faster than expected, with no customer disruption, and using a fully local team is a testament to the strength of our people and the future we're building." Follow us on: Share on:
Otago Daily Times
17 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Record whale sightings off Kaikōura coast
There were 293 sightings of eight different cetacean species were observed, including humpback, sperm, blue and southern right whale. Photo: RNZ This year's Kaikōura whale count has been hailed as the best yet.A whopping 201 humpback whales were counted off the coast of Kaikōura during June. Kaikōura Ocean Research Institute (KORI) director Dr Jody Weir said the month-long whale count held in June attracted the most volunteers and sighted the most whales. ''It was awesome. It was our most brilliant season yet. We had 22 days suitable for viewing, weather-wise, and we had 173 volunteers who did a whopping 574 volunteer hours, which is the best we've had.'' First held in 2020 during Covid restrictions, the Great Kaikōura Whale Count has run on a shoe-string budget, kept alive by support from the Kaikōura District Council. But this year the coffers were boosted by sponsorship from South Pacific Helicopters, MainPower (North Canterbury's electricity network) and SeaWeek. Volunteers were out in force to count whales off Kaikōura's coast during June. Photo: Kaikōura Ocean Research Institute The extra funding allowed KORI to hire two interns, with masters degrees in marine biology, from mid-May to mid-July to plan and run the event, Dr Weir said. ''Those two interns were fabulous. They came from Italy and France. They were really wonderful and I hope we can get them back again.'' June is normally a quiet month for tourism, but it is the busiest time of year for humpback whales passing through. The event has proven to be a drawcard for visitors, who come to Kaikōura especially for the whale count, Dr Weir said. The project aims to get an idea of the number of whales migrating between feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica and breeding grounds in a more tropical climate. During the 22 days, there were 293 sightings of eight different cetacean species were observed, including humpback, sperm, blue and southern right whales, and dusky, common, Hector's and orca dolphins. This included 119 humpback whale sightings, counting 201 individual humpbacks, Dr Weir said. ''This year was really special as a baby humpback was born here in July. It is only the second or third time it has been recorded. ''It was also the first time we've seen a southern right whale from the hill, which is pretty cool.'' Community events were also held at Kaikōura Museum, a day of family activities at Fyffe House to mark World Oceans Day (June), a screening of the Oceans film at the Mayfair Arts and Culture Centre and a family fun day at Emporium Brewing. - By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter • LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
