Decorations up, football fun, big catch, Fill the Bus
The big tree is up in Te Manawa Detector dogs to algal blooms — science series returns
With December actually here now, there can really be no more complaining about Christmas decorations “being up already”.
The big tree is up in Te Manawa, the Professionals Mcdowell Real Estate Christmas Lights Trail is under way, Christmas functions are in full swing, and yes, we've got all our decorations up at home now, too.
Every year, my wife Katie expands with something new, and this year it is some Christmas music at the front door which is activated by standing on the doormat. The cats are finding that very confusing!
One thing we don't do, though, is put decorations up in the toilet and bathroom; apparently 25 per cent of us do exactly that. ...Do you?
A football funny moment
The Football World Cup is under way, and despite New Zealand not being involved, it still gathers plenty of interest here. It also created a funny moment for us over the weekend.
Our son Joel is a fan of the team for Argentina, which played on Sunday morning. He wore his supporter's jersey while watching the game at home before we went out for breakfast at Bird The Word on Fenton St.
While enjoying our food, three Argentinians came in wearing their jerseys and started talking to us in Spanish. Bad news - we didn't understand. Good news - everyone was happy. Really good news? Tourists!
A petly reminder
In the area we live, we are used to hearing stories about big fish being caught at Lake Tarawera or kataina, but this is a super-sized catch story that's hard to picture.
Not a trout – but a record-breaking goldfish has been caught in France. An angler dragged a 30-kilogram
Topics to be covered at an upcoming Science Speaker Series event will range from scent-detection dogs trained to identify pest fish species, to the science behind algal blooms.
These subjects, and more, will highlight the growing research into issues faced by the Te Arawa lakes.
Hosted by Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council in partnership with The University of Waikato, the Science Speaker Series consists of four presenters from the University of Waikato, and will be held on Tuesday, December 6 from 3pm to 5pm.
It will be both in-person and via webinar for anyone to tune in from anywhere.
Helen Creagh, Rotorua catchments manager for Bay of Plenty Regional Council, is excited to offer the event to the public for the first time O¨intwo years.
“We're so lucky to have access to these world-class speakers who are at the top of their game. It's all about giving the public a chance to really engage with the science behind our specimen from Bluewater Lakes.
A carp fishery released the behemoth known as “The Carrot” 20 years ago, and it has since grown to be one of the largest in the world.
It took the fisherman 25 minutes to reel her in, before they snapped a few photos and let her go.
Experts say the enormous size of The Carrot serves as a reminder not to release pets into the wild, because certain types of goldfish can grow to enormous sizes. Imagine trying to find a bowl big enough for keeping that one on the kitchen bench.
Help fill The Hits bus
And a final reminder and invitation from me to support The Hits Fill The Bus, which is coming up on Wednesday.
We're out all day collecting for the Salvation Army Foodbank, including visiting schools, ECES, and businesses to add their collections to the bus.
We do have public drop-off points before school, at lunchtime in town, and late afternoon.
See thehits.co.nz for those location details, and hopefully we'll see you then. And, I will be broadcasting my entire day show from 9am-3pm from on-board the bus, talking to lots of locals who have helped us in the collection. I can't wait!
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Ō work in a way that everyone can understand and connect with.”
Deniz zkundakci, Associate Professor and Toihuarewa Waimāori, Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman in Lake and Freshwater Science, says the event could not come at a more pressing time.
“Climate change is already affect¯ O ing the Rotorua Te Arawa lakes. Understanding how we can move forward together to tackle these issues is the first step to planning for the future. If we want to see positive change in the health of our lakes, we must understand what we're facing. Everyone has a part to play.”
Deniz is also a keynote speaker and will be presenting his research toward better understanding climate impacts on the Te Arawa Rotorua lakes.
His talk will outline the complex interplay of fragile freshwater ecosystems and climate changes, the ongoing and future climate impact research at the University of Waikato and the effects of climate change on lake restoration outcomes.
Meti Yulianti, Doctor of Philosophy (PH.D.) student, will share her research into identifying control points for freshwater contaminants in Te Arawa lake catchments. She will discuss her investigation into the characteristics of nutrients in streams flowing into Lake karo by integrating isotope tracer and catchment modelling.
Dr Grant Tempero will discuss his work around phytoplankton nutrient limitation in Lake Rotorua and the control of algal blooms.
He'll discuss results from a laboratory trial to assess nutrient availability for algae, along with insights into the nutrient status of Lake Rotorua and how environmental factors drive cyanobacteria blooms.
Dr Clare Browne will delve into her work around detecting invasive freshwater fish using scent and environmental DNA.
Scent-detection dogs have proved extremely useful in terrestrial conservation and biosecurity but using their detection accuracy for aquatic species is a new approach.
Dr Browne and her team have worked to compare the ability of dogs trained to identify the odour of carp and catfish from water samples to that of EDNA.
You can tune into the event via webinar or attend in-person at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Rotorua offices at 1118 Fenton St.
To receive a link to the event or to RSVP for in-person attendance email Rotorua. Lakes@boprc.govt.nz
For more information go to www.facebook.com/ loveourrotorualakes or rotorualakes.co.nz