Rate My Professor Manaia Pearmain-Fenton

Pearmain-Fenton holds a Master of Science from the University of Otago (2023), a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Environmental Biology from Curtin University (2021), and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology from Curtin University (2020). She expects to complete a New Zealand Diploma in Te Reo (Rumaki) Level 5 from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in 2025. Her career includes her current teaching position since 2024 and a prior role as Educator at Orokonui Ecosanctuary (2022–2024). Her MSc research examined population dynamics and dispersal in South Island robins (kakaruai), detailed in her thesis "Silver Linings: Understanding Kakaruai/South Island Robin Breeding Behaviour and Dispersal in an Urban Environment" (2023). Key publications include "Capturing the imminent extinction of a kakaruai/South Island robin population" (2024, New Zealand Journal of Ecology; co-authors: Ann-Kathrin V. Schlesselmann, Joanne M. Monks), which won the Best Publication by a New Researcher award from the New Zealand Ecological Society. She co-authored a study on kaka (Nestor meridionalis) investigating and depredating kakaruai nests (Susan Walker, Anne Schlesselmann). Through her teaching, she integrates Te Ao Māori perspectives into environmental science education, fostering connections between communities and ecosystems.