Paul Austin
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ptaus.bsky.social
Paul Austin
@ptaus.bsky.social
74 followers 260 following 28 posts
Plants, pests, trees, roots. Footpaths, kerbs and drains. That kind of stuff. Occasional theology.

And, parade floats for five year olds.
Posts Replies Media Videos
ptaus.bsky.social
Can’t beat a beautiful Wellington bus lane on a good day. Or, any other day.
Cars queued up at crossing lights, on new Thornton Quay layout. Clear bus lane. Urban Maori meeting house and other buildings in background. More cars queued up. Clear bus lane Bus active at intersection from Thornton Quay to Wellington Station bus interchange. Buses moving with priority at intersection from Thornton Quay to Wellington Station bus interchange.
August 6, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Paul Austin
mathonan.com
“A decision to take summer water from local farmers and dump it out of these reservoirs shows a complete lack of understanding of how the system works and sets a very dangerous precedent,”

sjvwater.org/trumps-emerg...
Trump’s emergency water order responsible for water dump from Tulare County lakes – SJV Water
The sudden announcement Thursday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that Kaweah and Success lakes would immediately begin dumping water was in response Trump’s emergency water order responsible for w...
sjvwater.org
February 1, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Reposted by Paul Austin
chasesolidago.bsky.social
The world has been through anti-science cycles before, to disastrous results

On a detour on my lit review, a mosey through the history of our familiar friend, the standard onion (Allium cepa) brought me right to one of botany's greatest cautionary tales of what happens when ideology overrides data
a illustration of our standard kitchen onion, Allium cepa, from 1586. Handcolored engraving a black and white photograph of a white man in a suit, holding stalks of some plant, possibly corn or some sort of grain. Photo depicts Nikolai Vavilov (1887 - 1943)
January 23, 2025 at 9:50 PM
ptaus.bsky.social
Interesting study results: “When you know the centre of origin of a pathogen, that’s where you’re going to find resistance to it.”

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Scientists point to Andes potato pathogen as origin of Irish famine
Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by Paul Austin
theapplefarmer.bsky.social
There is an energetics problem with vertical farming unfortunately
bsky.app/profile/thea...
theapplefarmer.bsky.social Cornelius (aka Con) Traas @theapplefarmer.bsky.social · Jan 5
Thread: 1). In the past I have written a number of threads on the problem with vertical farming, but unfortunately I did not bookmark them, so I’m going to give it one more go, and mark it this time. So here goes:
January 11, 2025 at 10:23 PM
ptaus.bsky.social

Keen to see these ‘in the flesh’.

Compostify and Scion have developed a fully biodegradable product (aka ‘PolBionix’)suitable for forming into plastic nursery containers. Their novel formulation consists of biopolymers from sustainable crops and biofillers from organic matter sourced in NZ.
Easily Compostable Bioplastic Now Replaces Millions of Plant Pots Across New Zealand While Nourishing Soil
A New Zealand eco-startup, Compostify, cracked the bioplastic code with their breakthrough plant pots that break down easily in soil.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
January 8, 2025 at 1:23 AM
ptaus.bsky.social
New Zealand’s largest pot plant, Parliament’s “Heritage Oak Tree” is doing well, a little over one year after its 30m relocation from across the building site. I’m hopeful for its future. Kudos to the arborists who oversaw its move.
December 5, 2024 at 6:43 AM
ptaus.bsky.social
Aotearoa Advent. The season of incipience. The promise of pōhutukawa parousia.
Pōhutukawa buds ready to burst. The tips are just showing a peek of the stamens. Old pōhutukawa leaves have lost their chlorophyll, showing their vibrant red anthocyanins, contrasting with their still-green younger shoot siblings. Adventitious roots project as smooth crimson threads from their epicormic origins buried deep under the rough bark of a mature pōhutukawa tree. Wellington, Aotearoa
December 5, 2024 at 6:29 AM
ptaus.bsky.social
Wellington, on a good day.
A view of Matiu / Somes Island in the northern part of Te Whanganui a Tara / Wellington Harbour, from Waihinahina Park, Newlands. Flowering broom in the foreground, with yellow flowers - Wellington colours. A view of Matiu / Somes Island in the northern part of Te Whanganui a Tara / Wellington Harbour, from Waihinahina Park, Newlands. Flowering broom in the foreground, with yellow flowers - Wellington colours. A glimpse of Matiu / Somes Island in the northern part of Te Whanganui a Tara / Wellington Harbour, from Waihinahina Park, Newlands. Flowering broom in the foreground, with yellow flowers - Wellington colours. Flowering broom and seed pods, with yellow flowers - Wellington colours. Clear blue sky. Perfect day!
November 30, 2024 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Paul Austin
joelmacmanus.bsky.social
Wellington City Council needs to cut pet projects and non-essentials, like its $1.1 billion car lane budget.

thespinoff.co.nz/politics/18-...
‘A ghost town’: Car lanes in the city are stuffing up Wellington
Wellington City Council needs to cut pet projects and non-essentials, like its $1.1 billion car lane budget.
thespinoff.co.nz
October 17, 2024 at 7:06 PM
ptaus.bsky.social
Huh. Who knew?

Life is full of little (AI) surprises.
A screen grab from Google’s Gemini chat bot, responding to the question of “How many times does the letter ‘r’ appear in the word raspberry. Response from Gemini: “There are three ‘r’s in the word raspberry.” It then adds, “Interestingly, though, the first ‘r’ is silent.”
June 14, 2024 at 9:31 AM
ptaus.bsky.social
Goodbye Johnsonville Heritage Railway.
Hello Johnsonville rapid transit service!

“Chris Bishop approves nine WCC recommendations on heights, up-zoning”

Good news! Perhaps letters written to ministers of the Crown can have a positive cumulative effect.

wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=160362
Wellington.Scoop » Chris Bishop approves nine WCC recommendations on heights, up-zoning
wellington.scoop.co.nz
May 8, 2024 at 9:51 AM
ptaus.bsky.social
Excellent graphic storytelling. Gorgeous animation.
especiales.eldiario.es/spain-lives-...
Spain lives in flats: why we have built our cities vertically
The development of cities in Spain has been upwards. Map of the evolution of urban planning in Spain, with data from the Cadastre — and why Spaniards live in apartments..
especiales.eldiario.es
November 9, 2023 at 3:18 AM
ptaus.bsky.social
Maybe this time it’ll actually happen. After 37 years, the rather modest oak tree in Museum St behind Parliament Building looks finally ready to move.

Contented burbling was emanating from the ‘Team Heritage Tree’ guys this evening, as the big Liebherr’s diesel purred solidly, then was wound down.
The evening sun lights up the massive lattice boom of a large crawler crane projects upward to the sky between the Bowen Campus and Parliament Building. Lifting straps hang from the hook down over an oak tree, which is dwarfed by the surrounding buildings and the crane itself. The heavy lattice boom of a large crawler crane stands high above a seemingly modest oak tree, with lifting straps dropping down through the tree canopy. The tree is actually fairly large, being well over 100 years old - hence the effort to move this piece of early Wellington heritage. The four lifting straps fall through the tree canopy, and are attached to two heavy 6m long steel beams that have been placed under the excavated tree root mass - one either end. The thick trunk of the tree is dwarfed by the size of the hessian and plastic wrapped root mass, estimated at 130-150 tonnes. The two 6m long steel spreaders for the lifting straps keep them at the outside margins of the tree canopy, for stability and to prevent damage to the branches.
November 1, 2023 at 8:31 AM