Please click the button below to send your search enquiry to us and we will be in touch with you shortly.
What began for Lyn Wade as a step towards being more informed about conservation, has grown into her recent completion of a degree in Applied Science (Bio-Diversity Management.) Lyn – “I started study in 2007 aiming to do a certificate so I could be better informed in my role as a trustee for Little Barrier Island Supporters’ Trust. I have a fascination and passion for conservation so I looked at part time study options that I could fit around my family commitments and my work as a registered nurse.” “Even though I live close to Auckland, NorthTec offered the convenience of subjects I could group into two day blocks of part time study compared with an hour here and there through a week. We had small classes and awesome field trips and I got hooked on learning, so I went on to the diploma and then the degree when it became available.” “I finished my degree in 2014 and I have such a sense of accomplishment. The flexibility of my being able to study at my own pace was also part of the attraction at NorthTec and probably the reason I completed the whole course.” “I am now Chairperson for Little Barrier Island Supporters Trust, and editing a comprehensive book on Hauturu (alongside Dick Vetich). And, in 2018 I received a QSM for services to conservation in particular for work on Hauturu.” Lyn chose the subject of streams on Little Barrier Island as her special negotiated study third year project for her degree. Lyn - “The Auckland Council has since requested information from my study, and a PhD student completed a paper on the Hauturu streams, which has been accepted for the New Zealand Journal of Zoology.” Lyn created a poster to present the information from her study and was invited to submit the poster to the Entomological Conference in Queenstown in April this year. “The posters submitted are usually from Masters students so it was an honour to be involved - and my poster received the award for second place. I looked at the special place Little Barrier Island has in NZ conservation and was also able to compare my aquatic survey with a similar study done 50 years ago." “I’m now in my 60s and I want to encourage and inspire older woman to study. I feel a lot of women don’t realise they can go back and study and how exciting it is to follow your passion. My daughter is in her 40s and is has followed my lead, graduating from her degree and is now teaching Science at college level.”
The step from year 12 to here (level 2 to level 5) is a challenge in self-discipline, but I’m so much more motivated...
“I went overseas with my family, and by seeing the extent of what needs to be done, I renewed and deepened my interest in conservation. I realised this was what I want to do and I was keen to start on that journey as soon as possible. By doing the certificate here straight from year 12, I kick-start my career a year earlier, it’s cheaper and more practical than uni, and I’ll have my degree by the time I’m 19.”
“The step from year 12 to here (level 2 to level 5) is a challenge in self-discipline, but I’m so much more motivated to learn. I also love that we have a small class with direct access to the tutors.”
“I’m from Waipu, so it also means we’re learning about our own region. Already I have a new-found appreciation for the inter-connectedness of the environment.”
“I know I want to be part of the change on the planet and I’m keen to travel more with my knowledge. I don’t have long term plan yet, but I know I’m in the right field, that this is what I want to learn, and that opportunities will present themselves as I go on.”
I’m keen to help the next generation spend more time outside and to serve as a role model for them in some way. We...
Lyndon was out of work as a dive instructor so saw the Hunting and Pest course as an opportunity to extend his outdoor skill set. “I love working outside and have always had an interest in conservation. This course will give me a land based qualification to add to my sea based background.”
“The tutors are hugely knowledgeable with years of experience and it’s great being with a range of students all interested in the outdoors. We’re covering the theory side of things at the moment, which I’m used to, but I’m really looking forward to being out into the bush and getting hands-on experience in that learning environment.”
“Conservation is my passion and I’ve always loved the idea of working with D.O.C. Hunting is simply a means of controlling pests.”
“The dream to me would be working in a place with both a bush and beach environment. I have a friend who works monitoring and looking after animal numbers at Mimiwhangata. Living and working somewhere like that would be the ultimate.”
“I’m keen to help the next generation spend more time outside and to serve as a role model for them in some way. We have this amazing natural resource in the north and I want to encourage youth to enjoy getting out amongst it.”
I love being amongst students who are keen to learn and tutors who are dedicated and enthusiastic about what they are...
“I’m fascinated with space and microbiology . I initially did business and administration here but science is far more my world and has unlimited potential for progress.”
“I started my science journey with foundation studies to get the basics, thinking I may go into nursing, but I realized it’s the science rather than the caring that interests me. One of the tutors then pointed me to lab work, and this applied science course gets me walk-in ready for that work.”
“I love being amongst students who are keen to learn and tutors who are dedicated and enthusiastic about what they are teaching. Our classmates come with backgrounds ranging from beauty therapy, to water treatment to the arts.”
“Running DNA gels and growing cultures are part of what fascinates me in this course. I love learning about microbes on the skin and the gut. Nature is amazing and we’re so limited in what we know about it yet. Discoveries are happening so fast that sometimes the tutors have to re-write the course content each semester.”
“I’d love to learn more about chemical properties and their correlating colours because this info relates to everything from marine biology to the stars. I’m clearly on my path now and it is a science path. I hope to go on do level 6 of this diploma when it is introduced.”
“And my dream is to aim for stars – literally. I want to be an astro-physicist.”