Nicola Toki (née Vallance) is a New Zealand conservationist. She has worked for the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

as threatened species ambassador and became chief executive of

Forest & Bird Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...

in April 2022.

Biography

Toki was born in Invercargill, and spent much of her early years moving around the South Island to support her father's career as a ski plane pilot. Toki studied at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

where she studied

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, as well as a postgraduate diploma in natural history film-making. In 2022, Toki said that she lives in

Waipara Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River. Its name translates to "Muddy Water", ''wai'' meaning water and ''para'' meaning mud. It is at the junction of state highways 1 and 7, 60 kilometre ...

with her husband (

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

Ngāti Hau Ngāti Hau are the Māori ''iwi'' (tribes) of the Whanganui River area in New Zealand. There are two stories of where the name ''Ngāti Hau'' comes from. One is that it comes from Haupipi, who arrived in New Zealand on the '' Aotea'' canoe, afte ...

) and son.

Career

Post-studying, Toki worked as a camera operator for Channel 9, held an internship at

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

, before starting to work at the Dunedin branch of the Department of Conservation. She previously worked for the Department of Conservation as a media manager and for Forest & Bird as a conservation advocate. Between 2015 to 2019, Toki worked as a Department of Conservation threatened species ambassador, where she advocated for New Zealand's threatened species. After leaving the threatened species ambassador role, Toki was retained by the Department of Conservation as eastern South Island operations director. In April 2022 Toki was appointed as Chief Executive of

, replacing

Kevin Hague Kevin Grant Hague (born 18 March 1960) is a New Zealand activist and former chief executive and politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the Green Party from 2008 to 2016, and served as chief executive of Forest & Bird, an independent New Z ...

. On her appointment, Toki said that she was looking forward to taking Forest & Bird (established in 1923) into its next century of operations, and wanted to work more closely with

mana whenua In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that literally means "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people as a whole. Etymology Accordi ...

. She helps present the weekly radio show

Critter of the Week ''Critter of the Week'' is a weekly RNZ National programme about endangered and neglected native plants and animals of New Zealand. Beginning in 2015, ''Critter of the Week'' is an approximately 15-minute discussion between Nicola Toki of the ...

with

Jesse Mulligan Jesse Robert Turi Mulligan is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently works as a co-host for '' The Project'' on Three, an afternoon presenter on RNZ National, and a writer for The New Zealand Herald's Viva Magazine. Career ...

on Radio New Zealand and previously had regular appearances on TVNZ's ''

Good Morning "Good morning" is a common greeting in the English language. It may also refer to: Television * ''Good Morning!!!'' (Australian show), a children's show * ''Good Morning'' (New Zealand show), a daytime talk show * ''Good Morning'' (Russian ...

'' and ''Meet the Locals''.

Political and conservation views

Toki has disagreed with previous New Zealand Government policy proposals to mine in national parks and other significant conservation areas previously off-limits to mining interests. While at Forest and Bird she advocated for the protection of New Zealand endemic species through the use of

1080 Year 1080 (Roman numerals, MLXXX) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Autumn – Nikephoros Melissenos, a Byzantine general and ar ...

, and campaigned against intensive and large-scale dairy farming. Toki has said that she would like to see the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister hold the conservation portfolio, because it is an area that does not receive much attention nor funding.

References

External links

Articles written by Nicola Toki for The Spinoff "Meet the locals
episodes featuring Nicola Toki {{DEFAULTSORT:Toki, Nicola New Zealand television presenters New Zealand women television presenters New Zealand radio presenters New Zealand women radio presenters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand conservationists People from Invercargill University of Otago alumni