The Star: June 14, 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

20 Thursday June 14 2018 Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi The Star News Monkey flower: City’s lurking problem • By Stacey Bryan THE MONKEY flower might be ornamental in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, but it is becoming an ever-increasing environmental issue in city rivers and the wider region. The plant can grow over 1m tall and take over the waterways in which it grows, smothering native species and even changing the water current. Canterbury University student Michelle Williamson has received the Roland Stead Postgraduate Scholarship to study features of the monkey flower that could make it more of a problem in some habitats than others. These include variations in flower and leaf size, and photosynthetic rate. The 23-year-old chose to study the monkey flower, Mimulus guttatus, for her master of science because there was “a ridiculous amount of research on the species in the United States but virtually none in New Zealand.” The monkey flower is native in the US and was brought to New Zealand as an ornamental plant. Miss Williamson said she had not seen anything eat the plant SERIOUS: Canterbury University’s Michelle Williamson checks growth of a New Zealand invader – Mimulus guttatus (below). PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER in NZ but had seen bees pollinate it. That means there might not be anything other than humans that can control its population. She said it was “in its early stages” but the weed could become a major invasive species within the next 10 years. It is already growing in the Avon/Ōtākaro and Heathcote/ Ōpāwaho rivers, as well as Travis Wetland, Halswell Quarry and “it’s really bad in Rangiora.” Environment Canterbury’s principle resource management biosecurity adviser Laurence The Roland Stead Postgraduate Scholarship in Biology was established in 2013 by Mr Stead, 96, to honour the ties he and his family have to the Canterbury University. Mr Stead grew up in the Ilam homestead, now the UC staff club, and inherited the 21ha block of Ilam land when his father passed away. In spite of constant purchase offers for small portions of the property, Mr Stead was “against the sale of Ilam in bits and pieces”. He said he cared more about preserving the land and gardens than he did about making money. Smith said the plant is not classed as a pest and so there have been no efforts to control it in the Canterbury region. Mr Smith said there are many widespread invasive organisms in Canterbury that do not have pest status because they are difficult to contain or control, and the costs of doing so would Mr Stead refused to sell until the Ministry of Works offered to buy the entire property so they could move UC into the city. He sold in 1949 only on the condition that the university maintained the gardens cultivated by his father. “I got exactly what I wanted,” he said, and is pleased to see that Ilam has turned out how it is today. Mr Stead has also donated funds to support dryland research at Lincoln University, the Ilam gardens, and to dedicate the Edgar Stead atrium of UC’s Biological Sciences to his father. outweigh the benefits. Miss Williamson said the monkey flower is easily spread when small fragments break off and lodge in the soles of shoes or in tyre treads. The fragment is then transported to another body of water, where it is dislodged and begins to grow.
The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday June 14 2018 21 Tech is New Zealand’s third-largest export sector and is growing fast, with over 9000 new jobs expected to be created over the next two years*. To fuel this growth, NZ needs more people with a grounding in tech to meet the rapid expansion within this exciting and varied area, which crosses into many industries. SIGNAL ICT Grad School develops tech professionals to meet that growth via SHIFT, enabling more people to enter this dynamic and diverse sector. *NZ Tech Digital Skills Survey 2017 SHIFT is an innovative industry-driven programme for those who are seeking a new career path who may not have a tech background. Open to degree holders in any discipline, SHIFT learners have come from diverse backgrounds such as medicine, philosophy, sociology, commerce, geography, marketing, engineering and humanities. Available in both Christchurch and Dunedin, this one year programme offers relevant and current content skills to ensure you are well equipped to work within the tech area, where the skills you have learnt in previous work and study are highly valued. SHIFT uses immersive studio-based learning and real-world industry experience to produce graduates with a solid base of core computing skills, as well as communication and employability skills required in today’s collaborative workplaces. SHIFT includes several opportunities to meet and work with local tech industry employers, and includes industry visits, group projects designed and mentored by industry, and a 200 hour industry placement, where you work within the organisation on a curated project to add value to your host, and to showcase your capabilities. Diversity of background and experiences is welcomed in the tech sector, where it is strongly recognised that it takes many viewpoints to best design products that meet customer requirements, and firms are actively recruiting to address gender and ethnic imbalances across their employees. FIND OUT MORE! Tech Careers & Pizza Night Wednesday June 20, 5.30pm - 7pm Register at: http://bit.ly/TechCareersandPizzaJuneCHCH Email chch@signal.ac.nz or Phone 0800 990024 The next SHIFT intake commences July 23, 2018 and scholarships are available. Call SIGNAL today on 0800 990024 and start your shift into NZ’s fastest-growing sector. ‘I saw the SHIFT programme as an exciting opportunity to add specific tech skills to my knowledge base, so I can translate those skills into a new career.’ For his industry project, Isaac worked with Stantec NZ to represent aerial drone footage. Felicia has really enjoyed her internship with Airways NZ, where she has been utilising her previous skills, and also her new tech skils from SHIFT. SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE for July 2018 APPLY NOW 2040026-14/6-h
Page 1 and 2: Thursday, June 14, 2018 The Square:
Page 3 and 4: The Star Latest Christchurch news a
Page 11 and 12: Deans Ave The Star Latest Christchu
Page 19: The Star Latest Christchurch news a
Page 31 and 32: The Star cup 2018 Latest Christchur

The Star: June 14, 2018

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?