We at FOGGS heartily welcome Ryan Duffy back to our park. Ryan is replacing Mike Stevens as Team Leader Natural Values. I asked Ryan to introduce himself:
Hello FOGG members, my name is Ryan Duffy and I am the new Program Coordinator for Biodiversity and Heritage at the Grampians / Gariwerd.
I distinctly remember my first interview for a job at the Grampians in 2004. I was sitting in my Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) uniform in Brisbane staring at a video camera talking to Prue Daley and Graham Parkes in Melbourne, pretending to guide a sight impaired person through an interpretive experience with a stuffed echidna. Sounds strange, it certainly was! Fortunately for me soon after I was offered the interpretive ranger role.
One reason I loved being an interpretive ranger is it provides free licence to learn as much about a location as you can in order to communicate its values. I was in awe of the natural and cultural values of the park and loved living within the small community of Halls Gap. It was with regret that I departed the Grampians in 2005 and moved to Tidal River to take up a similar role within Wilsons Promontory National Park.
Since 2005 I feel fortunate to have had diverse opportunities to continue learning while working for Parks Victoria. In 2007 to 2008 I participated in the Parks Canada exchange working at a national park off the west coast of Canada, called Gwaii Haanas. During the exchange I pursued my interests and work alongside park ecologists undertaking all manner of monitoring. Gwaii Haanas was also co-managed by the Haida Nation and Parks Canada, and contained World Heritage listed Totem Poles constructed by Haida people hundreds of years earlier.
Just prior to moving back to the Grampians I worked in a community engagement role as part of a program improving bushfire preparedness across Melbourne’s urban fringe. This program was established in response to the Black Saturday bushfire event.
Now I am back at the Grampians / Gariwerd, I feel my steep learning curve continues. I am acutely aware my team has a pivotal role in protecting one of Victoria’s most significant cultural landscapes and biodiversity hot-spots. Although the scope of the task is sometimes dizzying, it is not something that can be achieved without the support of a host of other partners, including the Friends of Grampians Gariwerd.
I look forward to meeting, providing updates and learning from FOGG members in the weeks, months and years to come.