Kaikōura Zone Delivery Manager Kevin Heays provides insight into what is happening on the ground in light of COVID-19.

Kev’s corner

Alert Level 1 has arrived and all the Kaikōura based Environment Canterbury staff are back in the office.

As this financial year starts to wrap up, it is exciting to think about continuing work on some existing projects, but also thinking about the new ones being established – watch this space!

Lockdown showed that we have such a dedicated and talented team based in Kaikōura, full of staff ready to roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty.

The team did an exceptional job at supporting each other through the tough parts and celebrating those small successes that were made so much harder to achieve while adapting to new technology and remote ways of working.

Our team

Rachel, our Customer Services Star rocked out on the phones, supporting people who had questions, comments, or concerns about all things Environment Canterbury. Her role is so varied that she needs to have her finger on the pulse, and I do not know how she holds all that knowledge at the ready for when it might be needed.

Heath, our Land Management and Biodiversity Officer, delved into planning for some great projects that are coming up this financial year. He is bubbling with ideas and it is great to see some keen locals ready to tackle issues head on with innovation and collaboration – more to come on this as plans are finalised.

Pete B did a massive amount of upskilling. His role as Land Management Advisor is critical to supporting local farmers and he is constantly striving to increase his knowledge, to do the best job he possibly can for farmers in Kaikōura. He helps with a wide variety of issues, so needs to know all different kinds of things, while also thinking on his feet for new and improved ways of working.

Pete A is the dark knight, river ready at any moment, and knows the district like the back of his hand. He is our resident Field Officer and was constantly monitoring the rivers over lockdown – rest assured, we were in safe hands.

Jan is our Biosecurity guru who gets to roam the hills and plains, making sure all our unique plant, animal, insect (and everything in between) life is protected from pesky pest plants. She loves to get rid of weeds. Jan’s biosecurity team have a big job to tackle, so is always rapt to get your help. Although she could not do much over lockdown, her team too is back in action.

Lastly, the wider Kaikōura team – Makarini, Kim and Robin – are all based in other parts of the region but are equally dedicated to the Zone and seeing outcomes for the community. They called in to our daily team meetings as much as they could and made sure we were covering all our comms, compliance and mahinga kai bases while in iso.

All in all a great team that made lockdown just a little bit brighter, now ready to score some more goals in the enviro world! 

Kev