Summer 2015
contents 4 shorts
News from around Unitec.
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6 a natural step
Applied Molecular Solutions is Unitec’s latest research foci.
9 restoring ecologies
Stephane Boyer is using molecular biology to measure the success of ecological restoration.
12 wellbeing
The Parakai tavern has been transformed into a house of wellbeing.
16 bird life
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Keeping birds at a healthy distance is the aim of a Unitec research project.
18 harnessing creativity The Henderson Youth Art Project is transforming the town centre.
22 talking to buildings
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Regan Potangaroa has led a research delegation to post-Pam Vanuatu to find out why so many buildings were damaged.
24 clean-up operation
Civil engineering student Jason Beer is on a mission to improve industrial stormwater quality.
28 cat carnage
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31 obituary
editor Marcus Williams
published by
writers Joe Dawson, Katie Moore
Unitec Institute of Technology
design Catherine Lawson
Private Bag 92025,
A warming climate could spell trouble for native species, Glenn Aguilar’s research shows.
Gail Dallimore pays tribute to Peter Hughes.
editorial assistant Thiruna Selvaratnam photographer Matt Crawford cover illustration Greg Straight printing Centurion Print
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Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142, New Zealand ISSN 1176-7391 phone 0800 10 95 10 www.unitec.ac.nz
Taking an outside in approach to research This edition of Advance focuses on research undertaken with and for our stakeholders in community, industry and iwi.
This issue is filled with different examples of how Unitec staff are solving problems, exploring opportunities and generating solutions for people and organisations. It’s an eclectic mix, ranging from smaller student projects through to large scale strategic initiatives, reflecting the wide variety of work and the many domains in which our staff and students are doing research. The common thread is that the research comes from, or has been co-created with, people outside of Unitec, and undertaken with their goals in mind. This is what we have called an ‘outside in’ approach to research. This approach is a feature of Unitec’s new Research and Enterprise Strategy 2015-2020, and is a big focus for us as we develop a distinct research identity as an Institute of Technology. The traditional concept and language around academic research is built on an assumption that new knowledge and innovation are created inside academia and that this flows out to society. Phrases like ‘knowledge transfer’ and ‘technology transfer’ demonstrate these inbuilt concepts where the ideas belong to the researcher, who does their work, develops their findings and then takes this to the outside world. However, if we as tertiary institutions only pursue this type of work, then we are missing out in a major way. Most knowledge and ideas emerge outside academia, simply because that is
where most people are. But these people often don’t have the research expertise necessary to turn the ideas into solutions, products, concepts or outputs. So, as the stories in this issue demonstrate, there is a great opportunity for exciting, innovative work that makes a difference. This is not a criticism of other modes of doing research – for example investigator-led and blue skies research all have their place. However, what we hope to achieve through this issue is for you to get a feel for the particular relevance of thinking ‘outside in’ when it comes to research at Unitec. That means looking to apply the disciplines and insights of research expertise to ideas that others bring to us, and in this way serve their needs and those of our community, industry and iwi partners, as well as our role as a provider of knowledge and skills. I trust you will enjoy the projects outlined and come and talk to us at Tuapapa Rangahau; Research and Enterprise if you want to know more. Marcus Williams Dean Research and Enterprise Research and Postgraduate Centre
If you have any questions about the research articles in this issue of Advance, please contact the Unitec Research and Enterprise Office. We’d love to hear from you. 09 8154321 extn 8574 / email: research@unitec.ac.nz
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ADVANCE SHORTS
SHORTS
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Bottle to crack Asian market They also decided to involve Unitec’s design department, setting the goal of designing a bottle that would both reflect Kiwi innovation and appeal to the Asian drinking culture of sharing. The resulting bottle, dubbed The Provider, has been deemed the vessel the burgeoning Kiwi craft beer industry can use to get their product to a market many times larger than New Zealand. Eleven students had to learn about the complexities of bottle design – the neck, shoulder, body, heel, punt – and the characteristics of Asian drinking culture.
A real world research and design project has seen students come up with an export bottle for the Asian craft beer market. To help Kiwi craft brewers tap into the growing market the New Zealand arm of global glass manufacturers O-I decided to create a bottle that would appeal to the Asian drinker.
O-I New Zealand business development manager Bayard Sinnema says The Provider is now being promoted to around 40 craft breweries, which might be interested in exporting to Asia but can’t stretch to producing a bottle run of 600,000. Once enough have been ordered production can begin. “Collaboration can be a mutually beneficial process and given the right framework each of us can learn and extend ourselves,” Sinnema says.
Showcase of Unitec research excellence Unitec’s annual Research Symposium boasted an exciting mix of research narratives from all areas of Unitec and from those at every stage of their research journeys, from undergraduate students to members of our Professoriate.
These partnerships are a first for Unitec and are made possible only through the high esteem with which these colleagues are held, their dedication to leadership and their areas of expertise over a long period of time.
The daylong celebration of Unitec’s research featured a mix of staff and student research competitions and parallel sessions. The Symposium also featured a Celebration of Honour for Josie Keelan, Regan Potangaroa and Rau Hoskins. The celebration acknowledged the mahi of these three colleagues in relation to their successful partnering with Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, New Zealand’s Maori Centre of Research Excellence, QuakeCoRE: the Centre for Earthquake Resilience, and BRANZ on the National Science Challenge, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities: Koi nga wa kainga hei From left: Regan Potangaroa, Aroha Hudson from the whakamahorahora.
Unitec Council, Marcus Williams, Josie Keelan, Rick Ede and Mere Tunks from Runanga o Te Whare Wananga o Wairaka
New research centre opens
Unitec has partnered with NIWA, China’s Wuhan University and Chinese technology company LJDY to set up the Centre of Computational Intelligence for Environmental Engineering (CIEE). The Centre will focus on improved environmental monitoring, using Computational Intelligence, GIS, GPS, 3D Visualization, Internet of Things technologies and data science to provide a clearer picture of how the environment is performing.
