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The Green Desk

95bFM's long-running green issues feature, The Green Desk.

The Green Desk: Woodwork and Repairs: 22nd October, 2024

The Green Desk: Woodwork and Repairs: 22nd October, 2024 The Green Desk: Woodwork and Repairs: 22nd October, 2024, 12.46 MB
Tue 22 Oct 2024

Repairing is something of a lost art form. Appliances are built to be replaced rather than repaired. In the age of outlets like Temu and fash fashion houses - Who repairs things anymore?

On today’s Green Desk, we’re heading to The Shed — a workshop hiding in Sandringham’s GribbleHurst Park where woodworkers and tinkers spend hours fixing broken things and building new ones from scratch.

The Green Desk: Infrastructure and Energy in Wellington, Part 2: 15th October, 2024

The Green Desk: Infrastructure and Energy in Wellington, Part 2: 15th October, 2024 The Green Desk: Infrastructure and Energy in Wellington, Part 2: 15th October, 2024, 15.86 MB
Tue 15 Oct 2024

On this week's Green Desk we have part two of a special on The State of Wellington, recorded down in the capital inside Parliament’s cafe.

If you’ve read the news in the past month, the capital is being buffeted by gnarly headwinds. Not off the Cook Straight but rather from pesky employees working from home. But are sunny days ahead for Wellington?

The Green Desk: Trouble in Aotearoa's Big Apple: 8th October, 2024

The Green Desk: Trouble in Aotearoa's Big Apple: 8th October, 2024 The Green Desk: Trouble in Aotearoa's Big Apple: 8th October, 2024, 20.41 MB
Tue 8 Oct 2024

This week on The Green Desk we have a special episode on the state of Wellington, recorded inside Parliament’s cafe with the Spinoff Wellington Editor Joel MacManus. He talks about infrastructure, cycleways and tunnels.

If you’ve read the news in the past month, the capital is being buffeted by gnarly headwinds. Not off the Cook Straight but rather from pesky employees working from home. Journalists talking to retail operators and cafe owners have painted a bleak picture of the city. But are sunny days ahead for Wellington?

The Green Desk: Agriculture and Eating: 1st October, 2024

The Green Desk: Agriculture and Eating: 1st October, 2024 The Green Desk: Agriculture and Eating: 1st October, 2024, 7.29 MB
Tue 1 Oct 2024

We all need to eat, but climate change is changing the world in which food grows. So what will a warmer climate mean for agriculture? This week on the Green Desk reporter Jack Marshall speaks with Principal Scientist Linda Lilburne, from Manaaki Whenua - Land Care Research.

Lilburne's been involved in research exploring what a changing climate will mean for New Zealand food producers. It seems our farmers will have to rethink what they choose to grow.

The Green Desk: Energy and Architecture: 24th September, 2024

The Green Desk: Energy and Architecture: 24th September, 2024 The Green Desk: Energy and Architecture: 24th September, 2024, 11.51 MB
Tue 24 Sep 2024

This week on the Green Desk we spoke with lecturer of sustainable architecture, Priscila Besen from Auckland University of Technology.

New Zealand is facing an energy crisis, and quick solutions are needed. Large manufacturing businesses are shutting doors around the country, with an Auckland Mill in Penrose announcing its permanent closure last week, which adds up to hundreds of job losses because of the price of power. Here’s reporter Jack Marshall:

The Green Desk: Kōura and Whakawheku: 17th September, 2024

The Green Desk: Kōura and Whakawheku: 17th September, 2024 The Green Desk: Kōura and Whakawheku: 17th September, 2024, 12.1 MB
Tue 17 Sep 2024

This week on the Green Desk, Jack Marshall spoke with freshwater scientist Ian Kusabs about a breakthrough in monitoring kōura, New Zealand’s freshwater crayfish.  

Kusabs, of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, is a busy man, working with The University of Waikato, iwi groups, and NIWA as a freshwater scientist. 

This week Kusabs told the Green Desk about whakaweku, which are bundles of bracken fern, that have proved exceptional at monitoring kōura compared with other methods. 

The Green Desk: Getting Down With Dung Beetles: 10th September, 2024

The Green Desk: Getting Down With Dung Beetles: 10th September, 2024 The Green Desk: Getting Down With Dung Beetles: 10th September, 2024, 14.02 MB
Tue 10 Sep 2024

This week on The Green Desk things get shitty — New Zealand has a poo problem: An estimated 100 million tonnes of cow and sheep manure fall onto New Zealand pastures each year, causing an environmental and economic stink. 


Reporter Jack Marshall went to see a man about a dung beetle. Dung Beetle Innovations’s Dr. Shaun Forgie is a specialist in dung beetle reproduction, ecology and evolution. And if he has his way, every farm in New Zealand will have these bugs following around their animals.

The Green Desk: Tuna and Whitebait at an Auckland Golf Course: 3rd September, 2024

The Green Desk: Tuna and Whitebait at an Auckland Golf Course: 3rd September, 2024 The Green Desk: Tuna and Whitebait at an Auckland Golf Course: 3rd September, 2024, 9.56 MB
Tue 3 Sep 2024

After some time away from 95bFM, reporter Jack Marshall made his triumphant return to the bFM newsroom where he’s taking up his role as host of The Green Desk. 

This week on the Green Desk, Jack goes spotlighting with Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust at an Auckland golf course to find nature thriving in its waterways.

The Green Desk: How Weathering Rocks Can Help Combat Climate Change: July 7, 2023

The Green Desk: How Weathering Rocks Can Help Combat Climate Change: July 7, 2023 The Green Desk: How Weathering Rocks Can Help Combat Climate Change: July 7, 2023, 11.39 MB
Wed 5 Jul 2023

Welcome to The Green Desk, the podcast that explores innovative approaches to tackle the pressing issue of climate change. In today's episode, we explore a new technique that offers a fresh perspective on combating the climate crisis. Professor Racheal James, an expert in Geochemistry from the University of Southampton in England talks about enhanced rock weathering as a form of carbon capture.

The Green Desk: Avian Love and Communication, June 28 2023

The Green Desk: Avian Love and Communication, June 28 2023 The Green Desk: Avian Love and Communication, June 28 2023, 8.79 MB
Wed 28 Jun 2023

This week on The Green Desk reporter Jack Marshall speaks with researcher Ella McCallum about her research into the toutouwai, the north island robbin.