Week 9: Role play

Has the end of this course finally arrived?  You mean no more epic Skype meetings?  Or frantic emails to Pete, checking that we're doing something the right way.  It couldn't possibly be the time to write the last blog entry...

It is? Okay, I'll take it.

Working as part of a team for a distance paper has been a pretty challenging experience - I thank the Communications in Science (Sciences?  Communications within the Sciences?) gods for gifting me a fantastic team of hard-working, but realistic women.  I can only imagine how frustrating this whole exercise would have been had I been part of a group of 'Cs get degrees' types or those who 'broke-down' and needed uni staff to step in and sort things out.

Something that was a real plus was that we all fulfilled different roles within our group.  If I use Belbin's (2015) roles, I would say that Meg fits most naturally with the roles of  Resource Investigator, Coordinator and  Team Worker.  Meg is much like myself - we like to establish a plan of action and plow on through.  Meg was a real team player and actually a great leader of our team.  She rallied us and kept our momentum moving forward. When we all flopped down at the end of Assignment 2 (none more so than our amazing editor Liz, I'm sure), Meg was the one that said 'right guys, I'll make a start on this seminar planning'.  Meg was great at coordinating-  formulating a plan of action for our meetings to helps us progress with our assignments, and making sure we were meeting regularly.

Liz is an ideas person.  She really knows her stuff which allows her to put forward ideas that are creative and new.  Liz would often listen to the likes of myself blab on before putting forward yet another insightful point of view.  By fulfilling her role of Plant (Belbin, 2015), Liz helped us to shape our ideas and solve problems.

Like Liz, Emma thinks outside the box.  She was the one that would throw in a new idea or perspective just as we had decided on something - that's a great thing by the way!  She made us reflect on our decisions and widen our perspectives.  For these reasons she appears to fit best with Belbin's (2015) Plant; creative and original.  Like Meg, Liz and myself, Emma is also a Teamworker and Coordinator.

Along with Meg, I fit most naturally within the roles of Team Worker, Coordinator and Resource Investigator (Belbin, 20115).  What I lack in original ideas and insights, I make up for by being an excellent team player, meeting deadlines and getting stuff done.  Within this new world of science, I feel most comfortable in this role; one day in the future I may have the confidence to take on a different role.

The only role which wasn't necessarily fulfilled was that of Specialist (Belbin, 2015).  While we all brought our own knowledge and experience to the table, none of us would claim to be an expert in any of these fields, or in communicating in science.  For the nature of this assignment this was probably a positive - we were all muddling through and learning as we went along.  Also, we were dealing with a range of subjects/topics so we needed broad knowledge and team work rather than expertise..

A strength of our team was our support for one another.  During the course of this paper we all had times when things were going on, things that meant we couldn't make a meeting or something along those lines.  We supported each other through these times and kept moving forward which was awesome.  In terms of leadership, we had a distributed leadership approach.  Although I was officially the 'group leader' - by default - this didn't really mean, or require, a whole lot.  This was most likely because we were a group of like-minded, conscientious people who knew what we needed to do to get the job done.

Belbin Associates (2015). Belbin Team Roles Retrieved from http://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles/

Week 8: An introverted extrovert

It may be funny to hear that I have a bit of a phobia for speaking in public - seemingly strange for a teacher but I think for me it really comes down to the audience.  In front of my students I'm completely fine - maybe I figure I will (hopefully) always know more about the subject than they do, probably a silly assumption!

In front of colleagues or peers it's a totally different situation.  If I need to present at say, a staff meeting, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach for the good part of a day in advance.  If you talk to me I'll probably be a bit vacant - I'm most likely running through my presentation in my head - and it's likely I won't have heard anything you said.  People who know me are shocked to hear this - I must do an okay job of hiding it - but it''s the truth.  I am inexplicably shy by nature, an introverted extrovert my sister would say.

So in the lead up to our group seminar I am pleased by the fact we are able to do a narrated power-point  - a plus-side to being a distance learner!  I am not particularly articulate in speech which might be one of my biggest concerns when speaking in public - nothing worse than a speaker stumbling over their words and losing their train of thought.  I can never find quite the right words to say.  In terms of science, there is a need to be concise and succinct and when you're already lacking confidence in the subject matter, it makes for a very daunting experience.

