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Archives For 30/11/1999

DOC’s picks for Christmas gifts

 —  12/12/2011

Stuck for ideas on what to gift your loved ones with this silly season? Looking for something for the person who has everything? Why not have yourself a merry little conservation themed Christmas this year, and take some ideas from these suggestions.

A Great Walk experience

Lauren, Alannah, Jasmine and Jean had a primo time together doing the Abel Tasman Great Walk

Great Walks are DOC’s premier walks. There are nine spread across the country. They range in length and difficulty, so there’s something for all walkers. The scenery is amazing—some of the best in the country—and the huts and tracks are of a higher standard than other tramping tracks. With a booking system, you can see what’s available and when. Tickets start at $10 depending on season and track. Find out more at www.doc.govt.nz/greatwalks.

A Backcountry Hut Pass

Sabine Hut

This is the perfect gift idea for those who like to get out and about, or for those exploring New Zealand. You can buy a Backcountry Hut Pass that’s valid for either six months ($92) or twelve months ($122). These give you access to most serviced and standard huts across the country. This means the recipient can choose which tracks/walks they want to go on and when, with the accommodation on you!

A New Zealand native tree

So much more than just a tree in a box

Baby natives make excellent gifts—they can be packaged and presented beautifully and there are a range to choose from. As well as giving the gift of life, you’re also giving an experience, as they require planting once they grow out of their pots. This is a great activity to do with children. Once planted, they also help attract native birds into the garden. See your local nursery, or browse online, for your ideal tree.

Possum merino accessories

Help save our native species—fashionably. Buy your loved ones hats, gloves and scarves made from possum merino. These are extra warm and snugly, and come in a variety of colours and styles. Pests are the biggest threat to our native species, so spread the word on these woolly wonders. Check out your local DOC Visitor Centre for the available range, or browse online.

A bird feeder

Know someone who’s into gardening? Get them one of these and help them turn their yard into a tui playground. There are heaps of designs to choose from so you can pick one that suits the style of all gardens. These are great gifts particularly for city slickers, as a native bird in an urban garden is always nice.

In Great Walks, Huts, Recreation, Walking/hiking/tramping , , , ,
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Jobs at DOC: Print and web designer, Hannah Soult

Department of Conservation —  09/12/2011

Jobs at DOC has moved to Friday! Every Friday Jobs at DOC will take you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

This week we meet Wellington based print and web designer, Hannah Soult

At work…

Name: Hannah Soult

Position: Print and Web Designer

What kind of things do you do in your role?

As a member of the Publishing Team in the Communications Unit, I provide design services to any DOC office in the country who requests help from our team. Each day I could be designing anything from flags and banners to brochures, icons, advertisements, interpretation signs… the list goes on. I provide support and advice to DOC staff across the country and work with other staff producing publications. Our team also manages DOC’s identity publication tools and templates.

Here I am at my desk

What is the best part about your job?

Working with DOC staff from all parts of the country! I’m always jealous when I’m speaking to someone in a distant part of the country and they’re about to go out and check on some native bird eggs or go out to do a school visit! It’s nice being able to contribute to communications about DOC’s work and provide visitors with information about our special places.

What is the hardest part about your job?

This is a hard one… I think it would be the tight timeframes. Every day there’s a list of things that need to be completed. I find this challenging—in a good way though—and it’s always worth it when the customer gets their product and it exceeds their expectations.

Tight time-frames—the way our team manages to keep track of all the jobs!

What was the highlight of your month just gone?

Continuing to do more work on non-traditional ‘published’ products. For example, I’m currently working with the Auckland Area Office on putting together three signs for Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands, based on the celebrations and history of the islands being pest-free. It’s great to be a part of the awesome things happening out in the field—even when I sit at a desk all day in National Office!

Our Team also won a Write Group Award for ‘Best Technical Communicator’, for our Publishing Guidelines and Writing Style Guidelines, an awesome achievement.

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Spending time with friends, family and my partner.
  2. Travel and getting out and about in the sunshine (I went to South America last year and am going to Cambodia over summer).
  3. Food (especially curry!).

    Curry—yes, that whole tray is my meal!

Three pet peeves

  1. Walking the 188 steps back up to my house each day (good exercise though and it’s worth it for the view!).
  2. The smell that clothes get when they’ve taken too long to dry (I call it the ‘washing machine smell’).
  3. Rude people!

