Meet the Boffa Miskell Team: Kane McElrea

Kane McElrea is passionate about working with his Northland community to look after New Zealand’s environment and taonga.

Growing up on a dairy and beef farm north of Auckland, Kane McElrea (third from left, above) was fascinated with the ocean and everything in it; and spent his summers exploring the coast, boating, sailing, fishing, diving and snorkelling.

A teacher once provided some tracking tunnels and tracking cards for a science project, and 12-year-old Kane undertook a monitoring experiment in the bush on the family farm. Unsurprisingly, the cards were covered with rat, possum and hedgehog tracks, and his awareness of biosecurity began.

But the ocean remained his primary interest.

“What really set me on the course to study marine science was a trip to SeaWorld. I was 14 when I learnt that to be a dolphin trainer you needed a marine biology degree,” Kane recalls. “That was the defining moment — I decided I would study marine biology and science.”

Fast forward a few years, and with a degree in Applied Environmental Science and a marine science diploma, he began his career as a ranger at Tawharanui and Shakespare open sanctuaries.

“This was a real insight into biosecurity and dealing with the threats of predators through intensive pest control and implementing incursion responses inside the predator-proof fences.”

Kane now has spent over a decade working in biosecurity, and has hands-on experience in just about every biosecurity issue Northland is facing: Kauri Dieback, Marine Biosecurity, predator management, control of pest-plants, and dealing with feral deer and pigs.

In 2019, as Northland Regional Council’s biosecurity manager for Partnerships and Strategy, Kane won the emerging leader category at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards. This was in recognition of his work in forging sustainable community- and iwi-led biosecurity programmes, particularly to help protect Northland’s kiwi.

The following year, his work alongside communities to tackle Northland’s pest management problems earned him the 2020 Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year Award from the Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM); recognising him as someone under the age of 35 whose work has positively influenced community-based pest control initiatives.

Kane’s experience and community connections are a real asset to the newly-reopened Whangarei office, says Dr Ian Boothroyd.

“Kane has a wealth of knowledge of biosecurity in New Zealand and is highly regarded both in Northland and throughout the country,” says Ian.

“What strikes me most about Kane is his strong network of practitioners and his ease of communication with iwi and community groups — these are attributes that set him apart. I’ve found that if you walk anywhere with Kane, he will be greeted by someone!”

In joining Boffa Miskell, the opportunity to remain in Northland and being able to build on that work was important. Northland is leading the way in a number of biosecurity initiatives, including the community-led kiwi recovery programmes Kane helped develop; which have seen North Island brown kiwi populations slowly increase.

“That progress is largely down to the dedication of hundreds of community groups and support from organisations like the Kiwi Coast Trust, and Northland Regional Council,” he says.

“But unfortunately, it’s the things that aren’t as ‘cute’ as kiwi that are really the bigger issues in Northland. In my opinion, marine pests and pest plants are the two biggest biosecurity issues facing Northland and many other regions in New Zealand,” Kane continues. “Thanks to Northland’s temperate climate, just about every pest, predator and disease seems to thrive here, but it’s the ones that we can’t see — those in the marine environment or weeds that are quietly taking over our forests — that are going to cause the most issues in the future”

Ian Boothroyd notes that in a small-but-growing office, colleagues appreciate the ‘soft skills’, and Kane brings a lot to the team.

“Kane’s enjoyment of the environment is palpable and he encourages others to enjoy the same. I am looking forward to working with Kane as we grow our business in Northland.”

One of the key areas Kane is passionate about is looking broadly at, and finding ways to support, national biosecurity and biodiversity systems.

“Providing support to regional council biosecurity departments has been a highlight of my first year at Boffa Miskell,” he says. “This has included establishing landscape-scale Predator Free 2050 projects in the Bay of Islands and supporting the regional sector biosecurity special interest group with coordination of significant biosecurity projects.”

In his spare time, Kane returns to his favourite environment — the water, on the Tutukaka coast east of Whangārei. Family activities are generally dictated by the weather and his 4- and 6-year-old children. When the swells are up, he’s surfing at Sandy Bay; if there’s no swell or wind, then the boat is in the water for a bit of spearfishing, fishing or diving at the Poor Knights Islands.