Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Today we profile Intranet Communications Advisor Tina Clouston.
Walking the ‘Narrows’ in Zion National Park, USA –
the walk is mostly through the river
At work…
What kind of things do you do in your role?
I spend a decent amount of time looking after the day-to-day running of the intranet—reviewing content, training, testing new features, publishing content, supporting our content editors (all 70+ of them), improving usability etc etc. With over 11,000 pages on the intranet it keeps me busy! And it means that I’m never entirely sure how my day is going to pan out…
And then we’ve got a number of projects on the go (fun website/intranet stuff) like trialling the ‘like’ feature, which we’ve added to our front page stories this week.
It’s a great job.
What is the best part about your job?
Hmmmm… a few things actually:
- Discovering all the interesting things that everyone does. I get to see a slice of it via the intranet content that we review.
- Deleting old content off the intranet. I know, it’s a bit geeky, but there is nothing like getting rid of old stuff!
- Investigating ways to make the intranet better.
What is the hardest part about your job?
Last minute requests!
What led you to your role in DOC?
I’ve been working on websites and intranets for a while now in a number of different industries. My last role, based in London, was working for an Asset Management Company—content that was all about shares and trading and making money—not the most inspirational stuff. After five years of that and a hankering to head home, I decided I needed to work somewhere I actually wanted to work. And so I applied for the job and here I am.
What was your highlight from the month just gone?
I was lucky enough to attend Te Pukenga Atawhai, which was a fantastic experience. I met loads of wonderful people and had a generally great time.
Dog-sledding in Norway
The rule of three…
Three loves
- A crisp, clear winter’s day.
- Travelling – love it! Living in London was the perfect base for seeing the world and I’ve also been lucky enough to live in the States, and have spent a number of months in Japan.
- www.etsy.com. So much crafty goodness.
Three pet peeves
- People texting at dinner or during meetings. Really – can it not wait?
- Missing the train (yes, I know it’s my own fault).
- Littering.
Three foods
- Gingernut ice-cream.
- A good ol’ fashioned roast.
- Wellington coffee.
Three favourite places in New Zealand
- Wellington. Aside from having a great vibe, it’s my home.
- Tongariro National Park.
- My grandmother’s old home at Himitangi beach.
Favourite movie, album, book
- Movie: The Goonies – classic 80s movie. Sloth is awesome.
- Album: August and Everything After by Counting Crows. Always reminds me of road tripping in America.
- Book: The Help – wonderful, warm characters.
On an ice covered beach in Iceland
Deep and meaningful…
What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?
Don’t worry so much.
Who or what inspires you and why?
Brian Cox. He’s been making science cool in the UK. Though he failed maths at school, he’s since played keyboard in a rock band, works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland and has been making BBC documentaries about the Universe.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronaut.
And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?
A photographer for National Geographic. Might need a few photography lessons first….
Tramping the Milford Track, January 2012
What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?
Say no to plastic bags.
Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home? At work?
Compost.
If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?
A morepork. Why? They have fantastic hearing, can see in the dark and can turn their heads 270 degrees.
What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?
Take good care of our country – it’s going to be here a lot longer than us.
