15/06/2026
👋Meet a ranger Monday!
This week meet Rebecca, Biodiversity Ranger Hauraki🌱
What do you enjoy about your role?⛰
Something I enjoy about my role at DOC is the ability to get outside in the bush or the wetlands and learn new knowledge from my colleagues around me. I also love being able to share my passion of nature with those outside of my work place; those who haven't grown up experiencing what nature has to offer or learnt the value of caring for nature around us every day. If we look after nature, nature will look after us :)
What inspired you to work for Te Papa Atawhai? And what is one thing you wish for more people to understand.🏕
My love for precious Aotearoa species and recreating in nature is what inspired me to work for Te Papa Atawhai, DOC. I love a solid climb up a tramping trail to a hut, in the bush where I can switch off from timeframes, go to bed when the sun goes down, wake up when the sun rises and test my comforts. I wish that more people would take the next step to get more connected to nature, to choose adventure outside and switch off from routine when you can, your overall Hauora/health will thank you for it.
Come see us at the Thames DOC office if you ever need some encouragement, or the Visitor Centre up the Kauaeranga Valley (Te Waiwhakaurunga) :)
What does your mahi involve day to day?🍀
On a regular basis my mahi includes, trapping our introduced pest's species (Possums, Stoats, Weasels, Ferrets, Rats, Mice and Hedgehogs). We also are constantly managing pest such as Privet, Japanese honeysuckle, Gorse, Woolly nightshade, Wild Ginger, wasps and Cascuta (Cascuta/ Yellow dotter is a nasty pest plant species toxic to livestock, it grows rapidly and is a parasitic plant that prefers hosting on dicot species such as Inkw**d. Anyone can watch out for it and report it if spotted). Other projects include Bittern surveying with recorders, responding to native taonga that appear injured or stranded, sowing/monitoring Dactylanthus ; a mixed bag of experiences.
