Jon Sullivan

A sliver of #goodNews though:

While Central Government kowtows to the vested interests of destructive industries, local government finds ways to stand up and defend the environment in their own regions.

Well done Waikato Regional Council! 👏

Council to notify massive Coromandel bottom trawl […]

The entire Western Pacific has been verified free of measles and rubella. The WHO has verified the elimination of both diseases in all Pacific Island countries, alongside rubella elimination in Japan. The achievement follows two decades of coordinated immunisation campaigns, regional […]

A series of six small prints on the floor showing space, biology and handprints as first human art.

I got home today to a package with some beautiful art by @amberfirefly 🤩

Mastodon and #fedi made magic happen and a conversation we had contributed a tiny bit to the conception of these (and a series of others) beautiful artworks.

A photo of a green plant stem covered in a mass of black aphids, America regwort aphids, being tended by tan brown Australian ants, in New Zealand. For details and higher resolution photos, see my iNat observation at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/320306081

Another photo of a green plant stem with black aphids, America regwort aphids, being tended by tan brown Australian ants, in New Zealand. My hand is there for scale holding the plant. For details and higher resolution photos, see my iNat observation at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/320313017

A photo of a greyish hairy plant stem covered in black aphids, America regwort aphids. This plant is the NZ Pahohoraka, Senecio quadridentatus. For details and higher resolution photos, see my iNat observation at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/320306091

Watch out: the weather is warming and the American ragwort aphids are *multiplying*.

American ragwort aphids specialise on Senecio plants, of which NZ has many species, including some threatened endemic species.

The aphid arrived in NZ (somehow) in 2023, and […]

[Original post on mastodon.nz]

The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do

How microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds.

“The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do.”

Microplastics like those from car tires. The bigger and heavier the vehicle, the more microplastics shed.

Un altavoz y un micrófono son, a grandes rasgos, lo mismo. Convierten una corriente eléctrica en una vibración o viceversa. Esto es posible gracias a varios descubrimientos independientes ocurridos en el siglo XIX. #fisica #physics

You ever think to yourself “but I am just one person, what can I do to make a difference?”

It turns out that “wear an inflatable frog costume and go downtown” is actually a really reasonable answer.

#portland #portlandfrog #uspol

a green bird looking downward from high up in a tree

One of my fave things about Stockers Lake is the abundance of Ring-necked Parakeets.

#nature #birds #Wildlife #photography #NaturePhotography #BirdPhotography #BirdsOfMastodon #UK #BirdScrolling

A banner for the upcoming iNat NZ ID Meet-Up, 25 October 2–4:30 PM at the City Nature Lab in Ōtautahi (Christchurch). The banner is yellow and contains stylised drawings of moths and a beetle.

If you're in Ōtautahi-Christchurch and use #iNaturalist, we've got a free workshop happening in two weeks on how to make identifications on iNat.

Every observation on iNat needs to be identified, and often annotated, and this is all done by volunteer identifiers […]

[Original post on mastodon.nz]

A photo of my 10x monocular showing it's broken strap and the piece of orange string that I'd tied across the bridge of thin thread and that stopped the monocular from falling onto the road when the thread snapped this week.

String and foresight for the win!

I just noticed that my carefully tied piece of string saved my monocular. I carry this around my neck while biking so I can identify tricky birds and plants at a distance.

When I bought the monocular, over a year ago I eyed the […]

[Original post on mastodon.nz]

A meeting of National Council of Women, addressed by Ada Wells, July 1901. Margaret Sievwright and Lily Atkinson are seated next to the speaker, on her left; Kate Sheppard occupies the chair at the end of the room. Women are in Victorian dress, about 15 of them are sitting around a large table. The person speaking (Ada) is standing. Date is likely after 1896, maybe around 1900.

#Suffrage #Vote #NZPol

To all Aotearoa New Zealand adults.... don't forget to vote today!! You've got three hours!

.....and don't @ me with that all politicians are crap nonsense! Leaving the local future with everyone else to determine is just plain stupid […]

[Original post on mastodon.nz]

Me standing in my back yard holding a large pot in front of me with both hands. It borrows its spherical form from Nigerian water vessels and has a short, flared neck. It is about 16” (40cm) in diameter and 14” (36cm) in height. The pot has been divided laterally into six parts and each section has been decorated with carved lines in alternating patterns: a symmetrical abstract leaf motif and a large double diamond pattern. The colors are dark brick red, olive green, dark purplish brown, dusky pink and aqua. The interior is glazed glossy aqua to reference the water this form would historically have contained. Behind me is dense foliage and small blue patch of sky. I am smiling and wearing a black and white top and red paints, only partially visible from behind the large pot.

Still warm from the kiln, covered in warm earth tones—I’m so relieved this piece came out successfully on the other side of firing. I worked on it over the course of a month and remembered to document moments of process which I think I’ll share in a thread […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

Two beetles on a stick. One beetle says to the other "Do you ever get the feeling we are being observed by another lifeform" Zoom out to reveal that they are in a glass case with two scientists studying them. One scientist says to the other "Do you ever get the feeling we are being observed by another lifeform" Zoom out into space. Abouard a spaceship, two aliens watch the scientists on a screen. One alien says to the other "Do you ever get the feeling we are being observed by another lifeform" The aliens turn to look out at the reader. Text below the cartoon reads: From 'Physics for Cats' by Tom Gauld. Preorder it at www.tomgauld.

