Careers in conservation

The Chatham Islands Area office is seeking a temporary staff member keen to experience the Chatham's distinctive lifestyle and undertake work related to plants. The employment period offered is from 7 March 2012 (somewhat flexible) to 3 September 2012. Alternatively this may suit a secondment for a single person who has first obtained their manager's approval.

The main focus of the work is on the threatened plants programme but may involve other programmes including dune restoration and weed control.

The Work

Threatened plant work

The main part of this work will be the planting of nursery raised stock & sowing of seeds. Other work aspects may include; monitoring of wild populations, work in the nursery and processing data.

• March –April a number of days monitoring wild plant populations; generally day trips to a variety of locations. This may include assessment of revegetation plantings success.
• Coinciding & following the above period concentrate on planting nursery stock and sowing seeds directly into suitable habitat in protected areas (conservation areas, reserves & covenants). Plants are established into marked plots and a planting form completed for the work.
•  Some data entry into a threatened plant spreadsheet relating to survey & monitoring records and planting sheets.
• Nursery weeding/watering/fertilising/pesticide application, organisation and bagging up.

Mangere Island revegetation

• Participate in the revegetation programme on Mangere Island should this coincide with this period. Assist with preparation of plants, food & equipment, quarantine requirements for the trip & safety briefings for other participants.

Dune restoration

• Weed spraying especially of marram grass at two project sites at Tioriori and Mairangi. Hand pulling of sea rocket. Planting of pingao and megaherbs in the foredune.

Point Munning Covenant

• Assist with iceplant spraying and/or undertake follow-up planting of Carex trifida and Hebe chathamica.

Other work as may develop from time to time including work not directly related to the above that will familiarize you with field work sites.

Applicants

Applicants need to be of a hardy and self sufficient disposition as there may be a significant time spent working on your own.

You also need to be:

• Competent in the outdoors; walking and working away from tracks. Able to cope with moving through shrubland, fernland and around bush pockets and damp ground.
• Able to cope with changeable weather in the course of a day. The Chatham's weather is regularly cool, windy and showery (it can be nice also!).
• You should be able to carry reasonable loads, for example pack loads of PB3 plants cross-country to get to planting sites
• A driver's licence is essential and an ATV qualification highly desirable. You will need to drive on gravel roads daily with trailers and sometimes cross rough farmland to get to protected areas. Trailers may be loaded with ATV's and plants.
• Reasonable at plant identification and be interested in learning the main plant species where you are working – there are few trees/shrubs to learn.
• A competent record taker- for plant monitoring (plant numbers by age class, location, habitat conditions & threats etc), completing planting forms and spraying records etc.
• Confident with or able to pick up using GPS (marking & finding wpts)/use of map & compass.
• Competent in use of basic computer software particularly word and excel
• A weed spraying qualification and experience would be an advantage.

Applications

Applications must details of relevant experience and contact details for a referee.

For more information please contact  Amanda Baird abaird@doc.govt.nz at the Chatham Islands Area Office, telephone (03) 3050 098.

Applications close with Amanda Baird abaird@doc.govt.nz, in the Chatham Islands Area Office, at noon on Tuesday, 28 February 2012.