Leticia Maher (Technical Officer)
Leticia Maher currently holds the position as a Technical Officer for the Agriculture and Animal Science Department, providing technical support for the Conservation and Land Management and Viticulture courses. Leticia maintains the laboratories in smooth running order and assists with the administrative duties that go along with it.
Leticia has completed a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Management (studied at Deakin University, Burwood), an Associate Diploma in Natural Resource Management at NMIT, Epping (The old Conservation & Land Management Course) and a Certificate of Occupational Studies in Horticulture, studied at Holmesglen TAFE. Leticia has had a wide variety of experiences in this field through various volunteer works and was working as an Administrative Technical Officer for 3 years (where she Voluntarily took onboard the responsibility to improve the company's internal environmental image).
Leticia also has travelled around the world on a working holiday for over 2.5 years giving her broad experiences in the customer service and administrative fields of work. She brings to the job her experiences in customer services as well as skills gained in many technical areas including interpretation and ecology.
Leticia says "I believe that all good work starts at home base, if your machines are in good working order and the laboratory is run efficiently and the labs are stocked then that's a good start for the students and teachers to access this resource and use it to their advantage".
Sebastian Buckingham (Teacher)
Sebastian Buckingham has been teaching in the Conservation and Land Management course for the last two years. Sebastian has completed a Bachelor of Biological Science at La Trobe University. Sebastian has a wide range of experience conducting and training in biological surveys both in Australia and overseas. Sebastian worked for two years as a research associate for Fauna and Flora International (a Non-Government Organisation implementing community-based conservation projects) in Vietnam. Sebastian carried out a Masters postgraduate research with Melbourne University. Conducting vegetation surveys and investigating habitat requirements of fauna living in and around a proposed National Park were a major part of this study."
Sebastian has worked as a conservation officer for the Department of Forestry in Vanuatu, providing training in biological survey techniques for local staff. This support included ensuring effective data collection and storage for Vanuatu’s recently developed Flora and Fauna Database. Other jobs Sebastian has had include archiving plant specimens at the Australian National Herbarium, Canberra and collecting and propagating plant material of central Australia at the Alice Springs Desert Park Nursery, Northern Territory.
Sally Edwards (Teacher)
Sally Edwards is the newest member of the CLM (Conservation and Land Management) crew onboard having started this year. But Sally is no stranger to NMIT, having taught Horticulture and Certificate II in the Australian Land Conservation and Restoration at Parkville Campus for the last 5 years. Sally has a strong background in Ecology and Plant Science, having completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Horticulture, and has been participating and writing ecological surveys for the past 10 years. In fact, her husband and herself own a small property north of Melbourne, which they are currently restoring to native bushland and studying. Sally says about the course "I was interested in working in CLM because it has always been a passion of mine which I have been putting into practice on my land. It gives me great pleasure to be able to share my ideas and knowledge with students who can then apply this to any project they wish in the future."
Anne Wiltshire (Course Co-ordinator)
Anne Wiltshire has been co-ordinating environmental courses at the Epping Campus for the past 6 years and will continue to co-ordinate the new Conservation and Land Management courses. Before working as co-ordinator, Anne had been teaching in the Natural Resource Management area at NMIT for the past 10 years, so has years of experience and expertise in this field.
Anne holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a Diploma of Education. Before coming to NMIT Anne did a spell at secondary colleges. When first arriving at NMIT as well as teaching, Anne also was the lab technician for Natural Resource Management. Having a vast array of experiences has enabled Anne to teach in many areas, including Catchment and Land Management, Hydrology (having completed Fundamentals of GroundWater Science, Technology and Management at the Centre for Groundwater Studies), Soil Science, Ecology, Plant Identification and Plant Physiology, to name a few.
Anne has a real passion for the Conservation and Land Management courses. Anne says, "I feel very privileged to be involved in the training of our future natural resource managers. Students generally share a commitment towards a sustainable future. It is very rewarding to cross paths with students from years gone by who are now enjoying working within the Conservation and Land Management industry. For many of them this course was the first step in their chosen career path. For others already employed, the course provided the qualification needed for career advancement. It is good to know that the training that the NMIT Natural Resource Management team provided to them has had so many positive outcomes."
