You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Meet John Innes
Job:
<- Homepage: Kōkako: restoring bird song to Mt Pirongia
Scientist, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Hamilton.
Job description:
To research about how native animals live and how introduced pests interact with them, so that we can give the natives a hand.
Work background:
I did a couple of zoology degrees a LONG time ago and then started work as a government wildlife scientist working in North Island native forests. Those were the days when some agencies were still logging native forests, but this has pretty much stopped now.
Favourite part of job:
Helping people make good decisions about what pest control to do, or what to plant.
Least favourite part of job:
Administration! Budgets! Planning! Non-science paperwork!
What I am working on now:
A report for Waikato Regional Council about exciting ways to make the local tui-restoration programme better.
A quick story about a job well done:
I have worked with lots of others to restore North Island kōkako numbers since 1980. We got down to about 350 pairs around 1995 and now there are about 1800 pairs.
A (humorous) story about a job that went badly and what you learned:
Once at Pureora when we were trying to attract kōkako to feeding platforms up trees to see if they were interested in (non-toxic) 1080 baits, we grabbed some cotoneaster berries from a nearby garden as a lure. I think DOC is STILL trying to get this exotic plant pest out of that reserve. Lesson: Think before you act.
Qualifications:
BSc and MSc degrees.
Interests outside work:
Family, fishing, hunting, music.
John Innes is a Scientist at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research in Hamilton. Image: Landcare Research.