Building scent superpowers in our dog team

13 Mar

Enviro-dynamics’ Fiona ‘Gumboots’ Walsh has spent the past week honing her scent-detection dog training skills, with the goal of advancing critical conservation work in Tasmania.

Attending workshops run by the Australasian Conservation Dog Network, Fiona trained under renowned dog expert Paul Bunker, who has extensive experience in conservation detection work—including training dogs to locate oil spills after environmental disasters.

In 2017, Paul founded Chiron K9, a company dedicated to research and training in conservation and environmental detection. His groundbreaking work has supported initiatives worldwide, ensuring successful deployments of detection dogs for ecological preservation.

For Fiona, whose passion for dogs rivals her love of plants, the week-long training was an invaluable experience.

“I had a brilliant week. The highlight was meeting so many people working in the conservation detection space and spending time with Paul and the dogs—learning the intricacies of scent detection and how these incredible animals work in the field,” she said.

“It was inspiring to see the cutting-edge work being done in the conservation dog world, and I loved making new human and canine friends along the way.”

Later this year, Fiona will put her new skills into action, working with cocker spaniel Myki and handler Lyn as they search for critically endangered orchids. Protecting these rare plants is a vital project for both Enviro-dynamics and the Landscape Recovery Foundation, which continue to lead efforts in habitat restoration and species preservation.

Fiona also has a personal project in mind—training her Yorkshire terrier Rigby to detect threatened plant species. “It’s not exactly a secret,” she jokes, “but I’m definitely giving it a go!”

A big thanks to the Australasian Conservation Dog Network for an incredible week of learning, collaboration, and inspiration!

Pic of Fiona: Wherryman Spaniels