| 61 Science driven solutions for a greener future Terra Pura brings together a team of environmental scientists with a wide range of expertise. Emma Bailey The Auckland based environmental consultancy was set up by Holly Fleming who formally trained as a marine scientist and then started out in lakes and streams water quality and ecology monitoring for regional council. “This work to the opportunity to work on rural freshwater restoration projects and grants with regional council and helped me to find where my passion lies – bridging the gap between the agricultural and environmental sectors, so that we can use practical, evidence backed advice to produce fantastic outcomes for both farm productivity and the environment.” Terra Pura is Latin for “Pure Earth”. “When I started out I wanted to ensure the name reflected that our work wasn’t just in one system e.g. marine, freshwater or terrestrial, but that it encompassed all of these since they are interconnected. I chose to put the name in Latin due the use of Latin names from my science background.” Terra Pura brings together a team of environmental scientists with a wide range of expertise. Within the small team including Holly, as the farm planning specialist, there is a plant expert, bird and macroinvertebrate expert and freshwater ecology expert. All staff has at minimum a postgraduate qualification in their own environmental science background and are super passionate within their fields. “Everyone has an understanding that science needs to be practical for our clients.” Their work is extremely varied and no one day looks the same. “For example, we could be doing freshwater RURAL SERVICES » Terra Pura Consulting Tailored environmental solutions driven by values and impact. - Farm environment plans - Land management advice - Environmental monitoring 021 548 818 | admin@terrapura.co.nz www.terrapura.co.nz Ecological assessment and monitoring Native planting plans, including native garden design Habitat restoration planning and implementation Environmental report writing and science communication sophie@restoringnature.co.nz www.restoringnature.co.nz 0211 807348 ecological monitoring for a research project one day and the next using the same skills to help a farmer understand the current condition of their waterways.” The public’s knowledge of environmental issues is growing she said. “I think one of the biggest misconceptions is around the value of environmental work, given that the value of it being done successfully is the often the absence of negative outcomes. For example, the benefit of doing pro-active space planting on a hill slope is the prevention of slope erosion, so it’s harder to communicate the benefit to people of something not occurring. But ultimately it is generally most cost effective and you have better environmental outcomes where you can be pro- active rather than reactive. “I think the view that this work is a “nice to have” but not critical is a big misconception. “ Protecting New Zealand’s clean green image is greatly important she said. “We base a lot of our economy on this image, so we need to maintain this and have evidence to back up this claim in order to retain our market access in a lot of cases. Particularly as both small and large consumers are requiring this information as part of their supply chain. “The projects I’ve enjoyed best are when we’ve been working with the client for a number of years as it means you form genuine relationships with people and I get great personal satisfaction being able to be with someone from the start and guide them through their project to completion.” The work also has the added bonus of getting the team outdoors in beautiful New Zealand landscape all over the country. For your environmental consultancy needs visit www.terrapura.co.nz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=