    The view from our house in Wellington—city living!

Three things always in your fridge

  1. Veges from the vege market.
  2. Cheese (many varieties).
  3. Leftovers that we sometimes don’t get around to eating because it’s too easy to go out for dinner when living in the city!

Three favourite places in New Zealand

  1. Halswell, Christchurch (where I lived until three years ago).
  2. Punakaiki, West Coast (where we went on family holidays).
  3. Sandy Bay, Marahau, Abel Tasman (another holiday spot—my uncle from the UK has a ‘bach’ on the hill in Sandy Bay so I usually go for a visit each summer).
  4. And I’m going to throw in a fourth—Wellington (but only on a sunny day!).

    The amazing view from my uncle's bach in Sandy Bay, Marahau, Abel Tasman

Favourite movie, album, book

  1. Movie: The first movie that springs to mind is Avatar, mostly because I was blown away by the amazing graphics, and it was the first movie I saw in 3D.
  2. Album: Michael Jackson’s Number ones—you just can’t go wrong.
  3. Book: Design books (otherwise known as ‘picture books’—they’re very inspiring and get me back into creative mode when I’m having a creative block).

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

Start saving now!

In South America at the highest point on the Inca Trail

Who or what inspires you and why?

People in Christchurch, my family and friends included. Everyone’s been through so much in the last year or so, yet remain so positive.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was always going to do something ‘arty’. My mum was massively into arts and crafts, I grew up sewing, making my own jewellery and going to ceramic classes etc. I sometimes wonder what I would be if I didn’t follow the natural road that led towards becoming a designer!

Amazon—a massive tree in the jungle, and an amazing frog we saw (inset). On the same walk we also saw a sloth, a hummingbird and tarantulas!

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

If I wasn’t at DOC and money wasn’t an issue, I would probably want to be an artist. I used to paint a lot when I lived in Christchurch but just can’t find the space or time now. Being a designer in another part of the world would be awesome too.

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

A tui, I love that Wellington has them. They can also sing… I can’t—but wish I could! They used to hang out in the tree in front of our house until the tree got cut down recently (so disappointed!).

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation? 

Look after what we have! We’re so lucky that we have native species in our towns and cities, but we need to look after them and their natural habitat. I think most people take it for granted. I even saw a kākā in the Wellington Botanic Gardens last year!

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Jobs at DOC: Community Relations Ranger, Vonny Sprey

Department of Conservation —  05/12/2011

Every Monday Jobs at DOC takes you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

This week we meet Wanaka Community Relations Ranger, Vonny Sprey

Vonny building a boardway across Enderby

At work…

Name: Vonny Sprey

Position: Ranger, Community Relations, Wanaka Area Office

What kind of things do you do in your role?

Mainly concessionaire related activities but I also work on Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 (CPLA) and Resource Management Act (RMA) issues.

What is the best part about your job?

Any opportunity to get out and into the amazing place we live in. 

I enjoy surveying and monitoring because it’s always good to observe and receive feedback from those using the parks, tracks and huts. I also like being part of a team; building fences, checking trap lines, planting trees—it’s especially good to know you are making a difference to conserving our islands.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Routeburn Track

Being in the office when the mountains, bush and lakes are beckoning (it’s true, I can see the beckoning fingers from the window).

What led you to your role in DOC?

A convoluted journey, including being a city kid with a love of being in the country, several formative years at Massey University, and a career in farming and farm consulting interspersed with the time outs on OEs and answering cycling and long distance Ironman challenges—which did start a change of perspectives.

Many of my farming clients did (and do, admittedly) wonder why I “went over to the dark side”. But I am enjoying seeing the changes taking place in both the farming and conservation worlds particularly in the perceptions that some have of each other (the ‘polluters’ vs. the ‘tree huggers’).

What was the highlight of your month just gone?

Cass Valley, Tekapo

Being given a summer position as hut warden for three months at Siberia hut in Mount Aspiring National Park—once they rebuilt it after it was burnt to the ground earlier this year! 

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Watching the sunrise in a remote valley, mountain top or beach, knowing that it will be a glorious day and that there is no where else I would rather be.
  2. A mountain lodge, warm crackling fire, good company, nice wine and to cap it off—watching snow flakes coming down outside with excellent prospects of waking up to a blue bird day. 
  3. The anticipation of a new adventure, the companionship along the way, and the accomplishment of a challenge.

