Alex Huffadine has been teaching at the Otago Polytechnic for over 20 years. He heads the Natural Resources Group (horticulture, viticulture and pest management). He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), as well as diplomas in horticulture and teaching. Alex is an expert in the field of natural resources as a researcher, commercial cherry and summer fruit grower and high country farmer near Cromwell in Central Otago. Study horticulture or viticulture at Central and benefit from the wealth of Alexs knowledge and experience.

JoAnne holds the position of Programme Manager, Hospitality, but has worked in various roles at the Otago Polytechnic over the years. Her qualifications include a National Diploma in Adult Education and Training (Level 5). JoAnne originally trained and worked as a computer programmer, before she and her husband moved to Central to establish a vineyard with a tasting room attached, offering al fresco dining. Jo loves working as part of a very skilled and dedicated team of people who have a passion for teaching and learning. She enjoys the challenges and opportunities her job affords her, but her greatest satisfaction is knowing she has made a positive contribution in helping students to achieve their study goals.

Steve Henry is a specialist educator with over 20 years experience. As a Senior Advisor with The Natural Step, he has been working to embed sustainable practices into businesses and local government over the last 10 years.Steves approach focuses on enabling people and organisations to reconcile their true purpose with delivery in a sustainable future, and creating practical pathways from here to there. Steve has developed a number of practical and applied training approaches for sustainable practice, and over the past 10 years has enjoyed working with hundreds of people in many organisations to deliver and refine the method. Steve is currently the programme director at the Centre for Sustainable Practice and is based in Turangi.

Peter is the Programme Manager, Avalanche Safety Snowsport Instructing. He is qualified in Mechanical Engineering and Business Economics, but changed career path after many years to work in the mountains as a ski instructor, patroller and guide before moving on to teaching. Peter has completed a New Zealand adult teaching qualification. He is a fully qualified national and international (NZSIA and ISIA) Telemark Ski Instructor Examiner and past National Divisional Director, Technical Director and NZSIA Executive Committee Member.Peter has been well recognised for his efforts in the field of teaching. He was cited for an Otago Polytechnic Teaching Award in 2009 and the Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching National Award in 2011. Peter is also very active in the area of mountain and avalanche safety. In fact, risk management is central to his teaching he teaches all clients and students to understand the risks posed by the mountains, and how to mitigate those risks.

Gary Smith has been Otago Polytechnics Sports Turf Management Programme Manager since 2002. He holds a Diploma in Sports Turf Management and a Certificate in Adult Teaching. Garry is a passionate and enthusiastic sportsman.A highly qualified sports turf specialist, Gary has more than 30 years in the industry. His career has taken him around the world, managing championship golf courses and being involved with several New Zealand Golf Opens and One Day Cricket Internationals.

Roger Gibson is a parttime lecturer in Horticulture and Viticulture at Otago Polytechnic. He teaches soil science and plant physiology to Diploma students in both Viticulture and Horticulture. Roger holds a Master of Applied Science with first class honours in plant and soil science and a Bachelor of Science specialising in botany. He is a keen viticulturist and owns Lowburn Ferry vineyard near Cromwell.Roger has more than 20 years of international experience as an ecologist and specialises in soil fertility and the relationship between soil, plants and animals.

Trevor McNamara has been a lecturer in Horticulture at Otago Polytechnic since 1999. He currently teaches Growsafe, a course which enables participants to apply agrichemicals safely and accurately. Trevor has a Certificate and Diploma in Horticulture, a Certificate in Adult Teaching and Test Certifiers Certificate under the HSNO Act.Trevor manages the Polytechnics 25 acre orchard facility on Bannockburn Road in Cromwell, where he teaches students the practical aspects of the Horticulture programme. He is actively involved in New Zealands olive oil industry and produces and markets his own label, Poverty Gully extra virgin olive oil, from his Bannockburn property.

Raewyn Paviour has been a lecturer at Otago Polytechnic since 2005. She currently teaches the Level 4 National Certificate in Horticulture (Viticulture), and Level 5 Diploma in Viticulture, as well as managing the Polytechnics vineyard and its Pinot Noir wine sales. Raewyn is also the Operations Manager for the Otago SecondaryTertiary College and facilitator for Capable NZ in the Central Otago region. She holds a Bachelor of Viticulture, obtained while gaining onthejob experience at one of New Zealands leading wineries.Raewyn originally moved to Central Otago to take up the position of Viticultural Technical Advisor. In this role, she fostered excellent relationships within the wine industry, particularly with local grape growers and winemakers.

Jo Wakelin has been teaching horticulture at the Otago Polytechnic for the past 23 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in botany, as well as an Adult Teaching Diploma. Jos passion for horticulture extends into a range of areas. She is a member of the International Plant Propagators Society and has a keen interest in learning about, and teaching in, a number of horticultural areas. These include propagation, xeriscaping and water demand management education ecology and propagation of local natives vegetable gardening, composting, plant selection and weed identification.

Wayne King is a fulltime senior lecturer in horticulture and viticulture, specialising in pest and disease management and agrichemical application. He currently runs the Growsafe chemical handling programme which is a mandatory qualification for most people working in the primary industry. He has a Graduate Diploma in Rural Studies, a National Certificate in Adult Education, Diploma in Horticulture and a Test Certifiers Certificate under the HSNO Act.Wayne has more than 40 years experience in all facets of fruit production and has owned his own substantial pip fruit orchard for more than 20 years.

Alexa Forbes works for the Centre for Sustainable Practice as a Sustainability Advisor and also serves as a Councillor on the Queenstown Lakes District Council. Previously she had a successful career in journalism, broadcasting and public relations. She completed her Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Practice in 2012.A member of the Institute of Directors, Alexa works to drive future focused change through community organisations and governance structures. She brings communication skills and a broad understanding of organisational development to the programme.

Hospitality lecturer William McDonald has worked at Central for ten years. He holds various cookery qualifications, including a Bachelor of Culinary Arts and a Certificate in Adult Teaching.William is an experienced chef and restaurateur who has worked in restaurants across the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He has participated in many competitions over the years and acted as team coach for many student competitions, including the Nestl Toque d' Or and the Trans Tasman Trophy. William enjoys helping students develop the skills they need to succeed in an exciting, fastpaced industry.