Our People

"I have just joined the team in 2011 after completing a PhD in Freshwater Ecology at Massey University. My thesis was entitled “The effects of productivity and disturbance on stream invertebrate diversity”. Much of this was focused around the Tongariro National Park in the central North Island with a portion of time studying streams in Hawke’s Bay. I was also fortunate enough to use links in Cantabria, Spain to research Cantabrian streams and compare productivity-diversity relationships with those found in New Zealand. Prior to that, I completed an honours thesis on the Tongariro River looking at the effects of the hydro-electric development on stream invertebrate drift.

My research interests focus around the ‘big picture’ theoretical questions in Ecology including large scale diversity patterns and how productivity and disturbance interact to affect these patterns. I’m also interested in all other things freshwater ecology and management. I have also spent a fair bit of time doing various consultancy jobs including fish and invertebrate surveys for Regional and District Councils.

I teach Waste Water Management for first year Environmental Management students, Freshwater Ecology and Monitoring and Coastal Management for both Environmental Management and Marine Studies second year students, and Applied Freshwater Ecology in the third year through Waikato University.

Apart from science my interests involve surfing, downhill mountain biking, kayak and fly fishing, snowboarding and tramping when time allows."

‘Need a Nerd’ Managing Director Paul Logan, has spent 20 years in the motor industry and has seen the benefits of good vocational training with many apprentices achieving solid careers with fabulous futures. He has a keen interest in accessibility to tertiary education for people in the wider Bay area and the availability of quality learning at all tertiary levels.

Paul sees the Polytechnic partnership with the University of Waikato and Awanuiarangi as vital to quality sustainable tertiary education in the area and key to enhancing our position regionally, nationally and internationally.

Kia Ora. As Foundation Learning Resource Developer (FLRD) I can help you to develop teaching and learning resources to support the embedding of literacy and numeracy into Foundation Programmes. To achieve this I will work alongside tutors and Foundation Learning Advisers (FLAs) to assist in the design of learning activities for your students that are contextual and relevant to their programme of study. I can also assist in converting paper based resources into electronic format which can either be used independently or via Moodle.

I have many years teaching experience in the Scottish tertiary education system, mainly on foundation level programmes then specialising in student support with particular focus on specific learning difficulties and core skills. Since coming to New Zealand I have delivered NZQA unit standards in ICT, Administration and Finance then Foundation Learning Adviser at Wintec before coming to Bay of Plenty Polytechnic.