Cooper’s orchid is New Zealand’s rarest and most elusive, with fewer than 250 plants left in the wild. It belongs to the group of potato orchids, which grow mostly underground as tubers – except for a brief period every few years when they push out a leafless stick with a few flowers. This largely subterranean lifestyle already presents a challenge, but saving this species is even harder because, like all orchids, the Cooper’s orchid can only produce seedlings with the help of the right soil fungus. After years of lab experiments to produce in vitro seedlings, botanists are now ready to boost dwindling wild populations. Guests:Dr Carlos Lehnebach, botany curator, Te Papa TongarewaDr Karin van der Walt, conservation advisor, Ōtari Wilton’s BushJennifer Alderton-Moss, plant conservation researcher, Wellington City CouncilLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: Rare orchids reintroduced into the wild.Alison Ballance talked to Carlos Lehnebach about why some orchids smell like mushrooms and how that helps them to fool insects.This Critter of the Week episode focuses on the helmet orchid (Corybas dienemus), another rare native orchid that likes cold, damp and windy places.In this interview, Jesse Mulligan talks to Fred Clarke, a Californian orchid breeder who created the acclaimed black orchid After Dark.This Critter of the Week episode discusses the copper beard orchid (Calochilus herbaceous), which is threatened by habitat loss and climate change.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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26:19
Keeping up with the kākahi
Kākahi are a keystone species in lake and river ecosystems, keeping the water clean by filtering one litre of water every hour. These native mussels once blanketed lakebeds across Auckland – but recent surveys found an alarming decline and disappearance across many lakes. A team of scientists and divers have mounted a rescue mission for one of the last remaining kākahi populations, trying to keep the mussels safe from invasive fish through all the steps of their complicated – and fascinating – life cycle. Guests:Madison Jones, Senior Healthy Waters Specialist, Auckland CouncilBelinda Studholme, Senior Biosecurity Advisor – Freshwater, Auckland CouncilEbi Hussain, Submerged Environmental and Aotearoa LakesAndrew Simpson, Global DiveLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: A rescue mission saving rare freshwater mussels.Meet the bullies – the native freshwater fish that host the kākahi in their parasitic stage – in this 2023 episode recorded by Claire at Zealandia, where the fish have been translocated.Alison Ballance covered the translocation of kākahi into Zealandia back in 2018.Wondering how the perch and other pests ended up in Lake Rototoa? Black Sheep has the details in the episode Invasive: the story of Stewart Smith.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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26:23
Bonus: RNZ climate correspondent Eloise Gibson
Claire Concannon spoke to RNZ's climate correspondent Eloise Gibson for the last episode of the Voice of the Sea Ice series. Listen to the full interview between Eloise and Claire in which they talk about the Paris Agreement, New Zealand's international climate commitments, and what we can do as individuals. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondentLearn more:Read Eloise’s recent analysis about New Zealand’s international climate targets, or New Zealand's glacier loss. Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs on the targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 oC of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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47:13
Voice of the Sea Ice 06 | Where to?
Human-induced climate change is impacting Earth’s global systems, including ice melt in Antarctica. What is the world doing to combat it? Signed in 2016, the Paris Agreement is the current global plan to tackle it. Countries pledge different emission reduction targets and then produce their workings and homework about how they are going about it. Where does New Zealand fit in? Are we doing our bit as a nation? And should we be bothering with individual actions or is that simply a bait-and-switch tactic by those who want to delay real change?Guests:Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondentDr Jess Berentson-Saw, Director of Narrative Research and Strategy, The Workshop Learn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: Is New Zealand doing its bit in combating climate change?Read Eloise’s recent analysis about New Zealand’s international climate targets, or listen to this episode of The Detail.Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target, and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs onthe targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 °C of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).The Workshop have published a cheat sheet on ‘How to talk about climate change’.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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33:53
Voice of the Sea Ice 05 | Changing times
In February 2025, the world hit a new low for global sea ice extent. Arctic sea ice has been declining for several decades now, but Antarctic sea ice had been holding steady, until recently. With low summer sea ice extents for four years in a row, it appears that Earth’s warming has kicked Antarctic sea ice into a new regime. Claire Concannon speaks to scientists to understand what this means for Antarctica, what this means for us, and how they feel about it.Guests:Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of WellingtonDr Greg Leonard, University of OtagoDr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea AerospaceDr Inga Smith, University of Otago Dr Michelle LaRue, University of CanterburyLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: A time of change for Antarctic sea ice.Read about the recent State of the Global Climate Report.The world’s biggest iceberg recently ran aground, but to get up close and personal, listen to the Voice of the Iceberg miniseries.The world is also experiencing ice loss from its glaciers. New Zealand’s glaciers have shrunk by 29% since 2000. Listen to The annual snowline survey to learn how our glaciers are monitored.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Netherlands