Connect July issue out now

July brings the first issue of the Connect e-newsletter since Scion became a group of the Bioeconomy Science Institute. While we’re now united with AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research and Plant & Food Research in one organisation, Connect continues to feature the latest stories from the Scion group.

What’s new  
This month we highlight the two Scion group programmes that have government funding to collaborate with NASA on water flow and wildfire research and celebrate our 10 years of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research. We talk about our world-first field trial of gene-edited conifer and we share our New Zealand-first study into how container size affects key native species’ survival and field performance.

Listen here 
We explore how applied science is shaping the future of indigenous forestry in New Zealand in our latest Branching Out podcast episode.

Celebrating our people

Meet Lania Holt, a Te Ao Māori researcher focused on better understanding cultural uses for indigenous trees. We also celebrate Dr Lloyd Donaldson who retired in June after a 45-year career, and Scion group sustainability lead Kim McGrouther, the driver behind the Cans for Trees initiative that funds native tree planting.

Watch
We show you how a phenotyping robot assesses radiata pine seedling growth under varying conditions – from a seedling’s perspective.
Media spotlight
You can also read recent media stories about our research and collaborative work in Sunlive, NZBusiness and NZ Logger.

Read the full issue here.