Field Ranger

Jolene is Twizel based and is particularly keen on using GIS software to analyse data and understand ecological patterns.

She completed her Master of Wildlife Management at Otago University in 2020. Before joining Te Manahuna Aoraki 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.

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