The CIEE offers education in computational technology and environmental engineering and will conduct high level collaborative research. Unitec Computing Head of Department Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh says there is enormous potential for the new CIEE. “These organisations combine with Unitec to form a highly credible team.” NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan says the collaborative nature of the new venture was one of its greatest strengths.
SHORTS
A 3D view of Auckland city showing how its environment is performing in real time will be one of the first projects tackled in a new international collaboration.
Big year in community development It’s been a big year for Community Development at Unitec. 2015 kicked off with the inaugural Community Development Conference at the Waitakere Campus, an event Social Practice Head of Department John Stansfield says was a roaring success, selling out a month early and featuring a huge range of speakers and attendees. The event also marked the launch of Whanake: The Pacific Journal of Community Development, the second edition of which is out this November. Whanake is a Unitec ePress publication to be published twice a year for practitioners who love community development. Edited by community development legend Gavin Rennie the journal mission is to serve as a
crucible of democracy, where people come together to share their dreams and plan their common futures. It has refereed papers of 4000-6000 words, reviews, practice notes from the field, and opinion pieces. The journal provides space for posing questions,
documenting emerging trends in research and practice, and sharing case studies and biographies. Find Whanake at www.unitec.ac.nz/epress/index. php/whakane-the-pacific-journal-ofcommunity-development/
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A natural step in the right direction Our environment, communities and industries are set to benefit as molecular biology takes centre stage. Following hot on the heels of Cyber Security, Applied Molecular Solutions is the second of an eventual three subject areas that Unitec has chosen to expand capability in. In its 2015-2020 research strategy, the organisation established strategic goals to concentrate resources in areas that had demonstrated the capability to grow significantly. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Each research area selected has the potential to make a big impact on areas of need and opportunity in the New Zealand economy, environment and community. Unitec CE Dr Rick Ede says it will create high profile exposure for Unitec, as well as leading to more industryengaged staff, highly responsive programmes, and potential business opportunities. Run by the Department of Natural Sciences, acting head Dr Dan Blanchon says the focus on Applied Molecular Solutions will allow for work of greater value to be done, and for collaborations with other disciplines to be forged. Blanchon says molecular biology offers technologies which today are considered
fundamental for biology, and is an area where Unitec is already active. “This is something that we’ve been doing for a while so this is kind of celebrating that, but it is also going to be a springboard to expand what we are doing,” he says. “Molecular biology includes techniques or technologies that can be applied to real world problems, so having it as a research focus means we can put more investment into looking at the problems with these technologies. “It gives us the ability and skills to actually get some answers to the on-the-ground community and industry generated problems. It’s definitely a natural step and recognises what’s already here and the potential of what could come.” What is here already are a number of people already using molecular biology in their research (see the following story on the work being done by Stephane Boyer), good collaborations with other institutions including Massey and Lincoln Universities, and relationships with industry and community.
Clockwise from top left: Sofia Chambers, Mark Large, Stephane Boyer, Dan Blanchon and Marie-Caroline Lefort are all working with Molecular Biology
Most of the work already being done at Unitec is in animal welfare, conservation, biosecurity and agriculture. Blanchon says what they need to look at now is how to become a catalyst for other networks around Unitec. “How do we use our concentration of expertise and our technology and investment to actually help other areas? There are lots of natural synergies we can explore and a logical one to look at is human health. A lot of the technologies we’ve got could be applied to disease screening, or could be used to show the students in human health programmes how to interpret the data in these disease screenings. “But then the question is, who else can we bring on board?”
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
" We can look at the genetics of organisms at a landscape scale, which allows us to work with landscape architecture.”
" Molecular biology includes techniques or technologies that can be applied to real world problems.” Blanchon says there are many possible applications for molecular biology, including solving problems in the landscape architecture, building and civil engineering departments. “Molecular biology is not restricted to our department, it is now a fundamental part of biology, and we have several areas at Unitec that do work. We can look at the genetics of organisms at a landscape scale, which allows us to work with landscape architecture. You can use molecular methods to determine where timber has come from and if it’s sustainably harvested, which has the potential to bring in our building technology, architecture and sustainability people. And you can also use these methods to test water quality which may be of interest to civil engineers." “There are of course highly controversial topics such as genetic engineering where expertise in social science and communication is key – we see our colleagues in Communication Studies, Social Practice and Performing and Screen Arts as natural collaborators in this research focus too.”
contact Sofia Chambers, Mark Large, Stephane Boyer, Dan Blanchon, Marie-Caroline Lefort
ECOLOGY
Molecular methods help measure success Molecular biology can help restore ecosystems, making it a powerful tool for industry and community. And Unitec’s new research foci Applied Molecular Solutions will ensure more of this kind of work takes place. A fully functioning ecosystem is a complex thing, made up of thousands of different parts interacting with each other.
A big focus of Boyer’s current research activity is developing better ways of restoring mining areas after the machines have moved on.
So restoring an ecosystem to its original state following a disturbance or development is no easy feat. Getting it right takes careful work and years of monitoring to make sure it is thriving.
“I would like to use molecular biology to develop a way to do a better job of restoring mining areas,” Boyer says.
Molecular methods are increasingly being used to properly measure how a restored ecosystem is performing - and these methods are at the heart of Unitec’s new research focus, Applied Molecular Solutions. It is technology that Unitec natural sciences lecturer Stephane Boyer says can make a significant difference to conservation and ecological restoration.
“The idea is to use some of the recent molecular methods like high throughput DNA sequencing to give a more accurate and non-subjective idea of restoration success. The way people have been looking at restoration success is mostly to look at how many plants have come back, and how much vegetation cover they get after a few years.