To calm my nerves for this one I will definitely make sure I am prepared - I'll use prompts but try to keep it as natural as possible.  While I won't go for a colloquial tone, I'll try to use language that feels true to who I am - I think using your own 'voice' is much easier for the audience to listen to as well.

I'll be looking for inspiration from my sister who has been an MC at many,many weddings and just exudes confidence in front of a crowd.  Fake it till you make it she says!  Sounds like a great idea to me.

Week 7: It's the people you meet...

I find it really interesting to talk to people about how they came to be 'environmentally minded' or aware of their role in the wider issue of conservation.  Today I met someone who told me about how a trip to Tiriiri Matangi* was a bit of a life changing moment for him.  It was here that he had an almost 'spiritual' moment, appreciating that we are the visitors to the natural world, and that is the role we should fulfill.

It made me think about my own moments like this - maybe less spiritual as such - but those light-bulb moments when you realise something is not necessarily as you've always seen it.  For me, this was returning home to New Zealand after living overseas for 8 years.  Being back home was like seeing it all for the first time.

Prior to my return, I had been especially moved by a hiking trip in the Arctic circle, in the very north of Sweden.  What astounded me was the commitment the people in this area showed towards the conservation of their natural environment; waste water, down to tooth brush water, being airlifted out rather than being allowed to enter the soil and groundwater; not a scrap of rubbish seen over the entire stretch of the 120 km trail; a true respect for the reindeer who made them home in this wild expanse.

So I was excited to come home to our own slice of paradise, but things in New Zealand just aren't as 'pure' as we might like people to believe.  I wonder if there's a lack of environmental knowledge and understanding within the general Kiwi population and this allows us to ignore things happening right under our noses.

It was gutting to hear my own friend talking about walking Waikeremoana and having a bath in the lake - shampoo, soap and all - at the end of it.  I watch my next door neighbour doing his weekly car wash, soapy water flooding down the storm water drain destined for the sea.  Driving through the country and seeing massive slips and evidence of erosion thanks to a lack of vegetation.  Dairy farms as far as the eye can see.  The near-silent bush.

A few years ago, these things would have meant nothing to me and now they are indicators of so, so much.

* Tiritiri Matangi, a wildlife sanctuary located 30kms north east of Auckland, is one of New Zealand's most significant conservation efforts.  Mammalian predators have been eradicated and many threatened and endangered species have been introduced.

Week 6: 'Leader'

It's pretty ironic that for Assignment 2 I found myself in the role as 'Team Leader'; not because I don't see myself as a leader in general, but I feel like such a newbie in the world of environmental science and have really relied on my team to lead the way in this assignment.

As a teacher of 11 years, and within the education sector,  I have been in leadership roles since very early on in my career.  In this area, I see myself as a Plant, a Specialist and a Shaper (Belbin Associates, 2015).  I feel confident in my ability, I know what I'm talking about (or at least I can fake it till I make it), I'm creative and happy to put forward ideas that challenge the status-quo.

So it has been a humbling experience to be in a relatively new field  for me and to feel out-of-my-depth at times.  This assignment has been a challenge in many ways and taking on the role of 'team leader' has been one of those challenges.  In this instance the biggest obstacle was my confidence in the subject matter.  I work well with others and can be relied on to perform my tasks however, my lack of subject knowledge is the one thing that holds me back from fulfilling those same Belbin roles that I fill in my teaching life.  In this context, I am much more of a Implementer, Team-Worker or Coordinator (Belbin Associates, 2015) but hopefully as I continue studying I will be able to fulfill some other roles as well.

Luckily my team, Team 1, hasn't actually needed much of a team leader as such.  Every member of our team has been pro-active and worked really well as a member of a group, particularly considering the distance between us!  I think our regular Skype meetings and being able to utilise One Note Online has really helped us to keep moving forward and work collaboratively.  Within our group we have most team roles covered, although none  of us feel we naturally fulfill Belbin's (2015) role of the Specialist - for this particular task we were able to research to create knowledge to help us along the way.

Belbin Associates (2015). Belbin Team Roles Retrieved from http://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles/

Week 5: Team work

Hello 2016!  What a crazy few weeks it has been since I last posted - ham; swimming; ham; presents; ham; boxing day sales; ham; and all the while, the requirements of this summer school paper have loomed...

