Jolene is our map guru. She has a keen interest in mapping and loves using GIS software to analyse data and understand ecological patterns. You will also find her out and about doing field work and monitoring native species for the project.

She completed her Master of Wildlife Management at Otago University in 2020. Before joining the project Jolene worked for DOC, monitoring species like endangered skinks, wētā, spiders and tarapirohe / black fronted tern at Aoraki Mount Cook and the Tasman River delta.

Jolene’s first degree was in nursing and she’s had a few different careers. She grew up in South Africa and spent a lot of time in Tanzania and Kenya working in safari lodges and parks. Her masters research focused on home range analysis of black rhino at Sera Rhino Sanctuary. It was during this study she found her passion for mapping and spatial ecology research.

Aoraki Mount Cook has taken a special place in her heart and she reckons she’s now become a “mountain and drylands” person.