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“But this doesn’t tell you whether the ecosystem actually functions as well as it did and whether all the things in the soil or environment – the species like invertebrates, fungi and microbes – are still there.” Boyer says a functioning ecosystem will have all the right species making all the right interactions within it. “Using these molecular methods we can measure which species predates others, or what the associations between species are. Is this preserved in the restoration or not? If there are no interactions taking place in an ecosystem it won’t work.”
“I would like to use molecular biology to develop a way to do a better job of restoring mining areas.”
ECOLOGY
Doing it properly means conserving what is destroyed for development, rather than creating something completely different to what was there before and which may be prone to invasive species coming in. “If you remove a whole vegetation from a native ecosystem and then plant a few trees, in between those trees there is a lot of bare ground and that’s the ideal terrain for invasive species like weeds to come in.” Boyer plans to use a method called DNA metabarcoding, which allows for the creation of an inventory of all the species that occur in an environment before it is altered and after
a restoration. This shows what has been lost, what may need to be actively reintroduced, whether it worked well, and whether everything that was there before has returned. Boyer aims to assess how ecosystems that have been translocated - physically picked up and moved - to make way for coal mining on the West Coast have been restored, particularly at the Solid Energy-owned Stockton, New Zealand’s biggest coal mine. Boyer worked closely on the relocation of the Powelliphanta snail at Stockton and is applying for funding for a project to test how well the ecosystem translocation has worked in that area. “The good thing with this mine is they have been using the method where they move a complete ecosystem from one side of the mine to another side that has been mined already, so instead of destroying the whole system, they pick it up and put it down on the other side. “This is very promising in terms of restoring the full ecosystem very quickly and this is what we want to test as it is likely to give good results. They’ve been doing it for 20 to 30 years on that site, so there is a historical site we can go to and see whether it conserves communities right after the translocation, and whether this is a longstanding thing and it stays that way for 20 or 30 years.” Solid Energy Environment Manager Phil Rossiter says that a huge amount of time, effort and resources are invested in mine rehabilitation, so the effort must result in effective and enduring outcomes. “Any tools or insights that enable better understanding, design and success are very useful,” he says.
ECOLOGY
“The kind of research undertaken by Dr Boyer puts rigour behind the all-important but not allencompassing applied science that results from years of developmental work and observation.”
“ the molecular method to test whether a restoration has been successful can be applied to any restoration project.” Rossiter says the company would be interested in the results of the study Boyer is proposing. “We check the water quality of aquatic ecosystems in mine site restoration down to single cellular algae, so it is logical to explore terrestrial ecosystems down to a microbial level. Stephane’s research very much centres on this approach.”
Boyer says the molecular method to test whether a restoration has been successful can be applied to any restoration project. The method could also be used to test whether the creation of an ecosystem, like riparian planting on a farm where there wasn’t an available sample of how it was before agriculture moved in, is working. “Most of my experience is with mining and one of the big issues they have with restoring areas is they have to manage the site for 10, 20, 30 years after the restoration. If they can’t get mining closure for up to 30 years, it can be very costly in terms of money but also in terms of the environmental image and how they sell their restoration work for other projects. But if they have a method that is much faster and conserves the ecosystem better they can save money in terms of managing the site after restoration. They can get mine closure much faster and that is a selling point.”
contact Stephane Boyer
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Provincial pub to community hub Unitec is at the grass roots of a community development project that’s boosting the health and wellbeing of a small South Kaipara town.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
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Unitec staff and students have been closely involved in the transformation of the former Parakai Tavern into the new, communityfocused Te Whare Oranga o Parakai, or House of Wellbeing. The new and improved Te Whare is at the heart of the South Kaipara Community Development Scheme, which also includes a food revolution and plans for an artisan trail to promote tourism. Launched earlier this year Te Whare is already well utilised, hosting a monthly farmers’ market and community groups throughout the week. It’s covering its costs and there are big plans for the future, including shared work spaces for local freelancers and creative entrepreneurs, and rooms for visiting health professionals. It’s a far cry from the building’s former life as pub, restaurant and gaming room. Working alongside industry professionals, Unitec interior design and architecture students replaced the bar and pokie machines with a classroom, community kitchen and flexible open spaces. Big plans are afoot for the exterior too, with landscape architecture students set to develop community gardens and a playground.
The transformation began after the pub closed in 2012. After sitting empty for six months the building and grounds, owned by the Parakai Licensing Trust, were offered to the Helensville District Heath Trust to take over. Helensville District Heath Trust general manager Charm Torrance says she was at first reluctant to take it on - the job seemed too big, the required investment too high. But Torrance has a history of tackling big tasks and seeing them through – she was a driving force behind the establishment of the Helensville Birthing Centre – and in the end the potential benefits to Parakai and South Kaipara outweighed the challenge. “When it was handed to us from the licensing trust my immediate response was ‘no thanks’. It looked like a liability. But I was charged with doing something with it and with the steering group we came up with the idea for a house of wellbeing. “We had meetings about what to do and the idea came from the community. The big difference in the place is it is now a house of wellbeing and not a pub. The local community, especially Māori, said if it’s going to be that there shouldn’t be any alcohol at all. So anyone who uses it has to understand they can’t bring alcohol into the building.”
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
An old pub in a rural town has been transformed from the local watering hole into a place of health and wellbeing.
INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS For Jayde Williams and Maria Powell the experience of working on a real and important social project has been incredible. The two third year interior design students were chosen to take the design from concept to reality and worked with architects Design Tribe to get the work done. To get to the finished product Jayde and Maria had to take the concepts from the studio and implement them in the live project. “Working on the project certainly baptised us in the real world of interior design,” Maria says. “The experience of working with Jayde and my student cohort demonstrated to me how much more productive working as a team can be. We discussed, expanded on ideas and made decisions far more swiftly with the reassurance that a few heads were far better than one."
