these are some photos from the night. :)
Thanks everyone for looking at my blog, this will be my last blog post for the year I migth not be here next year but hopefully you will see me again!
I am a Year seven student at Yaldhurst Model School, which is located on the outskirts of Christchurch, NZ. I am in Rimu class and my teacher Miss Blair. :)
What she has done
Ingrid Visser is the only researcher specializing in orca in New Zealand waters.
Her research officially started in 1992 when she left to start on her life-long dream to study the orca. Since then she’s worked with orca not only around New Zealand, but also in Antarctica, Argentina and Papua New Guinea.
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While travelling aboard eco-tourism ships or on private expeditions, she has also contributed to orca research projects in the Kamchatka region of Russia; Washington, Alaska and British Colombia off North America as well as Iceland.
Ingrid Visser’s research does not receive Government or University funding, but is run through the nonprofit, Orca Research Trust, a New Zealand registered Charity.
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Who she is
Both her parents were Dutch immigrants who came to New Zealand in the 1950s. They were both nationalized as New Zealanders after she was born. Her mother is deceased and her father resides in New Zealand. She has one younger sister (Monique) also born in New Zealand, currently residing in Auckland, New Zealand.
Between June 1982 and November 1986 Visser sailed with her parents and sister aboard a 17.3 m (57 ft) yacht,[1] around the world. The trip covered over 50,000 nautical miles (93,000 km) and visited more than 40 countries.
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Education
Visser has three university degrees: a Bachelor of Science (Massey University), a Master’s of Science, and a Doctorate of Philosophy (both Auckland University).Ingrid Visser has been working with orca since 1992 and completed her PhD in 2000, on the first ever scientific study of orca in New Zealand waters.
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Publications
Visser has set up the Orca Research Trust, the Antarctic Killer Whale Identification Catalogue and was a co-founder of the Punta Norte Orca Research non-profit organisations all focusing on orca research. She also set up Adopt an Orca to facilitate fund raising and public awareness.
Visser has written an autobiography (“Swimming with Orca” – a finalist in the Environmental category of the prestigious New Zealand Montana Book Awards) and two children’s books (“I love killer whales” & “The Orca”).
The latter has been translated into Māori and is currently in press as a bilingual English/Spanish publication.
Visser works as a guide on a variety of eco-tourism adventures, from swimming with whales to visiting Antarctica. She is a public speaker and has been described as “a marine version of Jane Goodall,” where her passion for the protection of orcas and their fragile habitats, as well as rescuing many stranded whales are clearly illustrated in her photographs.
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