The Green Desk

This week, Mitchell speaks to Flinders University’s Professor of Hydrogeology Adrian Werner about his ongoing
research into groundwater exploration and occurrences in offshore aquifers. Adrian and his
fellows have been leading research into groundwater and offshore aquifers for some time
and found that there are definite and viable sources of freshwater under our oceans, which
in many cases we have already been tapping into. Mitchell and Adrian discuss what the
future of our water supply may look like which raises certain societal questions and some
potential implications. To begin, Mitchell asks Adrian about his research and some of their
findings.

Mitchell Fuller speaks to PhD student Lauren Vargo about the quickly declining glaciers in New Zealand.

For Green Desk, Mitch Fuller and Sherry Zhang talk to Hexacycle’s founder Neil Birrell about how maggots can close the loop on our existing and linear waste cycles and how insects might be part of the future of animal and human consumption.

This week on Green Desk, Mitch speaks to University of Canterbury’s Jo Carpenter who recently published her thesis on seed dispersal in Aotearoa’s flightless birds. The research had a rather specific focus on Weka, which are often be seen as a nuisance amongst campers and trampers, however Jo’s research has discovered that Weka are excellent seed dispersers and are essential to the survival of certain species. The research also showed the significant implications of human interaction with Weka, where those which experienced interaction through camping or picnicking tended to be 40 and 50% less effective in their role functions. Mitchell and Jo discuss the findings of her research and begins by asking her how it began and what she was set out to achieve.