Staff Spotlight: Ecologist Leane Makey looking at the future of New Zealand soil

When our Ecologist Leane Makey is not providing expert ecology consulting services for Buckton Surveyors and Planners, she gets to put on her other hat as a Research Fellow in the School of Environment at University of Auckland, specialising in critical social environmental research. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Marine Ecology and a PhD in Environmental Sciences, making her an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable asset to our team.

Dr Leane Makey was recently the recipient of the NZ Royal Society Marsden Fast Start Award at the end of 2024, providing her with funding to lead and manage a research project spanning over three years. This exciting opportunity for Leane has meant she can balance working in the ecological consultancy space with the Buckton team and manage a team looking into the future of New Zealand’s soil biology.

Her research project is focused on responding to the urgent need to rethink the relationship between humans and soil. Globally, and in New Zealand, our soil quality is deteriorating, and Leane’s research team are focusing on how we can protect and halt soil degradation. The team is exploring and considering soil as sovereign kin in the context of regenerative agriculture and undisturbed forest soil ecosystems. Leane is doing this by gathering a diverse range of soil perspectives in the context of regenerative agriculture, biodynamics, permaculture, hua parakore, and organics, and then seeking to apply these diverse perspectives to form a connected, sustainable approach to farming, growing food, and interacting with soil on a whole. The project is deeply rooted in the interconnectedness between humans, land, and culture, and the aim is to consider soil as far more than just a thin layer of matter on the earth’s surface.

We are proud to support Leane and excited to see what her research produces. If you are keen to read more about Leane’s project, please visit her team’s website - https://ourdiversesoilsnz.com/