Seaweek - Freshwater Connections to Land and Oceans

Our streams rivers lakes and groundwater are being degraded as we intensify agriculture and housing in New Zealand.

Unfortunately, the freshwater policies developed over at least the last ten years in New Zealand have moved further from their scientific underpinnings with each new iteration. For the fish in our waterways the connection to the ocean is crucial as are the connections between the land and the freshwater.

Join Dr. Mike Joy for a discussion on the importance of all the connections and why we need to lift our game on protecting all freshwater.

About the presenter:
Mike Joy BSc, MSc (1st class hons), PhD in Ecology is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science at the Ecology group-Institute of Agriculture and Environment Massey University Palmerston North.

He researches and teaches freshwater ecology, especially freshwater fish ecology and distribution, ecological modelling bioassessment and environmental science. He has and continues to supervise many Masters and PhD students doing research into freshwater ecology, with topics from native fish ecology to farmers’ attitudes to sustainability.

Mike has published many papers in scientific journals, many international as well as articles and op-eds for newspapers and magazines. He has authored many reports for Regional Councils and ministry for the environment, and has developed a number of bioassessment tools and associated software used by many North Island Regional Councils.

Mike is an outspoken advocate for environmental protection in New Zealand and has received a number of awards including an Ecology in Action award from the NZ ecological Society, an Old Blue award from Forest and Bird, he was named 2009 Environmental New Zealander of the year by North and South magazine, Manawatu Evening Standard 2012 person of the year, in 2013 he received the Tertiary Education Union NZ Award of Excellence for Academic Freedom and contribution to Public Education, the 2013 Charles Fleming Award for environmental work from the Royal Society of New Zealand, in 2015 the Morgan Foundation inaugural River Voice Award and 2017 he received the inaugural NZ Universities Critic and Conscience award.