Opinion piece, Dr Peter Trolove, NZFFA executive member
I was shocked to learn that Massey University would no longer be offering courses in freshwater ecology following the departure of Dr Russell Death at the end of 2023.
Dr Death and Dr Mike Joy have served an invaluable role informing the public and policy makers of the loss of natural capital in particular the harm that has taken place to our freshwater ecosystems that has resulted from an unbalanced focus on economic growth.
It seems our authoritarian government has pulled the funding and support necessary to sustain Massey’s Department of Freshwater Ecology in order to muzzle a voice that advocated strongly for the rights of people and our freshwater environments;
Silencing Universities by Stealth: An Invisible
Consequence of our University Crisis
Russell G. Death*1, Mike K. Joy2
1River Research, Pohangina, Ashhurst
2School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of
Wellington, Wellington
Dr Mike Joy
My first contact with Dr Mike Joy was a reply to a 2007 email I had sent him seeking confirmation that my evaluation of RHYHABSIM, a habitat model that was to the fore at water allocation hearings, was flawed. “Yes its bullshit” was his accurate and cryptic reply.
It was through collecting water samples for Mike when he visited Christchurch for a North Canterbury F&G project five years ago and spending a morning with him testing nitrate levels in Rex Gibson’s garage that we finally met in person. It was this visit that led to the purchase of the NZFFA’s own nitrate sensor.
Subsequently I have attended public meetings in Christchurch where Mike spoke about the unchecked pollution that is occurring in Canterbury’s freshwater as a consequence of massive irrigation development and intensive dairying in the region.
Dr Russell Death subsequently spoke to a packed Lincoln Community Hall along with Dr Alistair Humphrey, the Canterbury Medical of Health, again warning of the gross pollution of Canterbury’s freshwater.
Over time Mike Joy has proved a true friend forwarding relevant peer reviewed articles on freshwater ecology & public health as well as linking me to people with similar interests.
I have endeavoured to provide support where I could in return.
Mike was the first to be pressured to leave Massey apparently due to an infamous debate with John Key and a subsequent complaint to the Vice Chancellor of Massey from Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Key’s controversial appointment as Chief Scientist to the NZ Environment Protection Agency.
Mike published a memoir in July 2024 providing an interesting commentary on his life both before and after becoming the fearless freshwater and environmental advocate for which he is so well known.
The link to his publisher below contains a short video where Mike gives a brief account of why he chose to write this memoir
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Dr Russell Death
Dr Death provided his personal story in the article Silencing Universities by Stealth: An invisible Consequence of our University Crisis.
He records how he taught Mike Joy, Lan Pham, Marnie Pricket and Tom Kay all known for their freshwater advocacy in various settings. Clearly he passed on his personal values in the process.
Dr Death must have been a man ahead of his time establishing the Department of Freshwater Ecology at Massey University 33 years ago when freshwater ecology was a poorly recognised discipline.
It is ironic that at a time where planners with their non validated & unverifiable models are destroying our environment, that informed voices from ecologists are being sidelined.
There is a darker story in the acknowledgements at the footnote to this article thanking family and others for getting Dr Death through the mental trauma of working in the Ecology Group at Massey University over the past few years.
New Zealanders owe a debt to both men who have advanced our knowledge of freshwater ecology while selflessly informing the public of the damage they have identified that is the result unbalanced economic exploitation of our freshwater resource.
The video link below is very practical presentation Dr Death made for Beef & Lamb NZ to help farmers assess the ecological health of streams running through their properties in order to assist them to develop meaningful Farm Environment Plans.
https://beeflambnz.com/knowledge-hub/video/what-stream-ecological-health-professor-russell-death
The video gives a small sample of what we have lost.
It is time to push back
It is important that the NZFFA continues to advocate for freshwater not simply in terms of enlightened self-interest for the sake of our sport, but to ensure policymakers are held to account for the destruction they are bringing to our freshwater environments.
Rising authoritarianism and unchecked corporate influence is not part of a “democracy” this New Zealander wants any part of.
Dr Peter Trolove
Executive member NZSAA and NZFFA
Footnote this article is not recent but somehow got lost from posting on the Federation’s website.
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