Lending a paw for Kiwi conservation.

Meet Martin Slimin and his dog Ash, who are proving that not only can a dog be ‘man’s best friend’, but they can be man’s best workmate too.?

Martin recently joined us as a GIS specialist and Kiwi Dog Handler in our Tauranga office. Martin built his career in the geospatial field at the Department and Conversation (DOC) for more than 13 years before joining Tonkin + Taylor, and was an environmental consultant, and certified Conservation Dog handler.?

His partner Ash, a German Shorthaired Pointer, was trained within two-three years to perform a very important task - locate kiwi so Martin can fit transmitters on them. By doing so kiwis can be monitored and the risk of harm to them and their eggs can be reduced.

The bond they have makes them a package deal,

“We come together, don’t get split up, and work as a team”, Martin says. “The best part of the job is to go out and find birds, and it's cool to have a job that lets me hang out with my best friend Ash every day”.

What is your role on Mt Messenger and what is the benefit of having a dog on the team?

I work on Mt Messenger as a GIS Specialist and Kiwi Dog Handler. The main benefit of having a dog on the team is that they help us efficiently track and monitor Kiwi to keep them safe. For example, before we can fell or remove any trees, it’s important we sweep the area and ensure there are no kiwis there that could potentially be harmed or displaced by the construction activity. This is where Ash, a German Shorthaired Pointer, would help us track them. If we do find kiwi, and on the odd occasion we do, we’ll pack them up, attach transmitters if they don’t already have them, and move them out of danger.?

What does an average day look like for you and Ash on the field?

Our day starts bright and early and by 5:30am we’re on site. Between 6:00 and 6:30, we’ll have all the health and safety briefs, toolbox talks, and everything else that you typically have on a construction site. Once all that’s out of the way we’re able to start our construction work. The workload varies from day to day; sometimes there’s only a few hours of work, and other days we’re going full steam all day.?

Once the construction side of things is wrapped up, we deal with the transmitter-fitted kiwi on site. The transmitters provide a lot of crucial data about the kiwi, including when the males are sitting on their eggs. ?Before the eggs hatch, we move them to ensure they hatch in a safe, predator-free environment. However, some transmitters will inevitably fall off or fail over the year, so we’ll have to relocate those birds, which Ash will play an integral role in, and put transmitters back on them.?

Aside from this, I'll also work on my GIS role. Once construction season winds down in winter, I'll focus full-time on my GIS role until October, when we'll start all over again. It's quite an outdoorsy job with a lot of variety, which is great for me because I enjoy being in nature and dealing with unique challenges.?

What is your background?

I worked in the geospatial field at the Department and Conversation (DOC) for about 13 years before joining Tonkin + Taylor. I also ran a contracting company, where I was working with Ash on Mt Messenger as a contractor.?

It was actually my work with Ash on Mt Messenger that ultimately led me to join T+T. As my work at DOC was winding down, I was looking for a change and T+T presented an excellent opportunity as they needed someone full-time on-site. The experience I had gained working with Ash on Mt Messenger gave me a unique perspective and skill set that was valuable to T+T, and it just seemed like the perfect fit. I'm happy that everything fell into place, and I'm excited to be a part of this team.?

What is the process of training a dog to have this niche skill set?

The training process varies from dog to dog, but it typically takes between two to three years. Ash?is quite clever and picked up on the training very quickly.?

The person who ultimately handles them also must be the one who trains them. They’ve tried to get other people to come in and train the dogs and then have other people take them on and it doesn’t really work because they aren’t bonded with each other. Effective teamwork is such a key part of this role that if you don’t have that bond and can’t cooperate well you won’t succeed. Because of this me and Ash are a bit of a package deal - we come together and don’t get split up.?

?What is your favorite part of your role?

Without a doubt, the best part of my job is going out to search for birds and getting to?work alongside my best mate every day. After working in an office at DOC for 14 years, I'm incredibly happy and grateful to be out in the field now. Although there's still some repetition in the work we do, every day is distinct and provides a lot more variety, interesting challenges, and opportunities, than I ever had before.?