iTree Systems Get Smart in Urban Forestry:

The New Zealand Tree Project Captures Last Forest Frontier:

The New Zealand Tree Project is an innovative film and photography venture that captures imagery of majestic New Zealand trees and native podocarp forests from viewpoints not experienced from the forest floor. The project was formed by four passionate tree lovers: Catherine Kirby (University of Waikato Science and Research Support Officer), Jen Sanger (Plant Ecologist), Steven Pearce (Photographer), and Andrew Harrison (Climber, Technician, and Tree Climbing Instructor at Wintec).

Together, with the help of sponsors who provided funds, climbing ropes, and camera equipment, the group captured the Pureora Forest, northwest of Lake Taupo, chosen for its rich history and amazing trees. By using innovative mediums such as time-lapse, hyper-lapse and 3D video, coupled with custom built camera rigs, drones and 50m long cable cameras, the group was able to create one-of-a-kind footage of the forest from groundbreaking new angles.

Jen Sanger said, “The centrepiece of the project is a tree portrait of an ancient and beautiful rimu. A custom made camera rig that ran the entire 40m vertical height of the rimu was painstaking installed by suspending a platform from two adjacent trees. This allowed for the camera rig containing two Canon 5D MkIII cameras to be slowly lowered with a series of photos taken every 50cm. The photos were then stitched together using Photoshop to produce an image from a level viewpoint without distortion. This method allows for a super high resolution image that captures the true glory of the tree, rather than a distorted and incomplete view that is so common when we are limited to photography from the forest floor. This is never seen before stuff. The project will also feature documentary-style interviews with iwi, scientists, bird-watchers, hunters, and even loggers.”

Set to launch officially at the end of this year in Hamilton, New Zealand, the project team is working to create an exhibition for museums around New Zealand and is looking for donations or sponsorship.

In 2016, the group will set its sight on Tasmania, with a similar project planned for southern Tasmania. The Tasmanian Tree Project will capture a portrait of the Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans), the tallest hardwood tree species in the entire world, and second tallest tree species after the Californian Redwood.

For more information, visit The New Zealand Tree Project or The Tasmanian Tree Project.

photo credit: Tasmania Mount Field Russell Falls . wikipedia commons

Curtin University Awarded $500,000 to Research Green Innovation in the Built Environment:

Western Australia’s Curtin University has been awarded $500,000 by the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living for research into green innovation in the built environment. The grant will fund five PhD research scholarships focused on the university’s Master Plan – which was awarded Australia’s first 5 Star Green Star – Communities rating earlier this year.

Curtin’s Vice Chancellor, Deborah Terry, said, “The Greater Curtin Master Plan aims to rebuild the Curtin campus as a city of innovation. Central to this is the notion of it being a model of low carbon development as well as enabling research and development into every feature of the building process.”

The project will be led by Curtin’s Sustainability Policy Institute’s Professor, Peter Newman, in partnership with Curtin’s planners, the private sector, local and state government, the local community, and staff and students. Mr Newman said, “The vision of the node is to extend Curtin’s work in low carbon living through a focus on regenerative cities and regions. The application of these tools will help other precinct-scale developments to use the latest innovations in low carbon, high-performance buildings, infrastructure, and land development processes.”

The Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRCLC), which has awarded the grant, is a, ‘national research and innovation hub that seeks to enable a globally competitive low carbon build environment sector.” The Centre brings together, “property, planning, engineering and policy organisations with leading Australian researchers”, to develop, “…new social, technological and policy tools for facilitating the development of low carbon products and services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment.”

For more information on Curtin University’s Master Plan, watch this video.

image curteousy of Curtin University.