Okere Falls, Bay of Plenty Opinion piece by Ben Cooper We have a tendency to try and define numerical values to both tangibles and intangibles, especially in the form of currency. But water is not a natural resource in the same way that diamonds or natural gas are. Water is life, not just for humans, but habitats, plants and animals, and without it, we lose everything. So in trying to come up with the “worth” of freshwater, or some way of quantifying and qualifying, it’s difficult to argue that currency is enough. We can certainly measure the economic usage of water in money, but a duck could ..read more

Welcome to the third edition of our Sustainability Report, where we share and take stock of our efforts within nature’s interwoven tapestry of water, life and land. At Morphum we work in a space where the dynamic relationships of these elements converge – sparking a passion with our partners, clients, collaborators, mana whenua iwi and hapū and communities to co-create sustainable and thriving ecosystems. For us, the vitality of these three elements forms the very essence of our organisation: Water embodies the life force that connects us all; Life represents the vibrant diversity of our peo ..read more

A tool for ecological monitoring and management As organisms move through their environment they shed genetic material, environmental DNA (eDNA), which can be extracted from natural substrates including soil, water, permafrost or sediment. eDNA can persist in the environment for very long time periods – such as plant DNA extracted from a 400,000-year-old permafrost sample in Siberia and Moa DNA from a 600-year-old cave sediment sample in Aotearoa New Zealand. eDNA can be used as a very sensitive measure of species presence. It has been used to study single-cellular species diversity since the ..read more

Puhi Peaks Station, Kaikoura - Permanent Forests Sink Initiative Morphum is thrilled to announce we have successfully reduced our carbon emissions for the 12th year running – and in doing so we have secured our 2021 Toitū carbonzero certification! Compared to our base year (2016), we have managed to reduce gross emissions by 45% per each dollar of revenue. This equates to a 21% reduction of emissions per full-time equivalent employee. We are proud to prove that business growth can be achieved sustainably and does not mean we have to push planetary boundaries to their limits. How we got here A ..read more

We’re proud to launch our new logo today which better reflects our core purpose – working together to create a sustainable, balanced and thriving ecosystem. Ever since our company was founded in 2000, our purpose has been to honour those who loved and cared for the land before us by passing on a healthy, thriving ecosystem to future generations. That purpose remains the same today and is at the heart of our projects - now it’s encapsulated in our new logo. This change marks a major milestone in our evolution and the entire team was involved in redefining our company’s purpose, values and visu ..read more

Morphum Environmental will help Government departments and Crown entities become carbon neutral thanks to our expertise in this area. We are delighted to have been appointed a ‘key supplier’ for The Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) which requires the public sector to measure and reduce their emissions and become carbon neutral by 2025. We have two decades of experience offering sustainability services to our clients (including central and local government organisations), and our 100% New Zealand-owned business has been certified carbon neutral for over 10 years. Morphum’s Susta ..read more

Sustainability is our number one focus at Morphum Environmental – both for our clients, and ourselves. Small decisions about what we buy, and how we behave in the office, can have a big ripple effect. As ‘Plastic Free July’ comes to an end, we want to share the top five things we do at Morphum to reduce our plastic waste. We hope this inspires your business to create positive change and embrace sustainable practices in your workplace. 1.     Zero-Waste Events When hosting seminars, workshops or functions, planning the clean-up is just as important as the event itself. Ideal ..read more

Figure 1: The Arawera Permanent Carbon Sink Forest in South Taranaki, New Zealand We are thrilled to announce that Morphum Environmental has achieved carbon neutral status for the 10th consecutive year! This is no small feat and has inspired us to continue striving for excellence and holding ourselves to account. Too often economic gain comes at the environment’s expense. But our efforts prove it is absolutely possible to achieve business growth while upholding environmental values. We believe sustainability doesn’t compromise the way we do business, or our transport choices, but instead pro ..read more

Morphum Environmental graduate environmental scientist, Chloe Price has been awarded the Lucy Beatrice Moore Prize in Environmental Science for achieving the top grade on her Master of Science thesis. The University of Auckland prize was established in 2005 to encourage the study of environmental science. Chloe says being awarded the prize has been an academic highlight. “I’m honoured. I loved discovering that Lucy and I share a common passion for all things blue, green and living in between,” says Chloe.  Chloe completed her master’s degree on the investigation of stream biodiversity of ..read more

Auckland’s land use drives a range of hydrological contaminant responses being simulated by the Freshwater Management Tool. Auckland Council is responsible for the management of freshwater quality and quantity in the Auckland region. To manage these responsibilities holistically, in a prioritised manner and in accordance with requirements set out in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM), Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters department and its partners, Morphum Environmental and Paradigm Environmental are building a freshwater quality and quantity accounting tool that w ..read more