Reflections From New Zealand: Professor Michael Elmes' Sabbatical Update
Professor Michael Elmes was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study and teach in New Zealand during his sabbatical. For those who are not familiar with a sabbatical, it is a time away from one's normal teaching and research duties that permits one to engage new experiences (tenured faculty members are eligible for a sabbatical every seven years). Often faculty members launch major new research projects, tool up for a new direction in their research, live in other nations to experience new cultures, and so forth. Overall they tend to be enriching and refreshing experiences for faculty members, but they also benefit students because faculty members bring those experiences back to the classroom. Professor Elmes is in New Zealand with his wife, Anne, and their daughters, Katie and Sarah.
April 2005
In reading about New Zealand's natural history, you learn that 1500 years ago, it was a land covered in lush forest inhabited primarily by different species of indigenous birds (many of them flightless). There were only a few indigenous mammals - three species of bats - but no snakes. It is not surprising that flightless birds evolved here - there were no predators to fly from.
New Zealand is considered to be the last, large land mass to be inhabited by people, about 1000 years ago with the arrival of the Maori from other parts of Polynesia (that date is debated, however). The Maori brought with them a variety of sweet potato called kumara which, interestingly, is indigenous to South America; this gives you some sense of the distances that Polynesian people travelled through the Pacific in their wooden boats (look at the map of the Pacific to get some sense of the distances involved). Maori also introduced a species of rat to the country. Along with various farm animals like pigs, sheep, cattle, and horses as well as farm tools and European farming practices, the Europeans brought rabbits and possums - which with impacts over time, became thought of as pests. (The Europeans also brought a variety of European diseases which decimated the Maori population when contact was first made). To control the rabbits, the European settlers introduced stoats and weasels into the country, which, alas, impacted native bird populations. Even today these pests remain a problem; possums kill young trees, eat bird eggs, and have no natural enemies. You hear stories of Kiwi drivers trying to run them over. In many clothing stores you find nice Marino wool hats and sweaters with possum fur woven in! Very warm I am told.
With the arrival of people - first the Maori and then European settlers in the late 1700's - the landscape was modified, most dramatically in the late 1800's. Many species of birds (including the Moa, an enormous flightless bird larger than an ostrich) became extinct, 75% of the forest was eventually burned off (mostly by Europeans) to create land for crop production and grazing, non-native grasses were planted, and agriculture became the predominant industry - and landscape shaper - in the country. (After a series of wars with pakeha - the Maori word for people of European ancestry - many Maori were also removed from their land during this period as well).
By the mid 1900's New Zealand had become an agricultural breadbasket exporting food (meat, dairy, fruits) and fiber (wool) all over the world. Agriculture is still the leading industry in the country (followed by tourism) - which is why the question of the role and place of biotechnology is such a charged issue here. There is much at stake! Biosecurity is a very grave concern here (one friend told me that if New Zealand were ever to suffer a serious outbreak of hoof and mouth disease, he believes it would have a 30% impact on NZ's GDP in one day!). More recently, grape production for wine-making has been booming, and New Zealand is making many fine wines. The land here reminds me of what New England must have looked like when it was primarily an agricultural landscape - open, sparsely forested, full of grazing livestock. I have seen this look in parts of England and Scotland as well.
In a few experiments in New Zealand conservationists are trying to restore native flora and fauna. One of these is the Karori Wildlife Center and is worth a look. Through the application of poison to kill the rodent population, the construction of rodent proof fences, and the reintroduction of native birds (like the shy kiwi bird and various species of wild parrots) and native plants, they have created large, forested spaces that are open to the public and, they hope, will support conservation in the country. It is an ambitious scheme. As well I have heard of a housing community that is fenced in - not to keep out robbers and thieves but cats and stoats and other pests; inhabitants of the community are forbidden from owning housecats as well. There are a variety of schemes like these going up in other parts of the country.
One final note in this entry. There are no squirrels, chipmunks, or "everyday rodents" here - something we take for granted back in the States. You tend not to see anything on the ground or in the trees except birds. For a hiker like myself, it is a bit strange to see only birds in the trees and forest. When driving, however, you can find a rich display of roadkill particularly out in the country - possums, hedgehogs, and the occasional rabbit mostly. A friend of mine from the University of Montana was teaching a distance education course to biology students in both Montana and New Zealand. The New Zealand students found it hard to imagine that there were dozens of large mammals roaming the wilds near Missoula, Montana - bear, moose, wolf, elk, mountain lion and the like; it just didn't fit their worldview. While there are deer that live in the mountains of New Zealand, mostly these are stocked or escapees from venison farms (of which you see a lot on the South Island). It is also possible to see the occasional wallaby down on the South Island - also an import or an escapee.
