Technical Advisory Group
Te Korowai o Waiheke are very fortunate to have a team of renowned experts on the Technical Advisory Board- from a range of relevant disciplines. The Technical Advisory Board meets with Te Korowai o Waiheke every other month, and is always on hand to offer expert advice and feedback.
Richard Griffiths MSc, Island Conservation
Richard gained his MSc at Lincoln University in 1996. He began working for the Department of Conservation in 1998. Over the next 13 years, he spearheaded some of NZ’s most ambitious island restoration projects, including operations to remove Pacific rats from Hauturu and eight pest species from Rangitoto and Motutapu. Richard led the Hihi Recovery Group between 2000 and 2007 overseeing the species’ successful reintroduction to the mainland after a 120-year absence.
Richard now works for the non-profit organisation, Island Conservation, leading a team of project managers, and island restoration specialists working to prevent extinctions through the removal of invasive vertebrates from islands across the Pacific. Richard remains an honorary member of the Department of Conservation’s Island Eradication Advisory Group.
Dr. Elaine Murphy, Predator Ecologist
Elaine originally came to NZ on a climbing holiday from Sydney and that was that! She completed a PhD on mouse ecology in the Marlborough Sounds and following a 3-year stint as a researcher for the TVNZ ‘Wild South’ series - has worked for DOC for around 30 years as a predator ecologist.
Elaine is often on TAG’s for projects that deal with stoat & rodent incursions onto pest-free islands. She started in Fiordland with the first radio-tracking study of stoats in NZ, during which time she discovered that stoats covered a lot more ground than we had previously thought. She later discovered that stoats die from secondary poisoning after aerial 1080 operations and that they can switch their diet when their primary prey is controlled.
Elaine went on to oversee the development of PAPP, a new humane toxin for the control of stoats and feral cats. Elaine is currently working on developing an aerial PAPP bait for stoats. She has been visiting Waiheke for over 30 years and she & her husband (John Dowding) are in the process of building a house at Onetangi.
Dr. Margaret Stanley, Biological Sciences, University of Auckland
Margaret is an ecologist with expertise in biodiversity, biosecurity, conservation, invasive species, and urban ecology. She gained her PhD in Biology/Biological Sciences at Monash University following a BSc (Hons) in Zoology at the University of Otago, having grown up in Dunedin.
Following six years at Manaaki Whenua / Landcare Research, Margaret has been in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland since 2007 and is currently a Professor at the Faculty of Science, Biological Sciences.
Margaret’s curiosity for nature as a child sparked her journey into ecology. She also has a passion for science communication, hoping that it inspires others to connect with nature, and support biodiversity. Margaret’s interests are diverse, but her research is focused on understanding and mitigating the impacts of people on terrestrial biodiversity - particularly the impacts of invasive species and urban development.
Bridgette Smith, Media Communications Expert
Bridgette has been in media communications for decades, and is an expert in media strategy, planning and buying, as well as all aspects of digital marketing . She is the Founder of Lassoo, an independent, media, public relations and digital company.
Passionate about New Zealand and its environment Bridgette believes charity begins at home and we each should give our time to projects that have an ability to make real impact. Bridgette is a long time Waiheke resident who is actively involved in various projects on the motu, she enjoys lending her skills to Te Korowai o Waiheke and the Auckland Foundation’s Hauraki Gulf Regeneration Fund.
Keith Broome, Technical Advisor Invasive Species, Department of Conservation
Keith is an expert in invasive species, island eradications and island biosecurity. He has co-authored a formidable 44 publications on these topics since 2002. These have spanned eradication projects from the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati to Rangitoto and Motutapu.
Keith is currently the Technical Advisor for invasive species at the Department of Conservation and the Chair of DOC’s Island Eradication Advisory Group (IEAG), which provides expert knowledge to help rid pests on islands in New Zealand and worldwide.
Other experience and skills include forest ecology and pest animal management, systems development, and training to improve animal pest management, project management and safety systems skills.
Jason Bryant, Passionate conservationist
After finding a passion for wildlife and its environment at just 5 years old Jason's passion burns brighter nearly 50 years later.
Having recently returned to the Island, Jason has found a place to put his passion into action. He is a lead instigator in a wetland restoration project and is actively involved in the mission to make Waiheke predator-free.
Having moved from the UK, it became very apparent that the predators from his homeland were not suitable inhabitants for a land of flightless birds. As a keen ornithologist, he's helped implement a trapping program for the ‘Bottom End’ of Waiheke - they’re seeing great results. Long may this continue.
Dr. Marie McEntee, Social Scientist, University of Auckland
Marie is a social scientist holding a research and lecturing position in the School of Environment, at the University of Auckland. She has a particular interest in the social dynamics of biosecurity, especially forest biosecurity and predator management. Marie gained a Masters (first class honours) for her research titled: ‘Science Communication in an age of Risk’. In 2016, she was awarded a PhD in Environmental Science.
Marie has spent 31 years in tertiary teaching focussing on science and society interactions and lecturing in science communication, science innovation and community engagement. She received a National Teaching Excellence Award in 2015.
Since 2008, Marie has been involved in kauri dieback research and community engagement and has been appointed to many national biosecurity committees particularly focussing on kauri dieback and myrtle rust. Marie has been a long-standing advocate for critical social science in conservation and biosecurity research and management.
In November 2019, Marie was appointed as the co-lead of the MBIE funded Biological Heritage National Science Challenge’s Ngā Rākau Taketake (Saving Our Iconic Trees) Programme, Mobilising for Action (MFA) Theme.
This research theme critically examines: the meaning people attach to te taiao (the environment), ngahere (forests), and taonga (treasured, prized) species (specifically kauri and myrtaceae); how people’s connection to te taiao, ngahere and taonga species can be fostered and supported; and how people can be empowered to make a difference to enable te taiao, ngahere and taonga species to flourish. The programme has a large trans-disciplinary team of social science and kaupapa Māori researchers, knowledge holders and practitioners who bring a diverse range of disciplines, knowledge, and methodologies and this is reflected in the range of projects funded by the research theme.
Marie is also leading a social research project talking with people about the role that genetic technologies may play in their visions for the future of environmental conservation in Aotearoa / New Zealand. The project is also partnering with Te Tira Whakamātiki who is explicitly engaging with iwi/ hapū and whānau to elicit their specific concerns and aspirations about gene technology in a way that they self-determine.
She believes strongly in partnerships between science and communities. She has a long history of research and engagement in community-based biosecurity projects including citizen science, and has developed strong relationships with communities and mana whenua working at the coalface of biosecurity and conservation.