Three pet peeves

The Remarkables

  1. The bullies in our midst.
  2. People who believe that an ‘organic’ label automatically and conclusively makes it a better product. From a farming perspective there are good farms and bad farms regardless of whether they are or are not organic. As a farm consultant I have seen some awful welfare on environmentally disasterous ‘organic’ farms, and some terrific animal and eco friendly traditional farms (and likewise the products they sell). 
  3. People who have too many peeves (no one really wants to know).

Three things always in your fridge

A moot point—I would settle for coldness at present, then I could actually use it.

Three favourite places in New Zealand

Places that will remain forever in the memory bank: Enderby Island, Kapiti Island, and the diving world around the Poor Knights Islands—and lots of others!

Enderby entry

Favourite movie, album, book

The next good movie, song and book—it’s a moving feast.

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

“Live your dreams, make them happen”—but knowing my 18 year old self, I would probably save my breath and not say anything at all.

Who or what inspires you and why?

Bonar Glacier crevasse

People with inner calm, strength and purpose like Ghandhi, the Dali Lhama, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. They inspire me to try to be a better person.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

It’s a toss up between a cowboy and an action hero.

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

In my dreams? Diving and researching with Jacques Cousteau et al, or filming nature’s marvels with Attenborough, or looking to experience and explore other places I have long yearned to go to such as Antartica. 

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

A Haast Eagle. Why? Because no one would eat me during the day. I would have to go back in time and see what New Zealand looked like prior to the arrival of humans.

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation? 

Good planets are hard to find—don’t blow this one.

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Notes from an island sanctuary:

Department of Conservation —  30/11/2011

An occasional diary by Maud Island ranger, Chris Birmingham

Return of the King

The BGBOL, His Highness, Sir Occo, whatever people like to call him, returned home to Maud Island/Te Hoiere recently after conquering the mainland and capturing hearts and minds alike.

Daryl Eason with Sirocco

It was a reasonably bouncy boat journey back to Maud for Sirocco, the kākāpō conservation superstar, and his human passengers, so we decided that for his own comfort and safety it would be better if he were out of his transport box. With the cabin door safely shut he spent most of the trip sitting on Kakapo Recovery Programme scientist Daryl Eason’s knee. He seemed to enjoy being able to see where he was going and having the sea air ruffle his feathers. Daryl on the other hand did not seem to enjoy Sirocco “stabilising” himself with his beak on the softer fleshy parts of his arm.

He did look a little ‘green’ at some stages though, and was more than willing to get back in his box for the short walk to his pen on arrival at Maud. A pirate’s parrot he is not, it would seem.

Daryl Eason, Linda Kilduff and Sirocco Kakapo

I think Sirocco enjoyed getting back to “nature” after so long in the spotlight. He won’t be free to roam just yet though. He has to go through a quarantine process to ensure he hasn’t brought any diseases back with him. Although Sirocco is very important, there are also other species here to consider such as the takahe, orange-fronted parakeets, and the Maud Island frog. Once he receives a clear bill of health he will be allowed out of his quarantine enclosure.

Don’t panic though, it’s not a cage. He has a large outdoor pen here to loll around in while he waits for the all clear. It’s a catered arrangement too, no macadamias or grapes though, sorry buddy. I’ll keep you posted on his progress and antics.

Takahe chicks

Another significant event here has been the hatching of our first takahe chicks. While it’s too early to count them as members of the overall takahe population just yet it’s looking promising.

Takahe chick

The first to hatch came on the day of the Rugby World Cup final. My partner Linda and I went up to the nest to check the egg for fertility and we discovered a small black chick in the nest, still moist from hatching. It was a great way to kick off a big day for New Zealand.  We have unofficially christened it McCaw. Its dad is named “The Captain” so we thought that was appropriate.

It’s fascinating to watch takahe parents in action, and The Captain and Rangi are great examples. Initially the parents were very protective of their chick. They kept it stashed away in the long grass and ferried bits of food to it, calling to it to tell it to lay low. As it got older and more mobile they have started to bring it out. We give them supplementary food – a mix of blended veges, clover and takahe pellets.

The other day I watched them for 20 minutes. It was awesome to see how dedicated they are to their young chick.  They have a keen sense of danger and will let the chick know if it isn’t safe to be out in the open, such as when the resident NZ falcon lets out its piercing call from high above. The parents turn their eyes to the sky and “whoomp” to send the chick scurrying for cover. Awesome!

