HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to Alert Level 3! The UOA guidelines for our operation under this Alert Level can be found here. It’s not much different to Level 4 but it does allow for access to Labs and equipment for high priority work. Please see the notice below for details on gaining access. Blair and the ENV Technical Services advisory team (Shane, Kevin, Mark, me) will be finalising our internal processes over the next couple of days. If you are a student needing access, be sure to provide a rationale for your prioritisation when you fill out the form. I’m keeping all my digits crossed for a speedy transition to Alert Level 2. Let’s stay focused on maintaining physical distance and help Aotearoa – New Zealand eliminate COVID-19.

If this week’s p-cubed is anything to go by, we are picking up! Lots of activities are happening. Farnaz has made it simpler for us to get these into our calendars: take a look at the notices, then go to the ‘Events, meetings and seminars’ sidebar where you will be able to click and save the activities you want to attend into your calendar. If you have standing activities that you would like locked into the sidebar, please let Farnaz know.

Thanks to all who attended our ENV forum last Friday. It was great to catch up with everyone. If you have questions/comments feel free to send them through to me anytime or catch up with me at one of my open doors (PG students 11-12 noon, every Thursday; ENV staff 11-12 noon every Wednesday).

Those who attended our Kaupapa 2020 event will remember the QC (questions/comments) exercise. It seems a long time ago now but here is the summary of that exercise. I’m happy to discuss any of these points further. At this event I flagged that 2020 would be the year of the ENV 5-year Review. This review has been postponed to 2021.

Last but definitely not least, on behalf of the School I would like to extend a very warm note of thanks for many years of loyal and creative service to Ward and Lyndsay who are retiring at the end of this week. Thank you Ward, thank you Lyndsay – may you both enjoy a wonderful and long retirement! Although we cannot farewell Ward and Lyndsay in our usual way at this time, we will come together as soon as possible and do this in style. Meanwhile, if you would like to note your thanks and wishes for their happy retirement, here is our card.

Ngā mihi
JR

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Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

Ward and Lyndsay are retiring!!!

Two farewells

We bid adieu to Lyndsay Blue and Ward Friesen who retire together at the end of this month. As a pair of human geographers who have a shared affinity with the Pacific they have made an immense contribution to the former Department of Geography and now the School of Environment. Both were appointed (quite independently!) in 1991 and both have been ‘team players’. Two words that handily rhyme sum up their respective contributions: care and flair.

Care pervades Lyndsay’s legacy. Throughout her career she has never been one to highlight her achievements. Reflecting, perhaps, her humility, there is no detail on her School web page apart from the standard auto-generated publications.  She came to the School with rich experiences from across the South Pacific, having taught at the University of Papua New Guinea, James Cook University in Queensland, ANU, and having volunteered in Samoa. Alongside her practical depth and academic interests in development and socio-cultural geographies. Lyndsay’s academic interests lie in questions of society-environment relations, especially in the Pacific. She brought to the study of these relations an early recognition of the values of non-human actors and a deep concern for the human condition.  Her greatest contribution to the academy has lain in teaching and in opening up the university to those who might not otherwise have had access to its privileges. Lyndsay is a long-serving stalwart of the University of Auckland’s Foundation Studies programme, for which she is a fierce advocate. She has supported her students through the programme into otherwise unlikely undergraduate, masters, and even PhD programmes, as well as through life crises and into senior roles in public and private sector organisations. She has carried this care far beyond her own courses and has worked tirelessly in the interests of equity within School and Faculty. She has been a colleague with a huge heart and someone who has had an immense influence on colleagues as well as students. Her influence is impossible to measure in ways commonly associated with academics. Her legacy is students who have felt supported, who have succeeded and who have felt sustained by the aroha and practical assistance Lyndsay has offered. She has always carried others with her in her roles. In 2012, for instance, Lyndsay was central to the School’s Tuakana team which were winners of a University Excellence in Equity Award. Some geographers write about care; Lyndsay has been the ultimate practitioner of care through being there – for both students and colleagues. We’ll miss her.