In addition to pork products, the other thing on my mind lately has been waterways, and more importantly the impact dairy farming has on New Zealand's waterways.  This Christmas break, as I made my way through the stunning scenery of the dairy belts of the Waikato and Central North Island, it struck me so shocking that something as beautiful as healthy cows grazing on lush green grass, can have such a sinister impact on our waterways and beyond.

But the reality is that despite central and local Government efforts to better manage the dairy industry and its environmental impacts, water quality continues to decline.  Disappointingly, dairy farms continue to pop up all over the country.  The rate at which land is being converted into dairy has already exceeded predictions and our water quality continues to decline, despite efforts to reduce the amount of nitrogen leaching into groundwater and ending up in streams, lakes etc.

For Assignment 2, Team 1 has chosen to take forward the issue of dairy farming and its environment impacts for our group report.  This means I've had the chance to delve even deeper into the topic and I've made some interesting discoveries.  Looking at dairy industry breaches of Resource Management Act 1991 has highlighted those farmers who are actively working against measures to protect our environment, in addition to their own industries efforts to support natural resources.  It leads to a consideration of justice and sustainability, two ethical principles that underpin the recommendations we have made in our report.  These farmers who deliberately 'dirty dairy' destroy the habitat of many native species, make waterways unsafe for drinking and recreational activities for others and ruin the reputation of all farmers.

I feel very lucky to be working in a team with 3 fantastic women - working on a group assignment as a distance student has been challenging at times but I think we've made the best of the situation.  Regular Skype meetings and setting action points has kept us moving forward and I'm happy to see it all coming together now.  There's just over a week till the deadline and I'm confident that we will submit a report that reflects our hard work.

Better get back to it!

Week 4 - So whose responsibility is it?

Who would've thought that those first cows - brought in by Samuel Marsden in 1814 - would be the beginnings of New Zealand's economic and environmental landscape for many years to come?

Everyday, I drive over the Kaimai ranges from Tauranga and wind my way down the hill deep into the heart of dairy farming country.  While I used to spend the drive frantically planning my lessons for the day ahead, I now scan the countryside for irrigation systems, fenced off streams, helicopters spreading fertiliser and cows, so many cows.   Previously these seemingly everyday things barely featured on my consciousness, yet they have so much more meaning now.

Shorthorn cows like those brought to New Zealand in 1814.

For me, the most interesting  aspect of my assignment 1 topic ( the need for further regulation within farming to reduce environmental impacts ) was most definitely the questions raised around responsibility. After considering the arguments from both sides - one saying that enough regulation is in place, the other saying that we need more - I went down the track of considering what could be further regulated to have the most significant impact.  Most farmers are doing what is asked of them.  The problem then is that these measures are not enough to offset the damage and as a result our water quality continues to decline.  Yes, some farmers are not adhering to current regulations but in my opinion there will always be selfish, idiotic people who do this, and fines exist to deal with them. It's for this reason that I feel the Government need to put in place more fundamental regulations to ensure changes that will actually make a difference.  That's the Government's responsibility, particularly when its aiming to double the amount of dairy exports in coming years.  We need regulations to rectify the causes of the damage, rather than looking [for costly ways] to cure the symptoms.

On that note, is it the responsibility of all New Zealanders to pay for the clean-up of rivers, lakes and streams?  Some say no.  They say that if farmers are causing the damage, then they should pay for it. Any thoughts on this?

After completing my assignment, I reluctantly gave it to my father - a retired dairy farmer - to have a read and share his thoughts.  Surprisingly he actually agreed with the argument I raised around regulating to reduce inputs.  He considered himself to be 'a bit old school' and said he could never understand why people insisted on boosting inputs to the point where profit was compromised.  He was however, a little less fond of my call to put in place mandatory indoor farming systems...

Stringleman, H. and Scrimgeour, F. (2014) Dairying and dairy products - Beginnings of New Zealand’s dairy industry. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved from www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/15683/milking-shorthorn-cows

Week 3: The debate...

The debate around dairy farming and its environmental impact has seemingly taken over my life.

