E2M is made up of an expert team of passionate ecological consultants with extensive experience and a love for what they do. Whether in the field or in the office, our team is always working hard to create balanced ecological outcomes for our clients and for the environment.
This month, we’re chatting to Professional Ecologist, Jacqui Gamack, as she takes a moment to share her favourite things, from projects to her profession through to baking. Read on to find out what makes her tick.
Get to know Jacqui
I’ve been working as a Professional Ecologist at E2M for just under three years. Primarily my work involves offsets projects, which involves me conducting flora and fauna surveys on site to be able to provide offset opportunities to minimise negative ecological impacts. I specialise in Terrestrial Ecology and love getting out to sites to spot different species of animals.
I don’t have a typical day-to-day, as every day here provides something different.
Some workdays see me in the office writing reports based on field survey data from previous trips, whilst other days I’m out in the field conducting surveys. I love our hybrid style of work at E2M.
We’re all passionate about our job and we’re strongly aligned with our purpose of being great people delivering balanced environmental outcomes
Making career choices
I have always had a love for animals and knew that my perfect job would involve them. I didn’t know that ecology was a career path until I started looking at all of the options. I started to research what an ecologist did and loved the fact that I could spend time out in the field as well as in an office.
Living our values
I got a really good vibe from the team during my interview. The job sounded like the perfect blend of activities and the values of E2M really shone through.
There was a nice community feel and I felt supported from the start, which is something other jobs are invariably missing. We have a close-knit team and we can always have a laugh.
We’re all passionate about our job and we’re strongly aligned with our purpose of being great people delivering balanced environmental outcomes.
I love that I get to learn new things all the time from an experienced team of mentors, peers and colleagues. The job can be challenging, both physically and mentally which really helps you to grow as a person and within your career.
A favourite project
My current project is definitely a favourite. As a Project Manager, I’m responsible for ensuring the project runs on time and without issue. We’ve taken over from another consultancy halfway through which has provided me with a new set of challenges that I enjoy tackling with the full support of the team here at E2M.
I have learnt so much from this project and it’s really helped me to excel by providing offset calculations for our customers. It’s also been a cool experience on-site. It’s located in a really beautiful place in Queensland and I feel so lucky that my job allows me to travel to places I probably wouldn’t get to otherwise visit.
A favourite species – the Greater Glider
We see so many animals out in the paddock, including the Greater Glider. They are a beautiful gliding marsupial species primarily found in Eucalypt forests in Queensland (but can also be found further south in other states).
We’ve conducted a lot of surveys on Greater Gliders over time, so we know how to spot them easily.
Species identification and methods
When we’re on-site, we look for evidence that a species is there. Some species are easy to find, whilst others might require extra vigilance.
The Greater Glider is relatively easy to spot at night, as we shine a light into the environment, and their eyes shine back brightly. They also have big fluffy ears which are easy to spot. We may also look for other types of evidence like scratches on trees.
Threatened plants can be quite challenging to identify, particularly if they are in a location that we haven’t surveyed before. So, when we are in a new location, we prepare as best we can, by understanding what threatened plants may occur and really drilling down into their microhabitat. We then use botanical keys and microscopes to identify the species.
In life….
I don’t have a favourite animal – I love them all. It’s why I became interested in becoming an ecologist in the first place. We have some beautiful animals here in Australia and I’m so lucky to work alongside them every day.
Outside of work, I love to cook in my spare time! Some people get really excited about eating out on their weekends, I get excited about trying and testing new recipes and cooking for friends and family.
I sometimes bring cakes and other baking into work, which the team love!
Interested in a career in Ecology?
Or are you a Professional Ecologist looking for a place to call home? E2M is always looking out for new team members who align with our values and are passionate about what they do.
We’re a motivated and fun team, offering diversity through balanced perspectives and broad-ranging experience underpinned by a set of finely honed technical skills.
Together we deliver value, build trust and inspire balanced environment outcomes for our team, our clients and of course the environment.
Check out our current job openings or get in touch with our team at https://e2mconsulting.com.au/careers/.