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Best laid plans
Dunedin’s past is littered with grand schemes that never actually happened.
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The colour of erasure
The colour of erasure
This year’s colour bakes in the anxiety, Eva Wiseman writes.
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Grabbing a nap by a pristine pond
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Grabbing a nap by a pristine pond
There’s a self-indulgent pleasure in a nap, lying on a couch, cold wind blowing outside.
Bark microbes are climate giants
Bark microbes are climate giants
Trees are doing even more to benefit the climate than we thought.
Up close and mesmerised
Up close and mesmerised
The Shanghai Archaeological Forum is held biannually and I have been fortunate to have attended all six.
Ocean heat exploding
Ocean heat exploding
More heat accumulated in the ocean in 2025 than in any year since modern measurements began, an internationally recognised climate scientist from New Zealand, Dr Kevin Trenberth, says.
Hot tub astronomy in summer
Hot tub astronomy in summer
The western horizon from my Middlemarch place has improved markedly of late.
Toitū te whenua: Keeping your enemies close
Toitū te whenua - series 2: Keeping your enemies close
Fighting talk and words of defiance are forever etched into the history of Huriawa Peninsula, Matapura Ellison tells Tom McKinlay and Luke Chapman.
Turning to stars for inspiration
Turning to stars for inspiration
People have always looked up at the night sky and wondered. And we should keep on doing it, Jennifer Boland tells Rebecca Fox.
Preparing for anything
Preparing for anything
The big global climate crisis we’re doing our best to ignore, has plans for each of our communities, Paul Gorman writes.
Up to their new tricks
Up to their new tricks
Over the past week, the media have been reporting on a new discovery — that 450,000 years ago, Neanderthals were generating fire, far earlier than previously known.
A voice for peace in any language
A voice for peace in any language
It doesn’t feel tika (appropriate) to not acknowledge those who have passed in the Bondi Beach tragedy.
Marvels captured moment to moment
Marvels captured moment to moment
As this is the final Skywatch column for the year, it feels like the right moment to look back rather than up — though, of course, I’ve done plenty of both.
Food systems driving twin crises
Food systems driving twin crises
Healthier lives and a healthier planet rely on us changing what we eat, according to new research.
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A few coins of gratitude in the Christmas pudding
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A few coins of gratitude in the Christmas pudding
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart ... and a voucher for tandem paragliding, but it was too windy on the day and you didn’t want to reschedule, so I got a refund and paid the rates instead.
A quizzical look at wildlife
A quizzical look at wildlife
Ahead of a visit to Orokonui Ecosanctuary this summer, polish up your mātauraka taiao with Madison Kelly and Taylor Davies-Colley.
Serving his wee slice of Scotland
Serving his wee slice of Scotland
The monument is not the city’s only reminder of William Cargill, Sean Brosnahan writes.
Floor tells an ancient story
Floor tells an ancient story
There are few archaeological discoveries that match unearthing a Roman mosaic. I know this from personal experience at the city of Verulamium, north of London.
Orion Nebula glows defiantly
Orion Nebula glows defiantly
Out in Middlemarch last week, under what might generously be called a luminous sky — the full moon hanging over the Strath Taieri like an over-keen floodlight — I turned my telescope toward Orion.
Savouring the joys of Christmas Yoghurt bark
Savouring the joys of Christmas Yoghurt bark
Make the most of Christmas, don’t waste it, write the folks at Love Food Hate Waste.
