He Mātai i te Taiao, A sense of the environment

In introducing Dr Phil Lyver at a special College assembly where he was presented with a Lindisfarne College Honours tie, Mr Howlett pointed out that Dr. Lyver had fulfilled the Lindisfarne mission statement to create “Good men who go on to lead lives of success and significance”. The significance of Dr Lyver’s work is recognised, not only regionally or nationally, but internationally. He has worked globally with Indigenous peoples,  particularly with kaitiaki from around the country, and his research has been used by communities, governments and other scientists throughout the world.  In 2022, Dr Lyver was conferred as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

After leaving the College where he was captain of the 1st XI Cricket and a member of the 1st XV Rugby, Dr Lyver completed a BSc Zoology and a PhD in Ecology at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka (University of Otago). On completion of his doctorate, he was awarded a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship with the University of Manitoba, Canada to work with Dënesųłinë́ on the customary management of barren-ground caribou in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Since then, Dr Lyver has led a range of wildlife programmes with Indigenous communities around the world, and also in Antarctica. He has served as a member on a United Nations expert panel and co-chaired a task force to assess the state of global biodiversity, but also to engage Indigenous peoples and local communities as part of those assessments.  Dr Lyver reported however, that one of the biggest challenges he has faced is making these multi-national agreements relevant and beneficial for Indigenous peoples.

His work in the field of ecology has been ground breaking in its attempts to interpret changes to ecosystems and amalgamate this information with Indigenous frameworks and knowledge. As Dr Lyver says, “Over the last three decades I’ve had the immense privilege of interacting with tohunga, kaumātua and kaitiaki from different Iwi and in other countries and being afforded the opportunity to engage with the mātauranga (Indigenous knowledge) held by these practitioners. I had never heard of mātauranga before leaving school, even though I had been listening to my uncle, who was a Rakiura Māori muttonbirder, relate snippets of mātauranga to me since I was young.  So a career highlight was the opportunity to spend two muttonbirding seasons with my uncle as part of my doctoral studies, where I was exposed to the culture, practice and knowledge of one of New Zealand’s last customary native bird harvests.  

Working with Indigenous peoples in the context of their relationships with biodiversity was not something I had considered while at school, so in terms of career path, this was an unexpected turn.  I would hope now that students are much more aware and informed of this pathway.”

Another amazing opportunity came when Dr Lyver led New Zealand’s Adélie penguin programme in the Ross Sea, Antarctica for over a decade: “Our research involved 3-month summer field seasons at Cape Bird on Ross Island, and at other Adélie colonies including the most northern colony in the Ross Sea, and largest colony in the world, Cape Adare.  The abundance and vibrancy of the wildlife in this region is unbelievable.  From our research hut we over-looked the Adélie penguin colony which was a constant source of noise and activity in the 24-hour daylight.  Beyond that was McMurdo Sound which was a constant stream of icebergs and pack ice, and wildlife such as Weddell seals, leopard seals, orca and minke whales.  

But it is the scale of the land and icescapes in Antarctica that are difficult to describe.  It is the closest thing to being on another planet.  In my first few years of conducting a population census of Adélie penguins in the Ross Sea, we flew the length of an iceberg, B-15, that was 300 km long and 35 km wide.  The iceberg was so large it blocked the passage of wildlife and created a micro-climate of its own, disrupting the breeding of our birds.  Katabatic winds coming off the Ross Ice Shelf could also make life uncomfortable for everyone ─ wildlife and humans alike. These wind events were our main source of concern when working in the more remote colonies. While we had emergency shelters at our outer colonies, these winds were ‘tent-shredders’ especially when they were laced with grit, and sometimes small stones. So you quickly got to learn the tell-tail signs of an approaching storm, and when to stop work and return to the hut, 4 km back along the beach.  Even with all the flash gear, to take Antarctica lightly was at your peril.” 

Although his school days are very far removed from the international research that Dr Lyver does now, he does believe that the ethos of fairness and justice that the College upheld helped to stimulate his own interest in how different peace treaties have affected the relationship Indigenous peoples have with their wildlife.  Dr Lyver explains this by saying, “Indigenous peoples’ cultures around the world continue to shoulder the burden of Eurocentric expansion and settlement.  In this regard, equity is not equality or privilege.  It’s about recognising that we don’t all start from the same place and providing some measure of balance.  Lindisfarne students will become decision-makers of the future so I hope they will challenge inequity where they encounter it.”

Dr Lyver has good memories of the teachers at Lindisfarne.  He recalls they would go the extra mile to support the boys. And they all had their different styles. “Notable, was John Workman, who had the unenviable job of teaching chemistry, statistics and calculus to, at times, a rather impermeable audience. John had a flair for relating statistics to real-world situations to which young men could relate. So extensive classroom discussions often revolved around relevant school, national and international sporting fixtures. John might see this differently, but his approach to sharing his knowledge and wisdom certainly kept us engaged, and we may have actually learnt something”.

Having received a huge amount of support himself through the years, Dr Lyver has taken an active interest providing internships and opportunities for students to engage in research: “We have had Year 12 and 13 students in Antarctica, the Arctic, the Australian outback and on our offshore islands.  It’s great to see them grow in confidence and gain an appreciation of what they want out of a career.  Often those aspirations do not lie in the sciences.  Much of the time it’s just about the life experience itself, especially if we are spending time with elders and 
practitioners.  In 2022, four tauira 

were part of a kaitiaki group that participated in a two-week caribou hunting and language revitalisation camp with Dënesųłinë́ in northern Canada.  One of those students is the Head Boy at Hastings Boys’ High School in 2024”.

Whilst Dr Lyver has had opportunity to travel to remote parts of the world and interact with different cultures, he reflected there are some fundamental values that keep emerging.  As he explains, “One of those values is ‘identity.’ Identity is hugely important for people and communities.  It emerges from concepts of whakapapa, turangawaewae and ahikaaroa.  Identity is about knowing where you fit, your connection, your agency, and your sense of belonging.  It’s a critical factor in our wellbeing.  Even the College’s te reo Māori name, Motutapu Kāreti, reflects its connection with the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne.  So for those given the opportunity to attend Lindisfarne, the College becomes part of our identity.  And the connections that you develop through school can last a lifetime and are gold.

Since reconnecting with the College, Phil has generously collaborated with us to establish the Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research Scholarship, named “Te Turuki.” This year, the scholarship was awarded to Taniora Puketapu-Kingi and Jett Varcoe, each receiving $10,000 to support their first-year university fees. This incredible initiative has had a profound impact, and both the boys and their families were deeply grateful to be the inaugural recipients.