Summer Times for Wednesday 12 January 2022

9:10 Protecting New Zealand pine trees from disease

Dr Rebecca McDougal is a forest pathologist at Scion - a government-owned company that carries out scientific research for the benefit of New Zealand. She is part of a team at the leading-edge of understanding complex Pine tree diseases that are threatening to wipe out a national taonga and seriously damage a valuable export crop. She joins us to explain exactly what her work involves and why it's important.

 

9:20 The success of Greytown's alcohol-free bar 

Greytown has a new alcohol-free bar which is proving to be a big hit this Summer! Adam Blackwell opened the Greytown Truck Stop in early December - which is an entertainment venue for food trucks. His alcohol-free bar 'Unleaded' joined the venue on the 31st December and it's currently the only one if its kind in the country.

 

9:30 Surf Update: Whangamata

Now it's time for our surf update! We're heading back to Whangamata where Brianna Norris is the Deputy Guard at Whangamata Surf Lifesaving Club.

 

9:35 Glamping in 'Bubble Tents' at Mercury Bay

Mercury Bay Estate is a Vineyard in the Coromandel which also offers unique accommodation. Owner Simon ward joins us to tell us all about their Bubble Tents.

 

9:45 Tonga Correspondent: Kalafi Moala

Our Tonga correspondent Kalafi Moala keeps us up to date with the latest.

 

10:00 How to be concussed with Timothy Giles

A new podcast series called "How To Be Concussed" explores the issue of concussion through a series of relaxed and intimate conversations. It's hosted by Timothy Giles who has experienced two traumatic brain injuries and recently another, more mild concussion. Timothy joins Jesse to talk about how he's taking what he's learned and using it to help others.

You can find the episodes here.

 

10:30 Why Elmo's feud with a pet rock went viral and which Sesame Street character should be next

Last week an old 2004 video clip of Sesame Street’s Elmo resurfaced and quickly went viral.  In the clip Elmo becomes upset at his friend Zoe’s insistence that her pet rock Rocco is real and alive... and will be eating the very last oatmeal raisin cookie, which happens to be Elmo's favourite. Some believe the clip went viral because many of us, entering our third year of a pandemic, would love to completely lose our cool too, just like Elmo. The Muppet Wiki is an encyclopedia run by dedicated fans, and has been sharing extra Elmo vs Rocco clips all week. Co-founder Scott Hanson joins Jesse to talk about why Sesame Street remains relevant after all these years and which Muppet might go viral next.

 

11:00 Bookmarks with Mayor Monique Croon Chatham Islands

Today's Bookmarks guest is Mayor Monique Croon who is the first female Mayor of the Chatham Islands. Monique became involved in community organisations when her youngest son started school. She stood for the Chatham Islands Council which sparked her interest in Local Government, then became Mayor in 2019. She joins us so we can find out a bit more about her.

 

11:30 Cycling the West Coast Wilderness Trail 

We're off to Hokitika now, to chat about cycling the West Coast Wilderness Trail. Keen biker Dave Ritchie from Cycle Journeys joins Jesse to share some of the best cycle tracks in the region this summer.

 

11:45 Summer heroes: Night vets

While most of you listening right now will either be at the beach, relaxing at the camp ground or on a road trip to your next holiday destination... Many New Zealanders are still at work - doing the hard yards to look after their community. One of those people is Charlotte Castle who is the Head Vet Nurse at Manukau After Hours Veterinary Clinic.