Allison Hess

2 months ago | michiganross.umich.edu | Allison Hess

In his youth, he survived three years in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. Following his liberation, he came to the United States and earned his PhD in geography. When I was growing up, my Opa often spoke about the power of learning – that knowledge can never be taken away from you, a view that was shaped during his time at Theresienstadt. Consequently, I decided that I would also pursue a PhD to advance my knowledge and that of others.

2 months ago | michiganross.umich.edu | Allison Hess

In his youth, he survived three years in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. Following his liberation, he came to the United States and earned his PhD in geography. When I was growing up, my Opa often spoke about the power of learning – that knowledge can never be taken away from you, a view that was shaped during his time at Theresienstadt. Consequently, I decided that I would also pursue a PhD to advance my knowledge and that of others.

Jan 22, 2025 | thespinoff.co.nz | Allison Hess

Some feel-good nature wins to start your year. Sure, 2024 wasn’t what you’d call a “feel-good” year for the natural world. But if your heart sank at each new blow to conservation (hello fast track bill, goodbye Jobs for Nature funding, looking at you, conservation and science budget cuts), let these despite-the-odds success stories lift your spirits.

Mar 2, 2024 | thespinoff.co.nz | Allison Hess

In a bush reserve near Zealandia in Wellington, a murder mystery is unfolding. Allison Hess investigates. On a summer walk through one of the capital’s most popular bush-clad reserves, you wouldn’t expect to find a body strewn limp and cold across the leaf-littered trail. But volunteers staking out the Waimapihi Reserve (formerly Polhill) every week have grimly come to expect it. A sinister pattern starts in late summer.

Nov 1, 2023 | predatorfreenz.org | Allison Hess

The study, published online in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology, monitored kākā in Pureora Forest Park, 45 km northwest of Taupō. Kākā numbers went from an estimated 640 birds in 2000 to an estimated 2,600 birds in October 2020. Not easily, that’s for sure. Wildlife population status and trends can be influenced by multiple ecological processes (e.g. seasonal weather events) that can take many years for monitoring to resolve.