To use a common Kiwi phrase - there are "no worries" here for hikers and trampers - no venomous snakes or spiders and no predatory mammals (except for the two-legged variety). Not even poison ivy! No wonder it is a hiker's paradise - a paradise very different from the land it was 1000 or even 300 years ago.
March 2005
We have been in New Zealand now for a little over two months and there are many impressions that I have about the place, about the project, and about the course that I am teaching. Let me share a few.
First, it is a country of extraordinary natural beauty. Mountains, ocean, intense sunlight, crazy wind, and weekly earthquakes are part of everyday experience. Sarah and I walk into the city every morning on our way to school and work. Each day we start high up on a hill overlooking the harbor and walk down into the city. The hillsides, the intensity of the light and the reflections of the sun on the harbour are often breathtaking. Walking down the hill is a challenge for knees and thighs, especially after first arriving. Our journey then takes us around the Parliament building where Prince Charles visited last week. Surprisingly, there were no barriers or gates during his visit, just two extra security guards with radios next to the main buildings. Airports are the same way - they remind me of the "good old days" of flying into small and medium-sized cities back in the 1960's and 70's. The airports are small and friendly and security, while present, does not overwhelm the travel experience the way it does in the US (feels like I've gone back in time).
At the end of our day, it is same routine in reverse - up the hill and back to our flat. If either of us is tired, we walk along the main shopping street in Wellington, Lampton Quay (pronounced Kee), to the cable car and ride it to a stop about 100 yards from our flat. It costs about $1.00US per person per trip. The cable car is less like the cable cars of San Francisco than the Incline in Pittsburgh - it runs on a pulley up the side of the hill and eventually reaches the Botanical Gardens above our flat.
I think because this is a small country of about 4 million people, people feel like they can have an impact. Whether to become a Republic (rather than as now, a Constitutional Monarchy), change the flag, or even change the name of the country, the debate and dialogue among various constituencies are very much alive. That this is an election year makes it even more interesting. So citizens seem to participate through voting, debating, and protesting in a variety of parties (there are at least 6) and from a variety political perspectives.
One of the most significant and important influences here is the role of the indigenous Maori in politics, business, ceremony, culture, and the arts. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 with the English, is very much alive still and the basis for much public debate around indigenous rights and land and fishing claims. Some have proposed changing the name of New Zealand to the Maori name, Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. When foreign dignitaries arrive here, they are usually met by a traditional band (playing the respective national anthems) and a Maori haka (see http://www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/culture/haka-feature/haka.cfm if you would like to learn more about the haka. The haka is also performed at many athletic events including the All-Blacks rugby matches - watch the haka video and consider the impact of a team of athletes performing the haka together before a match). On one hand the culture here feels very Western - in speech, dress, custom, and ceremony; one the other hand, given the influence of Maori, Pacific Island and Asian cultures, it is very non-Western as well.
These are some of my initial thoughts on what it is like to live and work here. I will say more about my teaching and the project in my next posting. But briefly, I want to say that with regard to biotechnology, there is considerable tension around whether to go forward with the technology, and if so, how. People in the scientific community here are very excited about it and see it as a way for New Zealand to keep pace with the rest of the world in agricultural exports (a major sector for them) and to develop products and services in the application of biotechnology to health care. Many farmers, especially dairy farmers, like the technology because they believe it will help them compete in the export of dairy protein (and other products) on world markets. Growers of kiwi fruit are against it, as is the organic farming industry, because they fear that the loss of New Zealand's "clean, green" image will adversely affect markets where consumers believe they are buying "all natural" products from New Zealand. Needless to say, environmentalists oppose it on the grounds that it is ecologically risky with only modest economic benefits. Most Maori leaders are against it as well but for cultural and religious reasons. At present there are no genetically-engineered crops or products produced here, and I don't see it changing in the near future. There are, however, about 24 genetically-modified products allowed into the country as ingredients in other products - substances like canola oil and various food additives. So the discussion and debate continue.
Regarding my class (an honors course in OB where I am focusing on power and resistance), there are many similarities between students here and my WPI students. They work hard, are nice people, and are concerned about grades. A difference here is the fact that all 4th year students are in the honors program. Each one could have graduated after 3 years without an honors degree but chose to continue their studies (and had the grades to qualify). A 4th year honors program is a lot more work and some students are struggling with significantly raised expectations. One of the benefits of being an outsider here is that we can exchange ideas (a goal of the Fulbright program) and learn from each other. Needless to say, I am having a great time talking with them about power and resistance in US and New Zealand contexts; and I think that they have found it interesting as well.
Well, it is getting towards dusk here and it is time to hike back home...on second thought, maybe I'll take the cable car tonight! While I do not envy your winter this year, I am sorry that I will miss watching Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA's at the Centrum in Worcester...go Orange!
Learn more about Professor Michael Elmes' Fulbright scholarship.
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