Ward has brought a flair to all he’s done. He completed his PhD on mobility in the Solomon Islands in the former Department of Geography (after earlier degrees in his homeland of Canada) and was appointed as Lecturer shortly afterwards.  He has since worked across economic, population and urban geography as well as being a well-respected Pacific Studies scholar and a stalwart of Development Studies in the wider Pacific region. Over several decades as a population geographer and mobilities researcher, Ward has produced influential demographic analyses for the Solomon Islands as well as local governments in Auckland.   He has brought flair to a field often considered by students to be ‘a bit dry’. In crafting connections between population change and Auckland’s observable landscape his scholarship has given population studies an immediacy for students. His teaching has always been a breath of fresh air aided by the most colourful shirts this School has known as well as wry sense of humour. Many of his shirts tell stories of forty years of research visits that bridged the eastern and western Pacific Islands and allowed Ward to maintain an important research network of Pacific-based and international scholars and government officials (including former students). Closer to home, he has had a sustained research interest in Auckland itself, having worked on suburban residential development and population implications as well as demographic, ethnic and socio-economic change. Many of Ward’s research and teaching interests have crystallised in his more recent theorisation of how migrant groups have shaped urban spaces and institutions, creating new ‘ethnoscapes’ and his study of migration, ethnicity and identity across New Zealand at large.  While he’s stood out as an individual for his shirts, in other ways he’s been the ultimate team player. Whether on research projects, field-taught courses or his long-term contributions to Pacific Studies and Development Studies teaching programmes, Ward has carried the kaupapa. He’s had the flair and always been there. We’ll miss him.

Congratulations!

Robin Kearns has been appointed by Minister Eugenie Sage to a position on the New Zealand Geographic Board/ Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) which is the national place naming authority responsible for official place names in New Zealand.

Access under Alert Level 3

The COVID-19 Level 3: Campus Access and Priority Research Request Form  is now live

Please read all the information and guidelines below before you submit an application for research or learning & teaching activity to begin on campus during Alert Level 3.

Research-specific Applications

The Moving to Alert Level 3 Plan details the approval requirements for priority research to begin campus and field activity during Alert Level 3.  Please read this document.

Learning & Teaching Applications

All learning & teaching applications require a final approval from the DVC Academic.  This final approval is part of the Faculty process.

The Campus Access and Priority Research Request Form is designed to be completed by:

• Individual staff or research students (if permissible*) making a request; or
• A staff requestor who is making the request for an activity/facility that includes up to 10 staff/research students/contractors/co-locators

*All research students who consider their research to fit the definition of ‘priority research activity’ should discuss this with their supervisor in the first instance. Any applications for on-campus research to be undertaken by research students should normally be submitted by the supervisor on behalf of the research student(s).

Applications for research meeting the definition of Essential Research (e.g. involving face-to-face engagement with the public or related to Covid-19) must continue to be completed through the Essential Research Activities Registration Form as they are reviewed and approved through the SRT Panel.

Approval will not be granted under Level 3 for access to the campus to collect belongings, chairs, etc

If researchers use the wrong form, they will need to re-apply using the correct form.

At the end of the online form there is an option for the requestor to be emailed a PDF copy of the application. It is advised that the requestor select this option.

Any staff members having difficulties accessing the form should contact the SSC, as it is likely related to the Microsoft identity of the requestor.

Once the online form has been submitted, the central BCP Group will distribute the requests and the approval process will begin.

School and Departmental panels will be set up to assess applications and Technical Managers/Technical Team Leads will be key contributors. The role of the Technical Services staff will be to assess the viability of prioritised research to be undertaken within the constraints of the Covid 19 Alert Level 3 guidelines.

Recommendations will then be sent to the Dean’s Authorisation Panel. The panel will endeavour to turn around applications quickly and applicants will be advised whether they have been approved or declined access as soon as possible.

