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Nicola Toki
Quick Facts
Biography
Nicola Toki (née Vallance) is currently the Department of Conservation threatened species ambassador. She represents the Department of Conservation and advocates for New Zealand's threatened species. She helps present the weekly radio show Critter of the Week with Jesse Mulligan on Radio New Zealand.
Previously she was the media manager for the Department of Conservation from 2005–2010. She appeared on TV ONE's Good Morning show on Wednesdays to chat about the walks, wild places and wildlife of New Zealand. From September 2007 – 2010, she appeared as the presenter of "Meet the Locals", a series of four-minute clips about New Zealand's wild places and wildlife on TVNZ 6. She left the Department of Conservation in March 2010 when offered a position as conservation advocate at the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. She disagreed with the then Government policy proposals signalled their intention to mine in national parks and other significant conservation areas previously off-limits to mining interests. While at Forest and Bird she advocated for the protection of New Zealand endemic species through the use of 1080, and campaigned against intensive and large-scale dairy farming.