COMMUNITY COMPUTING CONNECTION
Unitec got involved at the start and Community and Health Services Head of Department Pam Malcolm sits on the steering group. Malcolm says Te Whare Oranga o Parakai presented the perfect opportunity to connect with the community and offer the kind of real world learning students thrive on. “It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to be involved in what was happening out here,” she says. “For students across Unitec there were lots of opportunities for things like placements, and once it’s up and running, we believe social and health sciences students will be able to come out here for practicums.” Torrance says the partnership with Unitec is brilliant. “It was very serendipitous. We did a presentation to Wendy Horne (Executive Dean, Faculty of Social and Health Sciences) and Pam Malcolm and as we started talking they got excited about the opportunity to have students come in and do something that was real, out of the classroom and in the community.” Creative Industries and Business Deputy Executive Dean Athina Tsoulis has also
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played a significant role in driving the project. The first opportunity lay with design students. The buildings and grounds were in a state and needed refreshing. Under the project management of landscape architecture lecturer Susannah Kitching the place was made over, giving it the rejuvenation it badly needed. Kitching says the chance to get involved in a real deal project – with all its complications and challenges – was excellent experience for the students. “It’s a real life project so they had to deal with a client, a brief and ultimately a budget,” Kitching says. “I think the interior students were really surprised by the experience of coming up with a concept in the studio and then a few months later working on the real build and having to adjust their ideas to what was feasible. It’s also about engaging on a community level and responding to what those needs are.” To get a gauge on how the project is going so far the Helensville District Health Trust has used the Metro Voucher Scheme to fund a research project designed to evaluate its success and help set the course for the future.
The Scheme sees grants of up to $5,000 provided to Small to Medium Enterprises or Non-Governmental Organisations willing to match that amount for a tailored research project with an ITP. Unitec Social Practice lecturer Sue Elliott is using a qualitative research methodology called Most Significant Change (MSC) to assess where the biggest impacts have been made. “It’s a participatory approach in that many project stakeholders are involved both in deciding the sorts of changes to be recorded and in analysing the data collected,” Elliott says. “It is useful in monitoring as it can be used throughout the project and provides information to help with programme management. As an evaluation tool it provides data on impact and outcomes that can be used to help assess the performance of the project as a whole.” The first phase of Elliott’s research was to find out what has been the most significant change as a result of the South Kaipara Community Development Scheme project. This was done by asking 12 people involved in the scheme
and the steering group to tell a story they feel epitomises the project. Elliott asked each participant how they became involved and what their current involvement is; to describe a story that epitomises the most significant change that has resulted from the project in the South Kaipara area; why this story is significant.
" there are big plans for the future, including shared work spaces for local freelancers, and rooms for visiting health professionals." “The next step was a systematic selection of the most significant stories by the steering group,” Elliott says, a process she facilitated in September. “The selection process leads to a discussion of the value of these reported changes and helps people to continue to plan for the future. The process of choosing leads the group to discuss what values they are looking for and to understand what the impact is.
COMMUNITY COVER STORY CONNECTION
Top from left, Te Whare in use; the community kitchen; manager Imelda King, researcher Sue Elliott and Charm Torrance; caretaker Tania Sterk.
“It’s a method that can be more organic because it takes into account different people’s impressions of what is significant.” To prepare for the discussion Elliott categorised the stories into a number of domains. “The steering group were asked to read the stories and I asked each member of the group to select the story they found most significant and why. Surprisingly, in each domain there was agreement on the most significant story. “Preliminary analysis of the comments was conducted with the group and I will now review the comments and write up a fuller analysis which will be used to guide future planning of SKCEDS.” Torrance says the experience so far has been positive and the future is looking bright too. “It’s been a very exciting relationship. All this incredible design was done by Unitec students, we gave them some ideas and then gave them free reign. Our partnership with Unitec is by no means over. We have quite a bit more work to go.”
contact Sue Elliott www.thrivekaipara.org.nz
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Putting research to the test A new funding programme which fosters research collaboration between industries and institutes is proving a win-win for everyone.
METRO VOUCHER
The Metro Group, whose members are the six urban Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) in New Zealand, launched the Metro Voucher Scheme earlier this year. The Scheme sees grants of up to $5,000 provided to Small to Medium Enterprises or NonGovernmental Organisations willing to match that amount for a tailored research project with an ITP. Peter Visser, from Key Industries, says his company jumped at the chance to take part in the Metro Voucher Scheme as it provided the opportunity to tap into Unitec’s research capabilities and gain an independent evaluation of one of their new products.
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“We provide our customers with a broad range of agrichemicals and pest control products that are at the forefront of the market, particularly in New Zealand,” says Visser. “One of our more recent products is Bird Free, a natural bird repellent designed to reduce damage to fruits, buildings and facilities caused by harmful birds.” Visser says Bird Free will be popular with businesses such as cafes wanting to deter birds from their courtyards, or fruit packing houses where birds roost and the resulting faecal droppings can lead to biosecurity risks. “As it is very new in concept, Bird Free has yet to be properly evaluated in the
unique New Zealand environment. When we heard about The Voucher Scheme, we thought it was a great opportunity to collaborate with Unitec, where the Department of Natural Sciences has the ability to independently test Bird Free.” Dr Kristie Cameron, lecturer in applied animal behaviour at Unitec, has been developing the research project with three students who are completing their Bachelor of Applied Science. “We have two purpose-built bird aviaries which each house ten birds. At this stage, with these birds, the students are trialling the effectiveness of using three different methodologies for testing the Bird Free product,” says Cameron.