Spring has sprung

On a final note, spring has well and truly sprung here on Maud. The grass has really taken off and mowing the tracks has become an all too common occurrence!

Fantail chick

Other locals are breeding too. We have a fantail nest right outside our lounge; the parents have already fledged the first clutch of three chicks and appear to be considering a second! Underneath them, and below the deck, is a family of blue penguins. They aren’t the best flat mates, being quite smelly and prone to late night bursts of noise when mum and dad come home with a belly full of fish to regurgitate, but we don’t hold any of that against them. It’s still very cool to have nature literally on (or under) your doorstep. They will be gone soon enough and maybe we will miss them, but not their smell.

We have a fantail nest right outside our lounge

That’s all from Te Hoiere for now but hopefully I’ll get round to blogging more regularly now that we have settled in.

In Islands, Native animals, Sirocco the kakapo , , , , , , , ,
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Jobs at DOC: Senior Technical Support Officer – Concessions, Briony Dyson

Department of Conservation —  28/11/2011

Every Monday Jobs at DOC takes you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

This week we meet Senior Technical Support Officer – Concessions, Briony Dyson.

Being a Christmas fairy for Nelson's DOC Christmas party

At work…


Name
Briony Dyson.

Position
Senior Technical Support Officer – Concessions (National Office).

What kind of things do you do in your role?
Improvement and support for concession processing and management systems.

Concessions Review implementation; Limited Supply Concessions and Allocation; Concessions Standard Operating Procedures; Conforming Activities; designing and maintaining the Concessions internet and intranet pages; and liaison with the tourism industry, NGOs and Government stakeholders.

Oh, and I play the Christmas Fairy—any excuse to don sparkly wings and pink fluffy head gear! 

What is the best part about your job?
Helping to make operations staff’s lives easier by providing advice and improving systems—although some may debate that!

Out of the office at Abel Tasman

What led you to your role in DOC?
I did a degree in zoology and geography at Canterbury University with a view to working in conservation, but had no idea what kind of work. I came back from my OE in 1991 when the labour market was tight and you couldn’t get a job without experience.

So, I volunteered for DOC in the Wanganui Conservancy Office (no ‘h’ back then) in the ‘Advocacy’  team for seven months. They hired me under Taskforce Green for another nine months and then I landed a permanent job as the Management Planner in Auckland for three and a half years. Then it was ten years in sunny Nelson, and the last five in National Office.

What was the highlight of your month just gone?
Catching up with all my old management planning colleagues at a recent national Conservation Management Strategies workshop.

Outside of work it was going to Eddie Izzard live—hilarious! Cake or death? 

The rule of 3…

3 loves
Felines of any species.
Hot summers on the beach.
Riding motorbikes.

With my beloved fur-children Max (Birman) and Mr Pants (Burmese)

3 pet peeves
Wellington weather.
When they don’t have my size on sale.
Small children. 

3 things always in your fridge
Avocado. 
French toast with bacon and banana.
Fermented white grapes.

3 favourite places in New Zealand
Abel Tasman beaches.
Lambretta’s Cafe in Nelson.
Iko Iko design store in Wellington.

Favourite movie, album, book
Movie: Fight Club—utterly brilliant!
Album: I have a wide range of ‘favourite’ albums, but I’m playing Op Shop’s Until the End of Time a lot at the moment.
Book: Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy—aimed at younger readers but I just love them to bits.

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?
Don’t do it!!! Actually I’d tell her life is short and it’s far better to regret something you have done than to regret never having done something.

My cheetah encounter at Wellington Zoo

Who or what inspires you and why?
I’m inspired by individuals with a strong sense of purpose and adventure who love what they do and do it with all their heart. People like them achieve great things in the world and I’d love to be like that. 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I have never been sure what I wanted to be when I grew up and still don’t! I’m not entirely sure I want to grow up anyway…

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?
Well, I’m taking voluntary redundancy so now I’ll have the chance to find out! I would love to be a neuroscientist, but I’m not sure that’s very likely at this point. Maybe I’ll just be a fairy… 

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?
Well, since we don’t have tigers, I’d be a dusky dolphin. I would love to speed through the water, jumping and playing carefree in the beautiful Sounds with all of my friends. 

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation? 
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” — Chief Seattle, 1855. 

My fairy fortieth birthday with my fairy brother Matt

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