If approved, an official permission letter to be on campus or complete field work at Alert Level 3, will be sent to the requestor. Individual access cards will not be activated until this official letter has been sent.

PBRF Funding

We have funding available and have identified some ways to hopefully stimulate applications:

– casual contracts are a great option. If a student has just finished, financial support from PBRF could help write a paper and support the student.

– we have always been reluctant to use PBRF to pay for publication charges. This year we will consider applications.

– if you needed to buy “data” to seed or start or complete a research project, this is probably the year when PBRF can help.

We have also decided to review proposals at the end of each month so we can speed up the approval process.

Please use the attached template to prepare your proposal and submit it to g.coco@auckland.ac.nz

ENV project assisting school students to learn Maths and Science on Education TV.

Marie McEntee and Joe Fagan were funded undertake a Curious Minds Project in 2017 with the school children of Aotea Great Barrier Island.  The project called Sea Science saw Marie, Joe and three ENV students  assist the children with their beach cleanups and to use the information to communicate their work and to then work with stakeholders to bring about environmental change.  The children told their stories through art, writing, play and song.  Together with a kaumatua, Marie and Joe facilitated engagement between the owners of the island’s mussel farms to reduce mussel lanyards landing on the beaches.  The project was subsequently picked up by the Ministry of Education and showcased in the Ministry’s Connected Magazine which is distributed to primary schools around the country.  Connected Magazine have just let Marie and Joe know that the project has been chosen among a few to be showcased as an example of science and maths on Education TV, the new Ministry’s initiative to educate children while at home.

Postgraduate Matters

Below are updates that have come through Faculty of Science, mostly regarding COVID-19 response.

1. Access at levels 3: Be prepared for much less “on campus” under level 3 than what you’re hoping for. You are still requested to stay at home and there is unlikely to be fieldwork. Supervisors- please manage expectations with your postgraduate students on this.
2. Supporting students: Some students are still feeling isolated- please try to facilitate some “group” meetings, even if it means being a little off topic, just to promote inclusivity.
3. Extensions/suspensions: Please follow the ever updating SGS page as this is the most up to date source for regulations. Please don’t be afraid to sit tight and wait out some of these shorter delays (particularly for stage 3). Suspensions can be retrospective for Masters and PhD students.
4. New enrolments: When considering new enrolments, particularly international, through the AFA system, make sure that your projects have a plan “B” and that there are contingencies in place for restrictions on travel. This may mean that a new student needs to work from home for the first few months of their enrolment, or maybe you facilitate access for them to work in a lab where they are located for 6-9 months until they are able to get into New Zealand. Be creative, but also realistic- what happens if the student is unable to get a visa? The University is arguing to be able to enrol students even without a visa but this is an ongoing discussion/debate and is not yet resolved.
5. Financial Matters:
   1. The hardship grant is currently undersubscribed- this can help students struggling right now (although you need to be able to provide evidence). This can be if you or your partner have lost work, or for PhD’s if you are suspended (note the suspension rule here does not apply for Masters as they have a separate support grant).
   2. Masters need to apply to the general University hardship fund but should consider it if appropriate.
   3. Future scholarships- it is still unclear how COVID-19 will impact future scholarship offers- they hope is to maintain current levels but this is uncertain.
   4. Continuing scholarships- there will be no “new” scholarship money for PhD- this is important to consider for extra extensions. Currently supporting the 36 months of support (through the UOA doctoral scholarship), 6 month extensions (for GPA >7), but beyond that only a 3 month fee waiver- no additional extensions of the scholarship funds.

2021 CapEx:

If you have any items on your CapEx Wishlist for 2021 (and beyond) please send these to Blair by the end of April.

At this stage all I need is a name and an approximate cost. There is the expectation that a full case will be completed at a later date.

If you have already spoken with one of the techs, they would have most likely already passed the info on to me.