“Over the next couple of months the students will continue to test these three methods, establishing which one is the most effective. Once we have confirmed what the most workable method is, we will graduate to field tests.” Senior lecturer Dr Diane Fraser and associate professor Nigel Adams from the Department of Natural Sciences were both instrumental in developing the project and the relationship with Key Industries. Fraser says that the benefits the students experience from working on a real world project like this are irreplaceable. “Not only are the students gaining insights into the development of a project from start to finish, but they are also exposed to all the real world challenges that go with it, such as client expectations and strict deadlines. “Working on a project that has practical impact and the opportunity to work for a company means they are building
their reputation with industry, which could provide employment prospects. As well as this, the Metro Voucher Scheme offers the students the opportunity for ownership of a project and that is invaluable.”
"As an SME, the Voucher Scheme provides us with access to funding to support our research" Fraser adds that it’s not only the students who benefit from participating in the Voucher Scheme, but also the Unitec staff members involved. “Academic staff teaching in a degree programme are required to be actively involved in research within their discipline. The Voucher Scheme and its associated collaboration with industry provides individual staff members with the opportunity to participate in industry relevant research, which
benefits the students, the staff member, the department and the reputation of Unitec in the provision of quality degree programmes.” She says staff are well supported in this by Unitec’s Research and Enterprise Office. As for Key Industries, Visser says the relationship with Unitec is mutually beneficial. “As an SME, the Voucher Scheme provides us with access to funding to support our research, allowing us to achieve outcomes that we would otherwise not have been able to afford. “Equally important though, is that Unitec provides Key Industries with an independent evaluation of our product that is seen as non-commercially biased. This is vital in a commercial environment because, from a client perspective, it adds depth and credibility to the product information we present to them.” This type of symbiotic relationship between Key Industries and Unitec is one of the primary reasons the Metro Voucher Scheme was set up. By making funding available to businesses within New Zealand, the scheme provides a practical platform to encourage closer links between institutes, industry and community groups.
METRO VOUCHER
“Method one is to watch and observe the birds’ reaction to the repellent. Method two involves placing food at varying distances from the Bird Free and observing the behaviours of the birds. The final method is to record the location of the birds’ faecal droppings in terms of its proximity to the Bird Free.
Kristie Cameron, Peter Visser and Dianne Fraser
contact Kristie Cameron and Dianne Fraser
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COMMUNITY ART
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Channeling creative energy Unitec’s Design and Contemporary Arts Department is helping to reduce graffiti and vandalism in Henderson by working with local youth to create vibrant public murals.
“Late last year Auckland Council identified ten graffiti vandalism hotspots over the region and looked to partner with organisations to reduce vandalism in those areas,” says Brian Taylor, Community Safety Programme Manager for Auckland Council. “Unitec was a perfect fit for Henderson as they were looking to do an arts project with young people in that community. We provided funding to Unitec to deliver a 12 month project activating community spaces with young people. Since then we have been playing a supporting role in helping Unitec connect with Auckland Council stakeholders and engage in Auckland Council processes that allow these activities to happen.” Unitec Academic Leader Paul Woodruffe says that HYAP works to reduce graffiti in the Henderson town centre by offering constructive alternatives for local youth to get involved in. “Essentially we are creating a safer and more vibrant town centre by channelling the creative impulses of youth in positive ways.” With just under 25 per cent of 15 to 24-yearolds in the Henderson-Massey area not in training, education or work, the project also aims to reduce this figure by creating pathways for local youth into tertiary study. “Aside from Auckland Council, we also partnered on this project with the Kākano Youth Arts Collective, an art programme for youth in West Auckland. Through workshops with Kākano and from information provided by the HendersonMassey Local Board we created a map detailing
the high-density graffiti areas in Henderson,” says Woodruffe. “We then worked with Mandy Patmore, Creative Director of Kākano, to identify the primary motives behind graffiti art. Through focus groups, we established that graffiti artists are more often than not looking for recognition and ultimately would like a way to productively use their creative talents in their future lives.
COMMUNITY ART
Funded by Auckland Council, with support from Unitec, the Henderson Youth Art Project (HYAP) came about in response to the Council’s Graffiti Prevention Plan.
" HYAP works to reduce graffiti in the Henderson town centre by offering constructive alternatives for local youth to get involved in." “From there we designed the programme for HYAP. The project initially sees Mandy identify local youth who are interested in using their creative talents to pursue tertiary education, but who perhaps lack the exposure or knowledge to get there. “We then hold workshops at Unitec with these kids, engaging them in a process that embraces their skills and provides them with a very public creative outlet, satisfying their desire for recognition. These workshops also offer exposure to learning and campus life, as well as providing participants with a collection of work that they can use in their tertiary entrance portfolios.
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COMMUNITY COMPUTING ART
HENDERSON PROJECT FOLLOWS EARLIER WORK The Henderson Youth Art Project follows on from earlier work in a similar vein. Woodruffe, Hung and Witehira are part of the Everyday Collective which has been working on community consultation using experimental creative approaches since 2012. A project in Avondale called ‘Creative Spaces’ worked with local community and business to use creativity and events to address social and economic problems. The project worked on the premise that visible change on the streets can act as a catalyst to change in other areas and increase participation and investment. Their work continues in Henderson.
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“Ultimately, over the year, these HYAP workshops will result in 12 large public murals created in Henderson in graffiti hotspots. We will also hold a number of events which will see local youth create live art in public places in Henderson.”
"Insights gained will be used to develop a template for a public youth art programme.” Mandy Patmore, Creative Director of Kākano Youth Arts Collective, says the project has already been a huge success with two of her students set to apply for Design and Contemporary Arts courses at Unitec. “HYAP has given direction to the youth involved in the project,” says Patmore. “Working with students and staff from Unitec has really shown them a potential pathway for the future. In the process, we have also managed to add a whole lot of colour and coolness to Henderson!”
