A longtime fan of prickly scrub and gratuitous bush-bashing, Rae has enjoyed working on pest-free islands as a DOC ranger for many years, on the ‘cliff face’ of biodiversity work. With a diploma in te Reo Māori and a post-graduate diploma in wildlife management, she is currently writing a master’s thesis on plant taxonomy, focussing on native buttercups (Ranunculus species). She is desperately in love with the Marlborough Sounds (Tōtaranui and Te Hoiere), which she calls home, in te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Māui.