Regards

Blair Sowman
Technical Manager | School of Environment

Te Tumu Herenga | Libraries and Learning Services

Although the Library is physically closed, we are still open for business, and you can send us your queries or set up a consultation appointment by Zoom using the AskUs link.

Our staff have been busy converting our resources and services to online, and

The Learning Online Toolkit has now been released to all students in Canvas.

It contains a range of online study support resources to help students with their academic development. It includes brief tips on:

• How to learn online
• Technology
• Communicating online
• Online tests
• Working in online groups

It also links to Te Tumu Herenga l Libraries and Learning services, UoA student support services and specialist services provided by English Language Enrichment, Inclusive Learning and Te Fale Pouāwhina.

The toolkit has been added to the Canvas navigation menu along with an announcement on the Dashboard.

See The Learning Online Toolkit

Find our other Te Tumu Herenga | Libraries and Learning Services  Covid-19 Support at the following links:

For Students | For Researchers | For Teaching Staff | For Māori and Pacific Learners | For Inclusive Learning Support | For English Language Development Support

Meetings, seminars and events

The Geography Auckland (NZGS Auckland) newsletter

The Auckland Branch invites you to attend the next meeting via Zoom

Erionite and public health in Auckland: are our soils and rocks killing us?

Presented by Martin Brook

Tuesday 19th May

An invitation will be sent out during the previous week

Please click here to read the newsletter.

Seminar Series is back!

Save the date:  ENV (Zoom) Seminar: 1^st of May Friday 16:00 – 16:40 + drinks 😊.

Join us on Friday the 1^st  of  May from 4 pm to learn about the fantastic research your colleagues do. All staff members and students from the School of Environment are warmly invited to attend this brilliant School of Environment Seminar. As you may be already aware we  are running  the seminars every three months and they have been incredibly fascinating so far.

In the upcoming ENV Seminar, we will have two presenters  Danielle and Ryan and their talks will be followed by Friday virtual drinks.

Zoom location: https://auckland.zoom.us/j/441894919

PSC Cheese and Whine

Time: Apr 23, 2020 05:00 PM Auckland, Wellington

Every week on Thu, 9 occurrence(s)

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Weekly: https://auckland.zoom.us/meeting/tJEodeChpjIvHtdpe1Yi445yWcV_70o1paeP/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCtqzkjE9yctR2ERowMGYjoXfPxiFhYgrdZjBq0OikHNlbvAeF0DeUvH4nA

Join Zoom Meeting from here.

Volcanology, Geochemistry & Petrology Research Group

The volcanology, geochemistry, & petrology research group (VGP) meets during the semester. Our next meeting will be on 26 May 2020 at 9 am on Zoom. As always, everyone is welcome to attend our meetings. Please contact me (Sophia Tsang: s.tsang@auckland.ac.nz) for the link if you don’t have a calendar invite.  If you would like to be added to this list or to volunteer to take on the organising role for VGP starting next semester, please email me (s.tsang@auckland.ac.nz). Additionally, if you have any updates (including new students or projects) you would like to see on the website or would like to contribute a blog post, please email David (dfar197@aucklanduni.ac.nz). For more information, please see our website: vgp.blogs.auckland.ac.nz See you soon!

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Ako – Teaching and Learning

Thanks everyone for your great work keeping courses going and students engaged. Especially big thanks to all the TAs and GTAs who are doing a brilliant job. Let’s keep focused on maintaining engagement – we are remote learning until the end of the Semester and it’s a long way off. Students may start to flag as this drags on. Please prioritise:

• engagement – stay in touch with students, stay in touch with TAs/GTAs, personalise feedback/interaction
• Delivery methods – keep it simple, keep it accessible by all. I realise live streaming is happening around the university and it definitely is a good option for teaching and learning but not for all. There are genuine equity issues that cannot be addressed at the moment so please do not use live streaming for required work, especially not for assessments.

