Our Changing World

In the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert there's a particular brand of doomsday prepping going on. Our Changing World visits the Bioeconomy Science Institute to meet some scientists figuring out how to build an army of Samurai Wasps just in case Aotearoa is invaded by Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs.
Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
Learn more:
MPI's website has more detail on the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and what to do if you find one.
From December 2025 a new biosecurity inflight video about being vigilant is being played to incoming visitors.
Our Changing World did a deep dive into the impact BMSB would have on New Zealand, back in 2019. 
Guests:
Dr Gonzalo Avila, Senior Scientist - Biological Control, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited
Karina Santos, Senior Research Associate, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited
Dr Scott Sinclair, Manager, Operational Readiness - Plant & Environment, Biosecurity New Zealand
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Our Changing Word heads to Whangārei to speak to a Northland Regional Council scientist whose been using stormwater drains to estimate the scale of our plastic pollution problem. Plus, just outside Christchurch, one of New Zealand’s biggest lakes is home to the ‘canary in the coalmine’ of wetlands. The secretive and elusive Australasian bittern seems to be in trouble - how can we help?
Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
Learn more:
Join Alison Ballance on a kayak across a lake to listen to some booming bittern crooners.
Listen to the nine to noon interview with John Sumich about the 2025 Matuku muster.
The research into microplastics was part of the AIM2 project, which was reported on in 2021 as part of the OCW episode ‘Unwelcome visitors’.
Another source of microplastics is textile waste, but an international project is looking to a future where our clothes are fully biodegradable.
Guests:
Richard Griffiths, Northland Regional Council
Peter Langlands, Bittern Conservation – New Zealand
Harry Caley, Department of Conservation
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Dunedin the local tree crop association has been looking after a heritage apple orchard, but some mixed up labels meant they weren’t quite sure what varieties they had. A chance encounter at a public open day sets one young researcher on a scientific quest to ID them all. Plus, in a nursery in Rotorua, a propagation scientist is figuring out the best way to grow a native tree from cuttings.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Take a (very) large egg, some insects (plus specially developed food), and a safe place to put on weight for a while. This is how you grow a kiwi, and improve wild survival rates from 5% to 65%. With over 2,600 hatches across their 30 year history, the National Kiwi Hatchery have a lot of experience under their belt, but there's always more to learn from our iconic national bird. Our Changing World visits the hatchery to learn how they combine conservation and eco-tourism to help grow kiwi numbers.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
Learn more:
Operation Nest Egg has also been a great success for the rowi kiwi, the only remaining wild population of which lives in Ōkārito on the South Island’s West Coast.
In July 2025 little spotted kiwi were found on New Zealand’s mainland for the first time in 50 years. Two chicks and eggs were subsequently brought to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch to allow them to get to stoat-proof weight.
With a lot of help, and stoat trapping, brown kiwi are returning to the wilds of Wellington.
Candling is also used to track kākāpō embryo development and egg fertility, learn more in episode 12 of the Kākāpō Files II podcast.
Guests:
Emma Bean, manager of the National Kiwi Hatchery
Carole Dean, kiwi keeper, National Kiwi Hatchery
Rebeca Bothamley, tour guide, National Kiwi Hatchery
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In the Kaimai Mamuku ranges iwi-led conservation projects are tackling pests, removing weeds and planting natives to restore their whenua.

Ngāti Hinerangi’s Wairere Mahi project has been trapping around the Wairere falls, and restoring a nearby system of lakes.

The projects were born from the Jobs for Nature fund established by the government during the Covid-19 pandemic. But with that fund now finished where will the money to support future conservation work come from? The Manaaki Kaimai Mamuku Trust supporting these projects has some ideas.
Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
Learn more:
Jobs for Nature also supported an iwi-led wetland restoration project just outside Dunedin.
In 2024 The Detail spoke to a number of Jobs for Nature supported projects that were nearing the end of their funding.
The Turning Point video series followed some of the kaimahi working on different Jobs for Nature projects across Aotearoa.
Country Life’s Dollars for Nature episode covered the government announcement about voluntary nature credits market. 
Guests:
Louise Saunders, CEO of Manaaki Kaimai Mamuku Trust
Mohi Korohina, Wairere Mahi project manager
Hera Denton, GoEco
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details