Alison Ballance

Department of Conservation ranger Abi Liddy introduces Alison Ballance to shore plovers, black robins and other unique species. Audio

Over the next few weeks environment producer Alison Ballance will be bringing us a series of stories from a part of New Zealand that's so far away it's in its own time zone. Audio

Christchurch's Heathcote Estuary has long been a dumping ground for the city's sewage and wastewater. But that's about to change this month when the long awaited 3 kilometre long ocean outfall finally… Audio

Waipara's wine makers are finding that it's easy to encourage 'good insects' in the vineyard. The Greening Waipara Project - bringing ecology and wine making togetherat about a quarter to four. Audio

Have you noticed how, in some summers, flaxes and cabbage trees are covered in a mass of flowers? Botanist Dave Kelly set out to find what triggers such mass flowering events in our native snow… Audio

Scientists at the Bioprotection Research Centre are excited about a group of soil fungi that have the ability to protect a wide range of crops from disease. Alison Ballance joins Alison Stewart for a… Audio

Chatham Islanders turned out in force last week to welcome home one of their favourite residents - the tui. Audio

Its a new tool that's helping scientists unravel the secret underground life of plants. Traditionally, soil scientists such as Leo Condron and Stuart Larsen from the Bioprotection Research Centre have… Audio

We plant them in our parks and gardens, and enjoy them in the bush, but have you ever wondered just how many kinds of native trees we have here in New Zealand, and how those numbers stack up compared… Audio

Alison Ballance is back in the South Island's Mackenzie Basin, to find out about a rare bird that's getting a helping hand back from the brink of extinction. Audio

In the Mackenzie Basin, rare black-fronted terns are getting a helping hand through"Project River Recovery". Audio

Alison Ballance joins some eager 12 to 15 year old students who spent a week of their holidays at a Geology Summer School being run by GNS Science, collecting their own sediment core to study back in… Audio

They've got short hair, long tongues, and we're about to send them back to where they came from in the first place. Audio

Some fortunate NZers are currently getting paid for taking a taking a cruise, on board a ship called the Joides Resolution. But these aren't pleasure cruises. The Joides Resolution is a… Audio

Alison Ballance ends the year with part two of a story about godwits - and it starts with a bang! She's at Foxton Beach with Jesse Conklin and Phil Battley from Massey University, and they've just… Audio

If you live around Auckland, and plan on spending time at the beach this summer, there's something in the water you need to know about. Audio

We love New Zealanders that set world records. Even when the record holder is born in Alaska, and only spends half the year here. But that hasn't stopped us adopting bar-tailed godwits as our own -… Audio

They may not be the most beautiful things on earth, but Matt Slater from the Leigh Marine Laboratory believes that sea cucumbers are very useful creatures indeed. Audio