All the best for the next 7 weeks! – JR

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Rangahau – Research

Meetings, seminars and events

Morphological modelling to understand Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclide concentrations in rocky coasts

Speaker: Lovleen Acharya Chowdhury (PhD Proposal)
Date: Thursday, April 30th
Time: 9:30 am
Zoom invite: https://auckland.zoom.us/j/7268a92178

Research and Funding Opportunities

NSCs SfTI and BioHeritage are calling for interest in a new SfTI Biosecurity Tech project

The Science for Technological Innovation (SfTI) and New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenges (NSCs) are calling for a registration of interest to become part of a cross-disciplinary, multi-organisational research team to contribute to the next mission-led Spearhead project.  This will be based around the Biosecurity Technology Mission on employing cutting-edge physical sciences and engineering to create new processes and tools that will better protect New Zealand from harmful biological elements such as non-indigenous flora, pathogens, insects and mammalian species.

Registration Deadline: Friday 1 May 2020 – Please register directly on the funder website

Value:  Spearhead projects are typically funded for $1m p.a. over three years.

Deep South National Science Challenge

The Deep South Challenge invites you to submit a research outline which identifies a key climate process for New Zealand and how understanding of this process could be better understood through new observations. The Challenges objectives are: 1) to facilitate a research community consultation to identify the key climate processes for New Zealand; and 2) to fund research into the highest priority processes for New Zealand.

To achieve our first objective, we will be using the research outlines as input to an online workshop in June. Here invited participants will be able to work with the Challenge to identify and prioritise where studies using observations could lead to a better representation of climate processes in models. In August we will release a Request for Proposals with the aim of funding the highest priority studies.

Deadline: Research outline due 15 May 2020

Please get in touch with Kelly or Kathryn if you would like more information.

Our Land and Water National Science Challenge

The Our Land and Water National Science Challenge is looking for a Science Theme Leader (0.4FTE until 30 June 2024) for the Incentives for Change research theme. This theme seeks to identify the rewards, signals and approaches that motivate beneficial behaviours and reciprocal relationships in the agri-food and fibre system. The role and responsibilities of theme leaders are set out in the person specification. If interested, please email a letter outlining your background, experience and overall fit to Ourlandandwater@agresearch.co.nz by Friday 8 May.

Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change (SLMACC) – Freshwater Mitigation

To support field trials of existing farm technologies and practices which protect waterways and wetlands by reducing nutrient run-off and leaching. The programme aims to produce scientific data that can be incorporated into decision-support tools such as Overseer.

Internal Deadline:  Wednesday 6 May, 3pm

Value: Between $200,000 and $2 million

Further Guidelines:  See the funders website

International Network Funding Calls:

Two of our international networks have released funding calls for projects relating to the needs of universities as a result of the global pandemic:

U21 Global Education Enhancement Fund

Partnerships of two or more U21 member universities can apply for this fund, working together to design better solutions for online teaching, learning and assessment, which can be subsequently shared as resources within the U21 network.

Internal Deadline:  12 noon, 6 May 2020

Value: USD $5,000 per partner awarded.

WUN fund addressing research needs triggered by the pandemic

Proposals are invited for projects that address time-sensitive research problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and must include at least three WUN member universities across two or more countries.

Internal Deadline:  12noon, 11 May 2020

Value:  GBP £10,000 per project awarded.

Proposals from Auckland researchers must be submitted for internal review prior to submission to the relevant funder.

Further information including application process and deadlines can be found on the intranet page here:https://www.staff.auckland.ac.nz/en/how-the-university-works/international-opportunities-and-linkages/international-networks/covid-19-related-funding-opportunities0.html

Some of our WUN partners are also seeking collaborators on projects, these will also be uploaded to the info page below. Currently four projects are listed.

