About
WMIL

Biz has always been interested in islands and their ecosystems, and has an MSc in conservation ecology and over thirty years’ field experience delivering ground-breaking ornithological and ecological research, conservation management projects, island and mainland restoration programmes, predator exclusion fencing, eradication feasibility assessments, eradication of invasive mammals, biosecurity, predator control projects, and scientific reporting.

Biz is dedicated to community-based conservation and is committed to helping provide local communities with the skills and resources needed to achieve positive outcomes for species and habitats.

As WMIL Managing Director, Biz proudly directs and supports our passionate and highly skilled team of ecologists and field technicians on a wide range of ecological and restoration projects towards protecting some of New Zealand’s and the world’s most vulnerable species and habitats.

Sam has always had an interest in wildlife and graduated with a BSc in Zoology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Wildlife Management in 2012 from Otago University.

As part of her diploma, she completed research on Southern New Zealand dotterel and then spent four years monitoring South Island robins in Dunedin. Since joining WMIL in 2017, Sam has been involved in numerus projects involving seabird monitoring and tracking, shorebird work and predator control. Sam is passionate about conserving New Zealand’s native species and being involved in projects which allow her to do that.

Keri is responsible for the smooth running of the business by ensuring important administrative tasks are taken care of.

Highly approachable, Keri is the friendly face that greets clients and colleagues when they visit our Blenheim office and helping them liaise and work with the WMIL team. Keri is committed to ensuring WMIL also leaves a positive mark, both on the environment and with all our projects. Keri is always keen to learn and develop new skills within the conservation and business management field. She enjoys getting involved in team bird banding sessions and doing the odd eBird checklist.

Dan first joined WMIL in 2016 after assisting with the Taiko Trust’s Chatham Island Albatross Translocation, before gaining experience with various species on numerous WMIL projects across the country.

Having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geography, and an MSc in Environmental Monitoring for Management, Dan has been lucky enough to undertake biodiversity monitoring in Costa Rica, the UK, Canada and New Zealand. He has gathered over a decade’s worth of experience monitoring and researching a variety of threatened species, notably seabirds and shorebirds. Dan has been involved with, and led, myriad research projects, and enjoys working with a variety of stakeholders. A keen birder and advocate for eBird, Dan was also part of the New Zealand Bird Atlas Coordination Team, relishing the opportunity to support Birds New Zealand and the wider birding community in such a nationally significant community science initiative. Dan is keen to use his privileged position as an ecologist to further species protection both in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond. He currently works remotely from Canada.

Toni ensures important administrative tasks are taken care of, and that the WMIL team are fully supported. Toni has been involved with WMIL for many years and assists in a professional and personal capacity with various conservation projects across the country.

Simon, a WMIL ecologist with a BSc and MSc in Zoology, specialises in seabird conservation and combines his field expertise with GIS and statistical analysis to support long-term monitoring projects.

Cam joined WMIL in April of 2022. This comes after studying at the University of Waikato, where he gained a BSc majoring in Ecology and Biodiversity.

Cam has always had a keen interest in the environment and is often out hunting, fishing and exploring the outdoors in his spare time. Since joining WMIL Cam has begun to broaden his knowledge in predator control and seabird monitoring working on WMIL projects on Aotea/Great Barrier Island and at sea in the Hauraki Gulf monitoring tākoketai/black petrel as well as the Chatham Islands helping maintain trapping networks and monitor tāiko/magenta petrel. Cam is eager to continue expanding his knowledge in predator and seabird ecology through his work with WMIL.

Myrene has a background in endangered species management, specialising in avian ecology. She completed her studies at the University of Otago, culminating in an MSc in Ecology where fieldwork with tawaki/Fiordland crested penguins strengthened a passion for hands-on research.

Since then, Myrene has worked on a range of projects for DOC, from backcountry biodiversity monitoring to leading efforts for kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet on Blumine Island and Pukenui. Drawn to island living and seabird conservation, she relished a recent stint on the Moutere Hauriri/Bounty and Moutere Mahue/Antipodes Islands supporting crested penguin monitoring. Myrene thrives on combining fieldwork with comprehensive analysis and is motivated by protecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique wildlife.

Stella recently completed her M.Sc. in Ecology and Evolution from San José State University, where she conducted graduate research on the fine-scale foraging movements of Pigeon Guillemots on Southeast Farallon Island. Since 2021, she has worked extensively on remote islands across the Pacific, beginning with five consecutive field seasons on the Farallon Islands studying a variety of seabird species. Stella has also contributed to seabird monitoring efforts in the Gulf of Alaska and most recently on Aiktak Island, located on the Aleutian chain which is home to the largest Tufted Puffin colony in the world.

Her work reflects a deep commitment to seabird conservation, with a particular interest in the ecological drivers behind changes in seabird foraging behaviour. She brings strong field experience, data collection, and observational skills, especially in challenging remote environments.

A Master Mariner, Paul has always been interested in conservation and ornithology, and this expanded to island restoration when he met Biz while she was directing a rat eradication project on Lundy Island in the UK.

Paul is responsible for the day to day financial requirements of WMIL, drawing on his experience as Treasurer for two New Zealand charities. In his spare time, Paul assists with field work on a range of WMIL seabird and island restoration projects across New Zealand and worldwide. Paul is also the net carbonzero officer ensuring that operational decisions are made to reduce carbon emissions and that WMIL complies with the requirements of the Toitū net carbonzero programme.

Lydia is a Restoration Ecologist with a passion for community based, landscape- scale conservation projects.

Originally from a creative arts background, Lydia found her niche in 2014 where she worked with the community Isles of Scilly, UK to protect their seabird heritage and empower islanders to uphold their rat-free status. Since then she has specialised in non-native mammal eradication and biosecurity on projects around the world, most recently as a Team Leader for WMIL on the Predator Free Wellington Project, Wellington NZ. As a keen outdoors person Lydia enjoys finding creative solutions to challenging outdoors environments.

Ed is a Restoration Ecologist with WMIL, working predominantly on projects that focus on eradicating or controlling invasive non-native species.

He has been involved in island restoration projects since 2014 where he helped to monitor the recovery of native species on St Agnes and Gugh after the successful removal of invasive brown rats. Since then, he has been involved in projects around the world, including the Redonda Restoration Programme and helping to manage our team supporting the Predator Free Wellington project. For Ed, seeing the results of these projects is something that makes the work so worthwhile and hopes to be a part of many more restoration projects to come, taking his skills and knowledge around the world.

After graduating from Lincoln University with a BSc in Ecology and Conservation, Baylee spent time monitoring the critically endangered shore plover, collecting data on behaviour, and identifying reasons for breeding failure and chick mortality.

Since joining WMIL in 2019, Baylee has been working with other seabird species including four years of monitoring black-fronted tern/tarapirohe breeding success on a number of Marlborough and Canterbury’s braided rivers, field work on Aotea/Great Barrier Island monitoring takoketai/black petrel populations, and assessing chick survival of flesh-footed shearwaters/toanui. Baylee also assists with predator control projects throughout New Zealand and is involved in a number of WMIL’s international eradication projects. Baylee remotely assists WMIL on specific tasks and projects as an associate ecologist while currently exploring the world.