Alison Ballance

Nelson's Boulder Bank is a striking 13 kilometre-long gravel barrier that shelters Nelson Harbour from Tasman Bay. The only one of its kind in the world, it seems no one is quite sure how it actually… Audio

How a Dunedin resident became an advocate for the rare velvet worm. Audio

The values and challenges of urban conservation are highlighted in Dunedin when road widening impacts an unusual invertebrate Audio

The 'father of albatross science' carried out 18 years research on albatrosses and penguins in the 1930s and 1940s Audio

Orchids are famous for their beautiful flowers - but botanists know them instead as great deceivers. Alison Ballance talks with biologist Anne Gaskett and Master's student Michelle Kelly from the… Audio

'Glow in the dark' bacteria are a novel rapid screening technique for finding new drugs to combat superbugs. Audio

Every year the Rotorua District Council spends nearly a million dollars sending eight and half thousand tonnes of sewage sludge to the landfill. It hopes that a new process may help it save money by… Audio

Auckland geologist Bruce Hayward has revealed that he and colleagues from Geomarine Research have rediscovered another forgotten volcanic crater in Auckland, and found four more previously… Audio

Auckland has even more volcanoes lying underneath it than the experts thought. New discoveries bring the number of Auckland volcanoes to either 53 or 55, depending on whether you prefer to keep your… Audio

Acid lakes - and some of the other hazards of monitoring volcanic hazards. Audio

As the world's oil supplies begin to run out, the search is on to find alternative biofuels that could power our vehicles - so is there any chance that we could short-cut the oil-making process and… Audio

Alison Ballance meets a man who wants to create multi-purpose roofs that produce both electricity and heat water. Audio

Alison Ballance spent three weeks on a boat in the Kermadecs with some enthusiastic fish folk. They were very excited about the opportunity to work in these sub-tropical waters, where fish from the… Audio

The Kermadec Islands are halfway between New Zealand and Tonga and include some of New Zealand's most rugged and least visited islands. Alison Ballance interviews Peter de Lange and Warren Chinn about… Audio

Wellington design company Goodnature have just released the latest weapon in the war against possums - an automatic trap which can humanely kill a dozen possums before it needs to be reset. Audio

Ducks Unlimited have enlisted Victoria University's help to bring scientific rigour to the replanting of Wairio wetland. Audio

Acoustics and photo identification of southern right whales is helping understand their communication and biology. Audio