Going Green: 5 Green Star for U of Waikato’s Student Centre; Whale Wildlife Project In Auckland Islands
Submitted by Stacey on August 15, 2010 – 9:06 pmNo Comment
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Waikato University: Sustainable Features Garner Student Centre Green Award
University of Waikato’s Student Centre, a $30 million project due for completion in mid 2011, has been awarded a prestigious 5 Green Star rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council, according to a university news article.
The 5 Green Star – Education Design PILOT certified rating recognises the environmental and sustainable features of the Student Centre design, which includes photo-voltaic panels and energy-generating lifts that will create energy for the building; sophisticated lighting and heating controls; carpet, ceiling tiles, and furniture made from as much recycled content as possible; high-levels of natural light; rainwater collected from the roof to be stored on site and recycled through toilets; solar heating of water; and recycling of the demolition material where possible back into the building to prevent material going to landfill..
The Student Centre incorporates, updates, and expands the existing university library. It is the first 5 Green Star project in the Waikato region. It is expected to be the social heart of the university campus with places to meet, cafés, shops and relaxation spaces. Students can also access a range of services including the library and enrollment enquiries.
Roy Crawford, vice-chancellor and professor, said achieving the five-star rating reflects the university’s commitment to sustainability.
“Sustainability is a key driver of this university and this achievement demonstrates our ability to apply our core values in ways that will benefit students, staff and the community,” he said.
University of Otago: Research On Rare Whales Underway
The Polaris II Is the vessel is the site of research on rare whales by scientists at the University of Otago. Photo, Courtesy University of Otago.
The University of Otago is leading a major three-year scientific research project aiming to find vital information, which could see rare southern right whales flourishing once again in New Zealand coastal waters, according to a university news article.
An 11-person team of Otago University, Department of Conservation, Otago Museum and Massey University scientists and staff left late last month for the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands – 460km South of New Zealand – aboard the University’s Marine Science research vessel, Polaris II. They will be based at Port Ross on the Islands for three weeks, and planned to return this week.
The group is studying for the first time the winter diet of the critically endangered New Zealand sea lion on the Islands, which is home to the largest breeding colonies of the mammals.
Expedition leader and Department of Marine Science Research Fellow Dr. Will Rayment says for the first time acoustic recordings are being taken of the sounds made by southern right whales. Researchers are also studying and photographing the whales’ population and habitat.
In recent years, growing numbers of southern right whales have been noticed in and around the pristine waters of the Auckland Islands. Researchers now want to ascertain the factors that make the habitat so favorable for the whales, and also which environmental factors could potentially hinder their recovery.
Before whaling began in the early nineteenth century, southern right whales were abundant in harbors and coastal New Zealand waters. But because they preferred inshore areas and were slow swimming and easy to kill, coastal whaling groups found them profitable to hunt.
They were quickly hunted to near extinction, and it took until the 1960s for these now fully-protected whales to begin a tentative recovery. However, they are still a rare sight off New Zealand’s coast, but attract significant public interest whenever they do appear, Rayment says.
“Our overall goal is to once again see large numbers of these whales around our coast as there used to be,” he says.
“We will use data on whale distribution at the Auckland Islands to predict areas of mainland New Zealand that are likely to be re-colonised by these whales in the future. This will enable us to identify the areas where distribution of whales might overlap with potentially harmful human activities and to proactively prevent conservation issues before they occur.”
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