7 Comments
Aug 18Liked by Melanie Newfield

Once again. Fascinating. Your articles are very readable and engaging- and worrying! Thank goodness people like you are working to understand and save our environment. And at the end of the- the funding story. Funding cut.

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Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

The funding story is troubling. I'm so worried that we will lose scientists overseas, because scientists have often moved countries at least once in their career and have good international connections. The problems are so urgent.

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It’s difficult for protest to be heard when there are so many controversial, non-sensical, highly publicised funding cuts happening.

How can scientists make their voices heard in this climate?

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I bought a red Myrtle from the garden shop for my small garden in Taupō - for the colour! Should I get rid of it?

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If I'm right about what red myrtle is (I think its scientific name is Lagerstroemia), it's got the common name myrtle but belongs to a different family. It's not in any danger. They are lovely little trees.

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Aug 18Liked by Melanie Newfield

I am sorry to hear about the phylloxera in your garden. As I’m sure you know, we’ve had phylloxera in some parts of Australia since at least the late 1800s. What is surprising is how slowly it has spread – for example, it has been in the Geelong area since it arrived, but (fortunately) is yet to arrive in the Mornington Peninsula.

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We've managed to limit it in some parts of New Zealand too. It was quite recently it hit the Wairarapa for example. It basically needs to be on the roots of a grapevine, I don't think it spreads any other way.

I can still remember being shown a dying vineyard near Auckland in the early 1990s. Awful when it gets to vulnerable vines.

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