Latest news with #RichardGreen
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Gardeners told to tip coffee straight onto their beds this summer
Slugs have been having a field day this summer munching their way through gardens up and down the UK but it turns out that coffee grounds can keep them at bay and stop ruining your plants It's been a challenging summer for green-fingered Brits with heatwaves followed by thunderstorms - and it's been great for slugs and snails. While the weather has made it great for plants to bloom, the insatiable creatures will stop at nothing to devour your garden, munching through strawberries, raspberries, tomato plants, potato foliage and all sorts of flowers in their quest to satisfy their seemingly insatiable appetite. But did you know that inexpensive coffee grounds can do more than just kick-start your day? They could also give your garden a much-needed boost. Caffeine is toxic to slugs and snails, leading some gardening gurus to advocate its use as a form of pest control. However, a word of caution: coffee is an extremely painful way for slugs to meet their end, even worse than salt, so avoid applying coffee grounds directly onto any slugs or snails (a swift stamp would be quicker and less cruel). Instead, simply scatter the coffee grounds onto soil and around raised beds or pots during dry, clear weather, reports the Express. When it does rain, the slugs won't cross the coffee, thereby safeguarding your precious flowers and crops. Research has shown that coffee grounds can reduce slug and snail populations by between 50 and 90 per cent. And don't worry about harming your plants - the coffee won't have any detrimental effects. In fact, some studies have found that caffeine can actually stimulate plant growth - making it a win for your garden all round. The gardening blog Tea and Coffee reveals: "Coffee grounds contain a chemical called alkaloid, which is poisonous to slugs. When slugs ingest coffee grounds, they suffer from severe dehydration and eventually die. For these reasons, slugs will avoid areas where coffee grounds have been sprinkled. While coffee grounds may not be the most effective way to keep slugs out of your garden, they can be a helpful tool in deterring these pests." However if you want a more natural and kinder way to slug-proof your garden patch, wildlife expert Richard Green from Kennedy Wild Bird Food & Pet Supplies has the inside scoop on slug warfare: enlist the help of our feathered friends. "Birds can be a great way to naturally deal with slugs and protect your plants," he shared. Green points out that blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and robins aren't just pretty faces – they're slug-munching machines, offering an organic alternative to chemical repellents. "Blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and robins are some of the birds that eat slugs, becoming a natural source of pest control while reducing the need for harmful chemicals," he further noted.
RNZ News
16-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Find out how drone chainsaws could actually improve health and safety
technology 37 minutes ago Researchers from the University of Canterbury have successfully developed chainsaw drones. It comes off the back of eight years of development aiming to build drones that can traverse complex environments. The team has heard from multiple businesses that agree these drones could vastly improve the health and safety of their staff. Computer science professor Richard Green led the project.
RNZ News
16-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Find out how drone chainsaws could actually improve health
technology 20 minutes ago Researchers from the University of Canterbury have successfully developed chainsaw drones. It comes off the back of eight years of development aiming to build drones that can traverse complex environments. The team has heard from multiple businesses that agree these drones could vastly improve the health and safety of their staff. Computer science professor Richard Green led the project.
Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Slugs will vanish from your garden if you attract these birds
Slugs are a common problem for gardeners, but one wildlife expert has shared a simple and natural way to get rid of the pests using birds - here's how to do it Slugs are the bane of British gardeners, wreaking havoc on lush greenery during those warm, wet summer spells. These slimy pests can decimate your dahlias and veggies in no time, leaving you fuming and frantically searching for a fix. While some reach for harsh chemicals to fend off these molluscs, there's a greener, kinder way to slug-proof your patch. Wildlife whizz Richard Green from Kennedy Wild Bird Food & Pet Supplies has the inside scoop on slug warfare: enlist the help of our feathered friends. "Birds can be a great way to naturally deal with slugs and protect your plants," he shard. Green points out that blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and robins aren't just pretty faces – they're slug-munching machines, offering an organic alternative to chemical repellents., reports the Express. "Blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and robins are some of the birds that eat slugs, becoming a natural source of pest control while reducing the need for harmful chemicals," he explained. How to attract slug-eating birds to your garden Creating the ideal environment If you want these bird flocking to your garden, you've got to roll out the welcome mat with the essentials: grub, water, and a cosy nesting spot. Pop in some berry-laden bushes like hawthorn, ivy, and cotoneaster to keep the birds popping by all year round, even when the winter season arrives. Don't forget to set up a birdbath or another splashy feature – it's a magnet for birds in the sizzling summer months. Citrus fruit trap To really get the birds pecking away at your slug problem, try a citrus fruit trap. It's a clever ploy that tempts both the birds and the slugs, setting the stage for a feathery feast. The expert explained: "Birds are drawn to the fruit, and slugs are attracted to the leftover rinds. Once the slugs gather, the birds will return to eat them, creating an effective and eco-friendly way to manage pests." Providing shelter with nest boxes If you're looking to keep birds in your garden for the long haul, setting up nest boxes is a brilliant method to entice them to stay and breed. "Different-sized entry holes attract different species, helping to boost bird diversity," Richard proposed. To make the nest box even more appealing, place it in a quiet, sheltered spot and supply nesting materials like straw, wool, or pet hair. Using plants and natural shelters Native species and berry-bearing shrubs are especially beneficial for luring birds and providing them with vital food. Richard further advised: "Leaving areas of the garden untidy, such as longer grass or fallen leaves, offers shelter and easy access to slugs and other pests. These spaces can also attract other slug predators that birds are safe from, like hedgehogs and frogs."
RNZ News
16-06-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Chainsaw drone could help improve staff health and safety
A group of researchers at Canterbury University have developed a chainsaw drone to help tackle risky trees. The university's Vision team has spent the last eight years developing unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAVs, like drones, that can use precise complex, dynamic environments. Last year, the team developed a drone that was capable of carrying a pruning tool which could do precision jobs. They wanted to create something which could handle larger branches though. Chainsaw drones are the next step forward in a University of Canterbury project equipping unmanned aerial tools to carry out tasks that are hazardous for humans. Photo: Supplied Computer science professor Richard Green developed the chainsaw drone with UC mechanical engineering professor Dan Zhao, UAV expert Dr Sam Schofield and University of Auckland mechanical engineering professor Karl Stol. Professor Green said the drone was a "breakthrough". He said it had the potential to make trimming trees around power lines and pylons safer and more efficient without the need for ladders and scaffolding in those "hard to get to place". "There are so many applications where this is useful," he said. "You have to leave the powerlines live to prune them. So they're pruning them with big long poles or sometimes even climbing up near these powerlines to prune branches." Professor Richard Green and Dr Sam Schofield with the new chainsaw drone they've developed as part of the UC Vision research team project. Photo: Supplied Professor Green said he had heard from businesses confident it would improve the health and safety of their staff. "We believe this tool will be transformative across a range of different industries where jobs are inaccessible and hazardous for humans, making them safer, more cost-effective and more efficient. This includes arboriculture, electricity infrastructure industry and civil construction." But getting to this point has proven more challenging than expected. The project faced technological challenges like accurately tracking the drone's motion, targeting the right branch, and precision control making sure it could fly and cut in tricky conditions. "[It's] really challenging for a human to do, to manually operate a drone in that environment. And so that's why we've automated that part of it. "The drone with stereo-cameras on board so it can see exactly where the branch is in 3D, so we've got AI-navigation processing to recognise a branch and the leaves around it and automatically navigate it to this branch that's moving all over the place, avoiding all the leaves and branches in the way." The project has been funded over five years by a $10 million grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The team are working in collaboration with a number of Kiwi UAV experts, international researchers, and UAV manufacturers and users, with hopes to have the chainsaw drone ready for commercialisation next year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
