ScienceNZ - The Value of Science Discovery
Science Value
Outstanding science recognised at inaugural awards
Science New Zealand 2017 National Awards celebrated 21 Awardees on Thursday 9 November at the Banquet Hall, Parliament Buildings, Wellington. These inaugural Awards recognise outstanding science achievements that help to shape and benefit New Zealand. The Awards demonstrated excellent science working for New Zealand and acknowledge the people behind the work.
New Value
Scion nursery upgrade
Forestry in New Zealand can trace its beginnings back to the tree nurseries of Whakarewarewa (near Rotorua) established after the Mount Tarawera eruption in the late 1800s. In the years that followed, the nursery was home to the first experiments of New Zealand’s young forestry industry. That work went on to set the New Zealand nursery standard for commercial nursery practices and was established as world class.
Colourful timber
Staining or painting timber is the traditional way to add colour to wooden products, but that colour is only surface deep. Any scratching or resurfacing can remove the colourful layer and affect the aesthetic of the wood. The full thickness colour technology developed by Scion fixes colourful dye throughout timber in a range of bright colours.
New Thinking
Is that a plastic wrapper in your snapper?
Scion and fish make an odd combination, but biopolymer scientist Jamie Bridson was part of a team that looked at plastic microparticle ingestion by commercial fish species across the South Pacific.
New Science
What good is wood in streams?
Freshwater ecologist Dr Brenda Baillie has completed a two-year study of naturally forming, small debris dams that have an important positive role as habitat for aquatic invertebrates in forested headwater streams.
