At school in Wellington, there wasn’t mention of horticulture as a career. When asked, friends and family thought my passions were “avocados” and “eating fruit”. I was good at science, cared for the environment and enjoy interacting with people. A chef didn’t quite fit.

Once the idea of horticulture came up through a family friend, it seemed to fit perfectly. I studied for three years and got offered a job at AgFirst at the end of it, which I took. I began as a technician, and now as a consultant mix data analysis and reporting, environmental projects, orchard assessment and grower consultancy.

I love that this industry gives me the opportunity to mix walking between the trees and typing in the office. I love that it enables me to work closely with the environment and help NZ’s food production practices be as clean and green as possible.

I love working with growers to help them collect and use data to make decisions on orchard. I love that in 4 years on the job it is ever changing and I am still learning at a fast rate. Fruit growing and the environment are both extremely complex linked systems and working with both, I don’t think I’ll stop learning for the rest of my career, which is just fine with me.