Alana – Site Manager

How did you come to this job?

I come from a retail back­ground in Ade­laide. I have always had a strong pas­sion for the envi­ron­ment and a love of the ocean. I stud­ied Envi­ron­men­tal Man­age­ment at Ade­laide Uni­ver­si­ty and com­plet­ed a short tour guid­ing course though TAFE.

I need­ed a change in my career and saw the Site Manager’s posi­tion adver­tised – it was my dream job! I was suc­cess­ful in my appli­ca­tion and with­in 2 weeks had moved to Kan­ga­roo Island.

What do you most like about your work?

I love meet­ing new peo­ple, and see­ing their reac­tions when they first see the sea lions. Observ­ing the sea lions and inter­pret­ing their behav­iour to our vis­i­tors is great. I love being around like-mind­ed peo­ple who have a real pas­sion for their work and the environment.

What’s the most amaz­ing thing you’ve seen at work?

I was in the right place at the right time and wit­nessed the birth of a pup. Most peo­ple will only ever see some­thing like that on a nature doc­u­men­tary! It was a very spe­cial moment.

What fas­ci­nates you about the Aus­tralian sea lion?

The Aus­tralian sea lion is one of the rarest seal species in the world. There are still so many things to learn about them; which fas­ci­nates me.

What’s your favourite thing to do in your own time?

I love get­ting out on the ocean with my part­ner, fish­ing and scu­ba div­ing. The waters here are so pristine.