Celebrating our experts on International Day of Women and Girls in Science

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re celebrating one of our own experts in environmental science, Principal Advisor Contaminated Land, Kim Wepasnick.

A key part of Kim’s role is to assess and provide advice on potential land contamination and deliver projects which consider risk to human health and the environment alongside responsible taxpayer spending.

Kim has worked on several high-profile projects for LINZ including Watts Peninsula, the former New Plymouth Barrett Street Hospital and the former Masterton Hospital sites, and SouthPAN.

“A highlight of my career has been working on the demolition and remediation of the former Tokanui Psychiatric Hospital which forms part of the Ngāti Maniapoto Treaty Settlement,” says Kim.

“As part of negotiating the Deed of Settlement, I helped develop a standalone process, following industry standards and best practice on how the property would be remediated.

“There is a strong link between soil health, human wellbeing and cultural values. Having a kōrero to better understand the grievances from the taking of the land, and the impact this has had on mana whenua was key to designing and assessing options for how the site could be remediated sustainably.”

Since starting her career in the contaminated land industry, Kim has worked in an environmental testing laboratory, has been a contaminated land consultant in both Australia and New Zealand, and will be celebrating 10 years as a public servant in October.

“My career has taken me to a lot of places, and I’ve gotten to work on some really interesting industrial sites, such as the former GM-Holden factory in Adelaide and the Shell (now Viva Energy) Refinery in Geelong where we were doing large-scale groundwater investigation and remediation projects.”

Kim is passionate about growing and supporting professionals working in the industry. In 2014, she helped form the Australasian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA) Wellington Branch and is still an active committee member. She has presented her work at several conferences and will speak on a panel with other women at an ALGA Wellington event in March.

“Despite some progress in the industry, women are still underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields,” says Kim.

“Research has shown that girls learn from a very early age that they are not considered capable of having an interest in science or technology, regardless of their abilities.

“Having more diverse people working in these fields also means gaining diverse perspectives and different ways of looking at things, which is important to move these fields forward.

“It’s equally important that when women do enter these roles, they feel like they belong.

“I would encourage any young woman thinking about a job in a STEM field to go for it, these careers are incredibly interesting and rewarding.”