Surveying student Craig MacDonnell (22) won the undergraduate Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Award for his work on the island in 2016 creating a detailed high-resolution spatial map of the area along with his supervisor and a team of colleagues. The island was used as a quarantine station from 1863 to 1924.
Mr MacDonnell, who had to liaise with Port Otago and the Department of Conservation, as well as with the group managing the island, said it was great to be out in the field "doing something for real" rather than getting caught up in "textbooks and Excel spreadsheets".
He enjoyed surveying because it offered "a mix of getting out there and doing the job and being in the office".
A team from the surveying school took photographs of the entire area using a Trimble UX5 drone, which flew about 120m above the ground.
The Quarantine Island Trust was interested in the results of the study, which would potentially help it keep track of restoration and conservation activities, such as tree planting, Mr MacDonnell said Mr MacDonnell, who is from Dunedin, travelled to Adelaide to receive the award in April, after previously picking up the undergraduate student of the year award at the New Zealand Spatial Excellence Award 2017.
His supervisor, Dr Pascal Sirguey, who nominated him for the prize, said a number of other students were involved in mapping the island but Mr MacDonnell took leadership of the project. He liaised with key parties, including the Quarantine Island Trust and Doc. The map was definitely "the most accurate map around" of the island and gave a baseline of its state and condition, Dr Sirguey said.
"It will provide a very good reference. It’s a tangible record," he said.
"Craig just exhibited a number of qualities that went beyond expectations. He worked really well through that paper."
The project was designed to give students some experience handling a project in a professional way. Mr MacDonnell, who is now doing his master’s degree, said he was embarking on a similar project on Victory Beach, on Otago Peninsula.He said he was honoured to receive the award.
"It’s good to be recognised by peers in your field," he said.
He was keen to work in the field of spatial mapping after he graduated, he said.
"Keeping track of how things are evolving over time is what we tend to do most of."