Meet the Boffa Miskell Ecology Team: Eddie Sides

Eddie Sides has over 20 years of professional experience in assessing the effects of human activities on freshwater environments - streams, rivers, and lakes and their communities of plants, macroinvertebrates and fishes.

“I grew up in a rural area – on a farm; and as a kid I was mad on dinosaurs,” Eddie says. “At university I moved my focus into zoology and Environmental Science. Along the way I came across a report on the ecology of Lake Rotoiti in Bay of Plenty, and thought ‘Hey, I could do this!’.

“I first worked for MAF in fisheries and fruit fly monitoring before getting a job as a freshwater ecologist, and around five yeras later I moved to Boffa Miskell.”

Based in the Auckland office, Eddie undertakes ecological investigations for a wide range of projects across the country; including urban subdivisions, mining and quarrying operations, forestry, roading, hydroelectric power, pulp and paper, sewage treatment and stormwater management.

Eddie says, “Our team always has a lot of fun in the field, and we sometimes get to some remote places. In just the last couple of weeks I have seen huge eels, been right up close to a morepork, and had a fernbird calling from a few metres away, which was pretty cool.”

Currently, Eddie is primarily working on Penlink, 6 km arterial roadlink that will connect Whangaparaoa Peninsula to the Northern Motorway (SH1) at Redvale. The project is part of the economic response to COVID-19, the NZ Upgrade Programme.

“Boffa Miskell is the Principal’s Environmental Advisor and I’m our project manager for preconstruction environmental work,” he explains. “We have to manage the effects on fish, bats, birds, lizards and the marine environment, and find opportunities to enhance ecological values.”

Boffa Miskell were the first company engaged by Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency on this programme. Eddie leads and co-ordinates the Boffa Miskell project team, and works alongside the Waka Kotahi project team as their main point of contact, providing scientific input to assist decision-making and working with all project team members to find innovative and practical solutions that add value the project.

“I see my job as problem-solving in a specific field where I can offer expert advice based on my knowledge and experience. The ecologist’s role includes identifying ecological values, constraints and opportunities, where we can avoid or minimise impacts and also enhance the environment. Bigger projects provide more ecological opportunities and the challenge of working with large multidisciplinary project teams, which I think is a real strength of Boffa Miskell.”

Away from the office Eddie’s family keeps him busy and, along with practicing martial arts and playing the drums, he is a skilled archer. Eddie has won numerous regional, national and international awards; and his prowess with a longbow earned him a Gold Medal at the 2017 World Masters Games

Eddie says, “My experience is that the things you like doing as a kid are still the things you enjoy as an adult – so you should keep doing them as long as you can!”