Macraes Flat is well known as the home of New Zealand's critically endangered skinks, but now there is a new claim - that the area has the highest diversity of threatened plants for its size in the country.
It was unexpected, but the New Zealand sea lion's curiosity and interest in humans won Shaun McConkey over.
Connecting people with conservation work and issues in their area is the aim of this year's Conservation Week, with its theme being Meet the Locals.
To celebrate the week, a range of activities will be held throughout Otago, from planting days to picking up litter.
Harington Point residents feel something is being done at last to deal with erosion at Te Rauone beach.
A project to manage the flood risk affecting Lake Wakatipu communities has received approval from an Otago Regional Council committee.
Dunedin could be one of the first areas to implement the Government's promised SuperGold Card free off-peak public transport initiative for people over the age of 65.
Milton residents will soon be able to receive the benefits of the Otago Regional Council's Warm Homes, Clean Heat, Clean Air project.
The hearing into the future of Milton's wastewater treatment plant has been adjourned as an independent panel deliberates on two days of evidence.
The Clutha District Council has attacked the Otago Regional Council for what it calls a "myopic, one-sided exercise in advocacy" in day one of the hearing into its application to discharge treated wastewater into the Tokomairiro River.
A burning couch which set fire to a block of flats in Dunedin in the early hours of Saturday could have resulted in several deaths, police say.
Dunedin Buddhists joined others around the world in a vigil for peace on Saturday, praying for those who have died tragically, are oppressed or starving.
"Disturbing" environmental damage in the Waipahi and Catlins river catchments has left Otago Fish and Game councillors shocked at what farmers can do to their land.
Fish and Game Otago will push for a higher minimum flow in the Lindis River to better protect its ecosystem during dry years.
There was a buzz in the air as about 300 secondary school musicians filed into the Town Hall ready to show their talents in a Dunedin tradition - the Otago Secondary Schools Music Festival.
Landowners are responsible for the control of pests on their properties, even in semi-rural properties where it can be more difficult, the Otago Regional Council says.
Grit trucks were on standby last night as severe frosts were forecast so soon after Monday's snow and rain.
A heavy snow warning was still in place for Otago and Southland last night, but forecasters expect conditions to clear slowly today, bringing frosts and sunshine by tomorrow.
A dead whale lying on Ocean View Beach near Brighton, has been illegally butchered, raising concerns that someone might risk illness by eating the meat which was possibly diseased.
Sickness and weather problems dogged the Otago Regional Council's hearing into proposed changes to the council's regional transport plan yesterday, leaving only four organisations with representatives making submissions in person.
Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday was close to tears as she explained how she and others battled for hours to attempt to save the life of close friend and respected mountain guide Gottlieb Braun-Elwert.