COMMUNITY ART
Taylor says that although the project is only halfway through, it is already viewed as a success by Auckland Council. “The main priority at the start of the project was to see a reduction of graffiti vandalism in Henderson town centre and we noticed that reduction quite quickly. We also noticed other achievements that are harder to measure, like the large number of encouraging comments on social media around the beautiful murals that the young people and Unitec have painted in the town centre. Or the positive response from some of the young people involved who are now keen on entering into education pathways with Unitec.”
help change lives as well as reactivate Henderson town centre as a vibrant, positive, and visually interesting place to be.”
Unitec’s Matauranga Maori Education Advisor, Johnson Witehira, as well as Academic Leader and street artist Bobby Hung have also been driving forces behind HYAP. Hung says he is very enthusiastic about its progress. “Our goal is to
Woodruffe agrees, adding that the Unitec team will be using the insights they gain throughout the duration of the project to develop a template for a public art youth programme that can be replicated in other low-decile areas.
Although the project is now focused on Henderson, both Auckland Council and Unitec see it as a pilot programme.
From left Bobby Hung, Johnson Witehira, Paul Woodruffe and Mandy Patmore
Taylor says that at the end of the project, Auckland Council will evaluate its success and identify what worked well and what could be improved for next time. “Once we have had time to reflect on the project outcomes we should absolutely identify how the model can be used in other communities or vandalism hotspots.”
contact Paul Woodruffe, Bobby Hung, Johnson Witehira and Mandy Patmore
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Building resilience in post-Pam Vanuatu ARCHITECTURE COMPUTING
A team of researchers lead by Regan Potangaroa is helping aid agencies develop a road map to a safe and secure future for Vanuatu. As Vanuatu moves from response phase to recovery mode in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam, the focus is shifting towards preparing the Pacific nation for the future. To help plan for how Vanuatu’s villages can rebuild and strengthen, Kiwi humanitarian, architecture lecturer and researcher Regan Potangaroa has visited the country and prepared a report for aid agencies like Unicef, communities and governments that will be involved in the complex job of rebuilding. Potangaroa, a post-disaster reconstruction expert and Associate Professor at the Unitec School of Architecture, spent two weeks on the ground in Vanuatu in June and July. He says four months after Cyclone Pam ripped through things were “still pretty grim”. He travelled with Unitec postgraduate architecture student Jessica Hulme and two University of Auckland architecture students with the aim of researching why so much damage was caused to buildings and developing a plan for how
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villages can rebuild in a way that will better protect them in the future. The result of their work is a report recommending a focus on building community resilience born out of the circumstances of individual villages. “We went over to have a look at postPam Vanuatu to try to work out what happened. It’s very difficult to work out what caused the damage and it’s useful to know that if you’re going to do a reconstruction,” Potangaroa says. While recovery from such a catastrophic event is largely social, Potangaroa says there is definitely space for people with technical skills to make a contribution. The team used a research approach known as ‘Talk to the Buildings’ to assess what worked well in the Vanuatu context and what did not. Talk to the Buildings uses what are considered to be the ten most important patterns of building that go into the making of a home. Those patterns – including how a roof carries the look and meaning of a home, how a building captures light and how it responds to its site – will inform how rebuilding should be approached.
Potangaroa says the approach has several advantages for technical people. Buildings don’t lie: the approach can be used in different cultural and geographic contexts and it doesn’t rely on language translations. Because there are many factors complicating any disaster reconstruction, whether it’s in a developed country like New Zealand or developing nations like Afghanistan or Vanuatu, being able to draw base conclusions from what the buildings ‘say’ is valuable. They found that the worst damage was to buildings that did not accurately reflect the way of life or conditions in Vanuatu. These included brick churches which did not withstand the winds, houses built using gabled rather than hipped roofs, and things like imported sheds which had been modified to better reflect the value placed on the area just outside the door. “If you just build a shed it will get altered to suit their purposes – that’s what humans do – and then it will be weakened. Life there involves the inside of a house and the area just outside the door so that needs to be incorporated.”
In Vanuatu the challenge goes beyond the physical difficulties of construction. The role of the chiefs and the hierarchy between national and provincial government are also important considerations that need to be navigated. But there is common ground on which to build, Potangaroa says. “There is a desire on behalf of the aid agencies, government departments and the villages themselves to be stronger and to learn from what has happened for a potential future disaster,” he says. “Ultimately the goal is to use the Resilient Village Approach to develop a village plan with activities for building or enhancing resilience. The emphasis is on that rather than coping or vulnerability.”
" The worst damage was to buildings that did not reflect the way of life in Vanuatu.” The Resilient Villages Approach is designed to allow different villages to build the ability to not only withstand adverse events but also thrive, based on their own particular situation. The focus is on community self-reliance; sustainable village housing, infrastructure and community facilities; maximum protection from natural disasters; and the preservation of community heritage, culture and natural environment. This means using the reconstruction as an opportunity to up-skill the local community, build culturally and environmentally appropriate houses, and create a livelihood for residents. Potangaroa says most of the challenges of rebuilding communities after a disaster are social, but those problems can be solved with the help of technical experts. “We can ease the social issues with technical advice. You can address social complexities with technical expertise – you might unlock solutions you weren’t aware of.”
contact Regan Potangaroa
ENGINEERING
Doing the dirty work for cleaner stormwater
ENGINEERING
Cleaning up the stormwater from industrial sites can be a headache for the concrete industry. But engineering technology student Jason Beer has found a clever way of removing more of the unwanted residues.
