Dr Meredith Davis and Te Puke High School’s STEM careers expo
Connection and community are important values for our staff Wildland Consultants Ltd, and that couldn’t be more true for our Bay of Plenty Senior Freshwater Ecologist Dr Meredith Davis.
Meredith is deeply committed to collaborative community engagement and to educating the next generation of ecologists on the environmental issues Aotearoa faces.
Alongside holding - and continuously developing - her expertise in freshwater and catchment ecology, metagenomics, and microbiology, Meredith regularly volunteers for Te Puke High School by running their year 12 freshwater science field trip. She does this in partnership with Janie Stephenson and the Maketū Wetlands education team.
For the last few years, Meredith, along with education partners at Maketū Wetlands, Massey University, Toi Ohomai, and other consulting firms has also been attending Te Puke High School’s STEM careers expo. The Expo is organised by one of Te Puke’s dedicated science teachers, Kirsty Buchanan.
Meredith provoked much student interest at this year’s expo by taking in an aquarium full of live macroinvertebrates and through speaking with the students about all the different career pathways available for getting into ecology and restoration at Wildlands.
Meredith told us that students were excited by all the entry routes available for early career ecologists, which includes no university training or prior work experience, through to Toi Ohomai and/or entire university degrees with or without post-graduate qualifications.
Meredith said, “our young adults want options. Not everyone wants to follow the traditional pathway to a career in ecology. I connect with this view and although I have achieved a terminal degree (PhD), my career path has been anything but traditional. I like to remind students that there is no single pathway and every experience provides opportunities to learn marketable skills. I encourage students to volunteer and try to find something they truly enjoy doing.
Te Puke High School’s students and teachers are so engaged and passionate. I always look forward to working with them! It was also great to reconnect with other professionals and educators and hear about their exciting work.”
No doubt you’ve made a huge positive impact Meredith, and thank you for sharing your reflections on your inspiring day with the student here with us.
Te Puke High School’s Kirsty Buchanan put it beautifully, “Your participation is invaluable in inspiring our students and demonstrating the diverse career paths that STEM knowledge and skills can open up”.
Team Wildlands ????.
#ecologyandrestoration #ecologicalconsulting #wildlands #thatswild
Posted: 12 August 2026