The GeoPest tool can be used on a mobile device in the field to record data about pest plants and animals without going into the office. Photo: Supplied via LDR
A software tool that revolutionises how the Bay of Plenty Regional Council records its pest data and the Ōhope-based staff member who played a crucial role in developing it are both finalists in the Biosecurity New Zealand Awards.
GeoPest is the brainchild of regional council biosecurity officer Juliet O'Connell, who has led the project. Together with colleague Sam Stephens, she has spent the past two-and-a-half years developing and refining it.
The regional council is a finalist for Biosecurity NZ's innovation award for the second year running, with GeoPest and O'Connell is finalist in the emerging leader category.
The purpose of GeoPest is to allow pest control workers to capture and record data while out in the field that can be accessed from a central location in real time.
O'Connell said it allowed those making pest management decisions to always have the latest data at their fingertips. It consisted of a field app and a desktop component, which allowed regional council staff and contractors to "upload data on-the-fly".
In the past 18 months, field workers across the Bay of Plenty region have surveyed 4242 properties (50,385.8ha) using GeoPest. They have recorded 10,788 current pest plant infestations, 5879 zero density infestations, and 1135 previous infestation sites have been made historic. All without having to step foot in an office.
"We had an external contractor build it, but we've been heavily involved with the development and creating what we need to make it fit for purpose for us as a biosecurity team. We can track them in real time to see what is happening with pests around the region and do on-the-fly reporting," O'Connell said.
"Having timely and relevant data is really crucial to fully understanding the new pest threats, where they are coming from, what the impact of the existing threats are and how they're distributed, so that informs our management responses, which determines how effective our current management regimes are."
The project originally focused on pest plants but is now moving into the pest animal space.
"It has grown hugely, as we worked out how to integrate the animal side of things," O'Connell said. "The data that you collect about something that is staying in one place is quite different to something that is moving around because the control of those is quite different."
Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officers Juliet O'Connell and Sam Stephens have worked together to develop and refine the GeoPest software tool. Photo: Supplied via LDR
Two other regional councils, Waikato and Northland, have copied the system, adapting it for their purposes, and O'Connell said the council had been in discussions with the national biosecurity collective, trying to make common language around collecting biosecurity information.
O'Connell manages the feral goat programme for the region and is described by regional council biosecurity manager Greg Corbett in his nomination for the award as displaying "an unwavering determination to find better biosecurity solutions for Aotearoa through the practical application of her expertise, all while consistently achieving operational excellence in her role".
"She has a gift for wading through complexity to deliver succinct but thorough insights and an ability to gain the cooperation of many diverse stakeholders towards a common goal. She is highly respected by her peers, the contractors she works with and the community she serves."
"I've been really lucky that I've had a good management team that's allowed me to push the boundaries," O'Connell said.
"I'm a high achiever and I like to work toward pushing the boundaries and I think GeoPest is part of that. I've got a group of highly competent team members and contractors that I work alongside."
The Victoria University graduate, originally from rural north Taranaki, has a Bachelor of Science in geography and environment and a Masters in ecology. She previously worked for the Department of Conservation as a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) analyst and moved to Ōhope six years ago to work with Ngā Whenua Rāhui.
"I got to the point where I really enjoyed the mapping side of things but wanted to be more involved with the biodiversity, biosecurity, ecology side of things as well while using the GIS mapping as a tool. So, I moved over to the regional council and had a stint in regulatory compliance before a role came up in the biosecurity team about three years ago.
"My two real passions are being outdoors conserving the environment and then GIS, which is the mapping component, and I've been really lucky that management have allowed me to create that niche and be innovative."
The Biosecurity NZ Awards have been held annually since 2017, and recognise individuals, groups and organisations that have shown a commitment to supporting and promoting New Zealand's biosecurity and the systems that uphold it.
The winners will be announced at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards event in Auckland on 31 October.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air