Tell us about your experience in Ecology:

I was an avid young ecologist for 10 years before going professional; which I have been for over 40 years now working throughout south-east Australia in the public and private sectors.

I been with Biosis for over 30 year of those years, I am apparently the oldest and longest surviving Biosian. Over my career I have been the youngest at team meetings and the eldest, which is pretty wild. I feel the same inside with the same passion but now we all have far more knowledge and amazing technology.

During your time at Biosis what is your biggest achievement or a project you worked on that you are most proud of?

Furthering my understanding through vegetation mapping and assessment. Like managing and participating in the mapping of 2.8 million hectares of south-west Victoria, and forensic ecology research on the historical and present Kooweerup and Tootgarook Swamps. Tootgarook now has an Environmental Significance Overlay that includes its own designated buffer, a first for ESOs in Victoria.

I have assisted many development projects to minimise their impacts and have saved some areas from unnecessary loss. As project ecologist with the Eastlink freeway I prevented the inadvertent loss of a significant island of bushland now known as the Frankston Freeway median. VicRoads redesigned the freeway interchange, acquired additional land and saved the median without hesitation.

An early adopter of technology, I introduced email to the company and initiated the first web page but was last to get a smart phone. My old phone was annoyingly robust and took a long time to die.

When you started in 1992 there were only 5 of you, now Biosis is a company with over 150 staff what has been the biggest change within the business?

The growth has been phenomenal.

Our reports remain accurate as ever, in large part due to retention of mentoring and quality assurance capacity within the company.

Leadership has always been excellent. It was my idea to bring in budget performance monitoring which has helped me to never blow a budget. The second office, Sydney, was a huge step forward and I helped with some early projects, and then came the other offices.

GPS navigation, GIS mapping and field tablets are mind-blowing technologies that are far more advanced now.

Do you have any advice for people just starting out in Ecology or that you wish you knew 25 years ago?

Find good mentors and colleagues, like you have within Biosis.

When I started out with the Fisheries and Wildlife Service mapping habitats of wildlife reserves in Victoria it was extremely hard to acquire knowledge and develop methodology on my own.

You are fortunate to have an experienced team to help you hit the ground running. Be productive and manage your time well!