One of the cartoons in my new book 'Physics for Cats' which is out now in the UK, USA, Canada, France and Germany. Order from your local bookshops or online: www.tomgauld.com/

A photo of a pair of ducks on a pond. They both have unusually long and broad bills (hence shovelers). The female at the back is brown while the male is a stylish mix of blue-greys and chestnut browns with a yellow eye and a white bar behind his bill. See my observation on iNaturalist NZ for details and higher resolution photos: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/320016251

A photo of a male shoveler duck on a water in a small ephemeral creek by a roadside. He is a stylish mix of blue-greys and chestnut browns with a yellow eye and a white bar behind his bill. See my observation on iNaturalist NZ for details and higher resolution photos: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/320016259

Here are the *three* kuruwhengi, Australasian shoveler ducks, that I saw between Ōtautahi-Christchurch and Lincoln along my daily bike route.

To pass the time I've been counting birds on my bike commute since March 2003. The first shoveler I ever saw on the […]

[Original post on mastodon.nz]

More than half of world’s bird species in decline, as leaders meet on #extinction crisis
Biodiversity losses are growing, the #IUCN reports as summit opens, but green turtle’s recovery ‘reminds us conservation works’ […]

A photo of a metal lettbox shaped like a Minion from the movie Despicable Me. On the right side it's a regular yellow minion, and on the left side it's an evil purple minion.

Respect to whoever went the extra mile to make this Minion letterbox.

I stopped to photograph it at the entrance to a rural driveway in Lyttelton Harbour. I like how yellow reflectors have been added to it can be seen by car traffic.

Some skilled parent must be […]

[Original post on mastodon.nz]

A photo of a sunset through norwester clouds over the Southern Alps as seen from the Cashmere hills of Christchurch city. In this photo the sun has just dipped below the mountains. My full-res photo is on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54844913189/

A photo of a sunset through norwester clouds over the Southern Alps as seen from the Cashmere hills of Christchurch city. The sun is below the horizon and the cloudy sky is lit up in orange. My full-res photo is on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54844667066/

A photo of a sunset through norwester clouds over the Southern Alps as seen from the Cashmere hills of Christchurch city. This view is off to the southwest where the colours on the clouds are more subtle salmon pinks and pale orange and blue greys. My full-res photo is on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54844913164/

A photo of a sunset through norwester clouds over the Southern Alps as seen from the Cashmere hills of Christchurch city. The sun is below the horizon and the cloudy sky is lit up in orange. My full-res photo is on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54844913144/

Thanks to whoever put in the order for a premium sunset this evening. It was a doozy.

#sunset #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #NZ

"7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry

This was unexpected global hit from 1994, from Senegalese and Swedish musicians, sung in the West African language Wolof, French, and English.

From Wikipedia:

The title and refrain of the song refers to the first moments of a child's life; as […]

@pezmico @thejuicemedia The Eye of Seymour! 😂

Stop everything!

There is a New Zealand Honest government ad from @thejuicemedia and it is 🔥

On point and equal measures hilarious and depressing. 🤣😭

100% Shitfuckery!

Honest Government Ad | Visit New Zealand!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=h-yjkAXxnMA

#NZPol

It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Reflect Orbital's fucking stupid giant mirror satellite, with absolutely NOTHING useful to offer, which will cause countless safety issues, ecological disasters, and destroy the night sky, is going to launch.

A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out […]

#CarlZimmer and colleagues at the #NYTimes have launched a series of interviews -- 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 -- with US scientists whose grants have been terminated. Recommended.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/science/ecology-forests-pollinators.html

(At the bottom of each interview you can find links […]

It’s great to see the #LowMow Revolution coming to Wellington, NZ.

“Low mow sites had about double the plant species - an average of 21.8, compared to 11.3 on regularly mown sites. Bugs were also more abundant, with 5.5 invertebrates on low mow sites, but just 1.2 on sites mowers frequent. Bird […]

The Devils Postpile in Devil's Postpile National Monument formed less than 100,000 years ago from a thick basalt lava flow that cooled slowly, creating tall, symmetrical hexagonal columns later shaped and polished by glaciers.
#glaciers #geology
#lava #nature
#California

Extract from letter sent recently to Luxon and Willis by Craig Renney
, Ganesh R Ahirao
, Susan St John
, and 17 others:
" Unemployment is rising, and for Māori and Pasifika communities is now above 10%. Youth unemployment is particularly troubling, with more than 42,000 fewer 15–24-year-olds […]

A cargobike with a trailer loading six feet high with crates sits next to a trailer by a river

Bikes can do so many more things than most people think. Today’s wonderful example is Carla Cargo’s feature on @mountvernontrail.org’s bike-based volunteer trail maintenance work. www.carlacargo.de/heroes/carla...

A woman holds a child with a mouse emoji face obscuring her real face. The child points towards yellow flowers on a plant, while a blue fence and cloudy sky are in the background.

Happy garden news of the day: my six year old kōwhai which I grew from a seed finally flowered!

It’s also got our daughter’s placenta in the ground under its roots, so we call it her tree.

To my surprise I found a hairy-legs groundsel in the centre of Ōtautahi-Christchurch city today. It's the first time I've seen the species in the centre city.

Hairy-legs groundsel is a new species to the South Island. It was first spotted near some shipping containers in Hillsborough in 2021 by […]

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Aotearoa New Zealand Local election resources!
Remember to Vote!

Re-posting a collection of useful links for fedizens voting in the #LocalElections25 #NZPol #poti2025

Originally tooted yesterday as a reply but for better visibiility here it goes again:

https://localelections.nz/ - Gen Zero […]

@GummiQ Wait, there’s a word in German that means “owl sleep sounds”?! That’s great!