ENGINEERING COVER STORY
“ Zinc, copper and suspended solids represent a significant threat to Auckland water quality, so reducing contaminants was the motivation ” A project aimed at cleaning up stormwater before it is returned to the natural environment has seen Unitec student Jason Beer find a possible solution for the concrete industry. Beer, in the final stages of a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Civil) degree, has just completed a research project under the supervision of Unitec Civil Engineering senior lecturer Dr Babar Mahmood that found simple changes could make a big difference to the quality of stormwater being returned to the sea. A former lab technician for concrete manufacturer Stevenson, Beer worked with his old employer to look into ways
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of improving the performance of the stormwater filtration system at its Penrose concrete plant. Stormwater management is a high priority to Stevenson and the concrete industry in general. Zinc and copper are common contaminants in industrial and road areas attributable to traffic and the built environment. “I worked for the lab at Stevenson and was carrying out some performance monitoring for the Penrose concrete site and the stormwater sand filter there,” Beer says. “I was doing quarterly performance monitoring and noticed zinc and copper were present at higher than desirable
levels. Zinc, copper and suspended solids represent a significant threat to Auckland water quality, so reducing contaminants was the motivation and the main project objective.” Stevenson uses an above-ground sand filter system which all stormwater from a ‘high risk’ portion of the site passes through before it is discharged into the Manukau Harbour. The system currently uses a filter media made up of 50 per cent peat and 50 per cent sand. Beer’s project was to look at how different media might bring the levels of zinc and copper down. “Initially my idea was to use something cool and innovative as a filter media,
As a filter peat does most of the contaminant removal, while sand is used to help water drain through in a timely manner. Beer built laboratory-scale physical sand filter models to test a range of different media combinations using peat and sand in different ratios. “All of them were able to reduce zinc and copper, but the 80:20 mix was the best. “Part of my testing was to make it as real world as possible which is why I designed the miniature sand filters and used the Penrose site stormwater: the water with the real contaminants rather than making something synthetic in a lab and adding stuff in that sort of controlled manner.” Whether Stevenson implements changes as a result of Beer’s findings will depend on other factors, but he is hoping to progress the study further next year. “It will come down to a balance. There is a requirement for how fast water has to drain through and with more peat it slows down, so it comes down to finding a balance between performance of the treatment and how well it drains through. Every six months they do maintenance where they take off a fine sediment
layer that builds up, so it might mean doing that a bit more often. It will be cool if they do.” Stevenson Concrete Customer Services Manager Kevin Mischewski says any research that can help inform environmental practice and performance is of high value to the company. He says once Beer’s research is analysed and looked at by their stormwater consultant it could be implemented.
COVER ENGINEERING STORY
maybe recycled materials, chopped up plastic bottles or wool, as well as some of the more common things. But when I looked at the Penrose system it became apparent I might be able to improve it using what is already there. At the moment it is a 50:50 peat and sand mix, so it looked like I might be able to increase the peat and reduce the sand content.”
“If we can replace what we have now with something that may have better results that would be great. Anything that can improve things is worth looking at.” Babar Mahmood says the findings will interest any industry using a sand filter for treating stormwater. He hopes to submit Beer’s study for consideration for conferences in New Zealand and Australia next year, and for the project to continue. The findings of this work were also accepted for the October Unitec Undergraduate Research Competition organised by the Unitec Research Symposium. “We had to look into the contact time between the media and the water, which was four minutes in this project,” Mahmood says. “The next stage will be to look at different contact times - if the contact time is 10 minutes or 20 minutes or half an hour, is that going to improve its efficiency? There is space for more work.”
contact Babar Mahmood and Jason Beer
Summer 2015
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Warmer world poses cat threat Cats. People love them more than any other companion animal. But feral and stray animals are also one of the most destructive pests we have, and climate change is making them more of a problem.
Parts of New Zealand currently inhospitable to stray cats will become much more accommodating as the planet warms up, data modelling shows. Those behind the finding say this could put vulnerable native species, especially birds, at even greater risk of predation as more areas become highly suitable to stray animals. In a study published this year in the Applied Geography journal, Unitec natural sciences lecturer Glenn Aguilar used species distribution modelling to describe the ranges that are highly favourable to un-owned cats, and investigated the potential impact of climate change on their future distribution. Using Auckland cat population data sourced by co-author Mark Farnworth from organisations including cat welfare group, the Lonely Miaow, Aguilar created models that provide a visualisation of what could happen in the future. Aguilar has been working with stray cat and cat colony data sets since 2012 and his previous published articles have shown links between population density, economic deprivation and the occurrence of stray cats. Generally a dense population is an indicator that stray cats will also be present. With records from 1991 to 2011 Aguilar has been able to build a detailed picture of how stray cats are dispersed around the city. South Auckland, Glen Innes, the central city and pockets of West Auckland have been shown to have the highest populations of stray cats, with spikes in December and March coinciding with breeding patterns. “We can show statistically they are concentrated in urban areas,” he says. Because of this, the Auckland model can be projected onto other similar urban areas to illustrate the potential distribution of the animals in those areas. Aguilar says while owned cats tend to have a limited home range based around food and shelter provided by the owner, unowned cats experience much greater pressure to disperse. Because of this, urban areas can be considered a potential exporter of stray cats. And when they do disperse their impact could be devastating. Globally, cats living in a wild or feral state distant from human populations are held responsible for at least 14 per cent of extinctions of birds, mammals and reptiles. Urban
un-owned cat populations may act as a source of animals that turn feral and colonise adjacent rural or semi-urban areas which may be of high conservation value. The release and availability of new climate change data sets last year sparked a new project, the results of which Aguilar hopes will go towards future conservation planning. “I had the idea that we could take all this cat distribution data from Auckland and try to expand it throughout New Zealand and see whether there’s an effect when you have a climate change scenario for modelling,” Aguilar says. “Last year the fifth report of the International Panel on Climate Change adopted the Relative Concentration Pathways (RCP), describing trajectories of greenhouse gas concentrations as the basis for its report. I was able to download the data for several pathways for 2050 and 2070 and used them to model the impacts of climate change on the distribution of this species.”
Feral cats pose a huge threat to native species
“ In warming conditions resulting from increased greenhouse gas concentrations the areas that have greater environmental suitability for cats is shown to increase."
CLIMATE COVER STORY CHANGE
A changing climate could see the number of stray cats and cat colonies in New Zealand boom, threatening native species.
