Small Islands, Big Oceans

SMALL ISLANDS, BIG OCEAN

Two of our water experts, Bob Bower and Richard Mocke, presented at the New Zealand Coastal Society Conference on Waiheke Island.

Growing up in a coastal town just north of Durban, South Africa, NZ's Ports and Marine Lead Richard Mocke was never far from the ocean – diving, spearfishing, lifesaving; it seems salt runs through his veins. Combining his passion for maritime and civil engineering, Richard presented 'Better understanding your Geocoastal Environment to Develop Efficient Engineering Outcomes'. Sharing his knowledge on understanding the maritime, coastal and geotechnical environment to develop efficient engineering outcomes, Richard highlighted ways in which we can fully appreciate and understand the significant impact "geo-coastal" environments could have on the success or failure of a project.

Principal Hydrologist and Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) expert Bob Bower shared valuable insights on MAR tools, including an effective mitigation strategy to build resilience in New Zealand and Australia's coastal community's water supplies. Bob is passionate about sharing information about our coastal and marine environments and protecting our water resources from the global effects of climate change.

Both presentations inspired important conversations and questions about ways to work together to develop mitigations for New Zealand and respond to climate change in coastal settings. 

If you have any questions for Bob or Richard, you can reach out to them here: https://wganz.co.nz/#our-people