This week, as I have continued to slog through my source information, the writing of my opinion piece has not gotten any easier.  I've read and read...and read some more, and yet the very act of getting words to paper (or word doc in this instance) has alluded me for quite some time. Thankfully, I got a mojo kick at the latter half of the week, maybe after reading my team's Skype chat in my absence, and I now have something that slightly resembles an opinion piece.  It's about time.

I located two relevant sources which examine different points of view around the topic of increased regulation in farming to reduce environmental impacts; one being a chapter written by Jacqueline S. Rowarth of  the Waikato University Management School, the other an update report on water quality in New Zealand produced by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Jan Wright.

Rowarth's piece comes from the book 'Ecosystem Services in New Zealand' edited by John Dymond (2014), a collection of chapters written by leading scientists and academics with the aim to develop understanding of New Zealand ecosystems and the way they function.   Her chapter titled 'Dairy Cows - Economic Production and Environmental Protection' takes the position that farmers are already doing 'remarkably well' in their efforts to improve the condition of our waterways, and that calls for them to 'pay the full costs of their impact' do not acknowledge this hard work.  She also claims that it is only a few, headlined cases of bad practice which are tarnishing the reputation of the whole industry itself.  Rowarth believes that the development of the Clean Streams Accord in 2003 has raised environmental awareness and compliance on farm, and seen more community initiatives evolve.  She calls for New Zealand to develop systems that increase the efficiency of production, while maintaining ecosystem services, closing by asking the question, how much are we prepared to pay for this?  Rowarth, an academic of the Management School at Waikato University, takes a business perspective when examining this issue, and appears to sympathise with the plight of the farmer in this instance.  She looks for ways for farmers to maintain/improve profitability- this being her main concern - while reducing environmental impacts appear to be a secondary focus.  

The conflict between further developing the industry alongside improving the state of our waterways is seen throughout discussion around this issue, highlighted by our own Government who aim to double our agricultural exports by 2025, whilst spending tax and rate payers' money to clean-up the 'dirty' waterways that result from the high-input farming model needed to achieve this target.

Conflicting attitudes around this were highlighted in Dr. Jan Wright's (2015) update report on 'Water quality in New Zealand: Land use and nutrient pollution'.  This update report summarises reactions to the original report published in 2013, which clearly showed the correlation between increased nitrogen in waterways and large-scale land conversion into dairy farming.  One of the most interesting aspects of this report were the conflicting views presented by different political parties - the Prime Minister painted a positive image where we can increase production while maintaining or improving water quality, while the Ministers for the Environment and Primary Industries jointly acknowledged the importance of the Government's freshwater reform programme and state that water quality will significantly improve within a generation.  The positive picture painted by the current government is not surprising considering they are critiquing their own work.

Opposing political leaders were less optimistic.  Moana Mackey, Labour Party environment spokesperson asserted her view, stating that the reform programme was nothing more than 'business as usual', which would lead to further degradation of our waterways, while the Greens called for tougher standards to make our rivers safe for swimming.  Interested parties such as Federated Farmers, Fonterra and Sir David Skegg, President of the Royal Society for New Zealand also weighed in.  Federated Farmers and Fonterra both recognised their role in making improvements but were critical of the original report, saying it portrayed a worse case scenario and didn't take into account existing mitigation on farms. Sir David Skegg was firm in his stance.  He expressed strong concerns that the current steps in place will not reverse the trend of environmental impacts anytime in the near future, a sentiment shared by Prof. David Hamilton, President of the NZ Freshwater Sciences Society.  Dr. Jan Wright has attempted to be objective, to allow for a broad overview of responses to the original report from a range of interested parties.  We must be considerate of the fact that responses have been selected and may not express the individual or groups views in their entirety.  

Now that that's done, I need to go and make some changes to my position paper!  This basically sums up the last week for me - write, read, re-write, repeat.

Rowarth, J. S. (2014). Dairy Cows - Economic Production and Environmental Protection. In J. Dymond (Ed.), Ecosystem Services in New Zealand' (pp. 85-93). Lincoln, New Zealand: Manaaki Whenua Press.

Wright, J. Dr. (2015). Water quality in New Zealand: Land use and nutrient pollution(Update report). Wellington, New Zealand: Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.