Aguilar said the resulting Geographic Informations Systems (GIS) maps show an increase in the areas suitable for un-owned cats. “In warming conditions resulting from increased greenhouse gas concentrations the areas that have greater environmental suitability for cats is shown to increase. It gives an idea that if climate change does occur, and there is a lot of modelling that shows it will, then it will have an effect on important organisms and the distribution of important organisms. “This will be of concern to conservation planners. Managing stray cats is already costing a lot of money - the SPCA regularly asks people to adopt cats.” The Lonely Miaow Association founder Peter Dormon says Aguilar’s research paints a very possible picture.
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GIS MAPPING GIVES A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE
FAVOURABLE RANGE 2015
Geographic Information Systems mapping is a useful tool for other species as well. Aguilar says data modelling can also be applied to other invasive species to show the effects of climate change. “We are also working on mapping five invasive species in New Zealand to see how climate change is affecting their movement. “For example, there is a species of palm called the Chinese Windmill Palm and it is an indicator of climate change. Using the same software we are able to show there is a movement to the south, increasing the potential distribution in New Zealand.”
“Cats can survive in very cold climates, such as the Auckland Islands and Kerguelen, but do thrive in warmer climes,” he says. “The dispersal of stray cats into rural and semi-urban
CLIMATE CHANGE
“ The dispersal of stray cats into rural and semiurban areas is definitely a threat to the native wildlife." areas is definitely a threat to the native wildlife in nearby areas of high conservation value. “The number of stray cats and colonies is at least partially controlled by food supply. If climate change results in more prey birds, lizards, mice and rats, then there will probably be more stray cats and more cat colonies.”
A greater range suitable for cat populations includes areas close to conservation sites, including in the central North Island, the top of the South Island and central areas of the South Island. Aguilar hopes his research will help inform how we plan for limiting the effects of such an eventuality.
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Absence
ONE 2070 SCENARIO
“There are a lot more sites that are highly suitable for stray cats in future conditions. Now they are not suitable but in warming conditions their suitability is shown to increase. “The modelling could provide some guidance in strategy and policy making. It’s an interesting exercise when trying to build an idea of how climate change can affect some species, not only stray cats.
Presence Absence
THE CHANGES
“Like all models, it is constrained by what you put into it. Time will tell - it could be a possible outcome but also a starting point for further studies and more research.”
Aguilar says the comparison between today and the 2070 high greenhouse gas concentration trajectory was the starkest illustration of what could happen. “It simply shows there is an increase in the area favourable for stray cats, from current to future conditions, and it’s quite a lot. It shows there is a wide area where the range has expanded.”
Presence
Absence in both conditions Range Contraction Range Expansion Presence in both conditions
contact Glenn Aguilar
Peter Hughes Library Director at Unitec 2007-2015 - Leader/Mentor/Friend The Unitec Library Director, Peter Hughes, died in August 2015. He will be much missed. Peter was the consummate professional and outstanding leader. He led the Library team over the last eight years to achieve great results in various projects and ensured staff provided exceptional service to staff and students.
I first met Peter at the University of Auckland in 1979 when, as the NZ & Pacific Librarian, he gave a seminar to Dame Anne Salmond’s post graduate students about what the library could do to support their research. He arranged for interlibrary loans of Maori Land Court Minute Books from Archives New Zealand for me. The interest and support he gave set the course of my life to become a professional librarian. As well as tertiary libraries - Sylvia Ashton Warner at the Auckland College of Education and the University of Auckland - Peter also worked at research libraries including the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington and the Auckland Institute and Museum Library. In both these libraries he was instrumental in setting up projects to make manuscript collections, particularly material written in Māori, more accessible. At the Museum under Peter’s leadership, Jenifer Curnow described the papers of George Graham, Percy Smith, and Te Rangikaheke. At Turnbull Peter wrote an annotated bibliography of Katherine Mansfield’s papers and edited the Turnbull Library Record for several years. In this time he taught other, including Jane Wild and Dr Jane McRae, how to edit. Peter was interested in New Zealand small printing presses. In 2000 he edited A book in the hand: essays on the history of the book in New
Zealand (Auckland University Press) with Penny Griffith and Alan Loney.
PETER HUGHES
Every two years Unitec conducts a survey of library users, using Insync Surveys. In 2014 Unitec was placed in the top quartile of the forty libraries surveyed in Australasia. In all five categories the library achieved higher positive results in the ‘aggregated comparison tables’ than 12 other participating libraries, including Griffith, Monash, QUT, RMIT and the University of Auckland. For example, compare Unitec’s ‘positive’ score for library staff of 90% to the aggregated average of 88%.
Marcus Williams, Dean of Research and Enterprise at Unitec, noted “Peter had always been a stalwart for research at Unitec and did stellar work in advancing the dissemination of new knowledge and ideas from Unitec researchers and creative practitioners. Under his watch Research Bank was developed and one of the last things he did for the Unitec Research Committee was a comprehensive piece of work creating the important Scholarly Communication Guidelines." Throughout his library career Peter was involved with the Library and Information Association of New Zealand (LIANZA) at both the local and national level. In 2003 Peter was awarded a Fellowship of LIANZA for his contribution to the library profession through demonstrating outstanding leadership and research qualities through his involvement in working groups and numerous publications such as A checklist, New Zealand royal commissions and commissions of inquiry, 1864-1981 (NZLA, 1982). Amongst other significant activities Peter started the Research Special Interest Group which continues to focus on sharing best practice with other librarians working in Research Libraries and Institutions. Peter’s values and vision will continue to provide the foundation for the Library Team to build on at Unitec.
Gail Dallimore Acting Director, Library Services Library and Learning Commons
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phone 0800 10 95 10 fax +64 9 815 2905 web www.unitec.ac.nz
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