2020 AINSE Residential Student Scholarships (RSS): expressions of interest now open

Residential Student Scholarships (RSSs) are offered by AINSE Limited (the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering) for suitably-qualified persons wishing to undertake studies aligned with ANSTO’s research programmes for a higher degree at an AINSE-member university (UoA is a member university). Expressions of interest will be received up to 11:59 pm AEST 31st May 2020.

Online link to RSS Flyer: https://www.ainse.edu.au/AINSE%20RSS%202020.pdf

AINSE RSSs are in the form of “supplements” and are offered to scholars who are, or will be, in receipt of an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) / Research Training Program (RTP) or equivalent award, and for as long as that Award is current subject to satisfactory progress.

The award provides a stipend of A$7,500 per annum, in addition to up to A$5,000 per annum travel and accommodation allowance (plus an additional accommodation allowance of up to A$5,200 for eligible students travelling from interstate or overseas), to enable students to spend a significant amount of time working at ANSTO facilities.

The RSS differs from a Postgraduate Research Award (PGRA) in that a RSS student must be onsite at an ANSTO facility (at Lucas Heights, Camperdown and/or Clayton) for an average of six months per year or more, which can be as a single block of time or as separate visitations.

Expressions of interest are now being sought from first-year PhD students whose research topics closely align with ANSTO’s research programmes: The Environment, Human Health, the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Defence and Space Industries, and Fusion. In addition, opportunities may also exist for postgraduate students interested in contracted research and industrial engagement projects in the defence industry area, and for postgraduate students interested in fusion research that aligns with ANSTO and ITER activities.

Applicants are requested to email a one page (A4) only* abstract to ainse@ainse.edu.au outlining the details of their research project and the ANSTO staff member(s) they will be collaborating with. Selected applicants who are successful in the first round will be invited to submit a more detailed online application.

The Terms & Conditions and an ANSTO Capabilities & Facilities Guide can be found on the AINSE website: www.ainse.edu.au. For enquires and further information, please contact the friendly staff at AINSE on ainse@ainse.edu.au | +61 2 9717 3376.

New publications

1. Meiqin Han had the first paper from her PhD thesis published in the international journal Catena:Han, M., Brierley, G., Li, B., Li, Z., & Li, X. (2020). Impacts of flow regulation on geomorphic adjustment and riparian vegetation succession along an anabranching reach of the Upper Yellow River. Catena, 190, 104561.​
2. Suyadi, Gao, J., Lundquist, C. J., & Schwendenmann, L. (2020). Aboveground Carbon Stocks in Rapidly Expanding Mangroves in New Zealand: Regional Assessment and Economic Valuation of Blue Carbon. Estuaries and Coasts. 10.1007/s12237-020-00736-xHamilton, D.J., Bulmer, R.H., Schwendenmann, L. , & Lundquist, C. J. (2020). Nitrogen enrichment increases greenhouse gas emissions from emerged intertidal sandflats. Scientific Reports 10, 6686 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62215-4
3. Campbell, K.A., Nicholson, K., Lynne, B.Y., Browne, P.R.L., 2020. 3D anatomy of a 60-year-old hot spring deposit at Hipaua-Waihi-Tokaanu geothermal field, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Sedimentary Geology.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105652
4. Ruff, S.W., Campbell, K.A., Van Kranendonk, M.J., Rice, M.S., Farmer, J.D., 2020. The case for ancient hot springs in Gusev crater, Mars. Astrobiology 20, 475-499.
5. Teece, B.L., George, S.C., DJOKIC, T., Campbell, K.A., Ruff, S.W., Van Kranendonk, M.J., 2020. Biomolecules from fossilized hot-spring sinters: implications for the search for life on Mars. Astrobiology 20, 537-551.
6. Opit, S., Kearns, R. and Witten, K (2020) Housing Preferences of Young Adults in light of Urban Intensification: Evidence from Auckland, New Zealand Housing Studies 35(1) 123-142.

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Copy deadline for next edition of P-cubed: Friday 8th May to Farnaz: f.sheikh@auckland.ac.nz