Emily Fitzgerald

Kia ora!

I tipu ake au ki te Tairāwhiti, engari kei Tāmaki Makaurau taku kainga.

Nō reira, ka mihi ki te maunga Hikurangi, me te awa uawa.

Ko Emily Fitzgerald taku ingoa.

He Kaiako au mō te taiao o BLAKE.

I starting working with the Discovery team as an Environmental Educator in 2022, delivering the NZ-VR programme in schools across Tāmaki Makaurau. I joined BLAKE while completing my final year of a BSc majoring in Marine Biology. In my research, I have an interest in invertebrate ecology, and my undergraduate thesis has focussed on the trophic ecology of deep sea ommastrephid squid in Aotearoa NZ waters.

My previous environmental mahi includes two summers with the Gisborne District Council where I worked with the Monitoring & Compliance team focussing on industrial stormwater management, and with the Biosecurity Team as a freshwater biosecurity advocate.

Growing up in Tairāwhiti/ Gisborne I spent a lot of time at the beach, swimming, surfing, and eventually came to love SCUBA diving. I qualified as a PADI Divemaster in 2019, and in my spare time I enjoy photographing and identifying some of the smaller and more overlooked species out in the water.

I’m incredibly excited to work with BLAKE and share my love for the moana, and wider environment, through education, helping to inspire our tamariki to be kaitiaki and ambassadors for these vulnerable ecosystems.