This week I made two major breakthroughs regarding my story on the floods in Piha. First off, I got my hands on a detailed report by the Auckland Council which outlines the likelihood of future floods and potential damage and it also suggests potential strategies to mitigate such damage.
Secondly, I interviewed local Park Ranger Geoff Calvert. The interview went very well as he had a lot of interesting things to say about the topic. At the beginning of the interview, I asked Geoff a couple pre-planned questions to break the ice. After he got warmed up, I found myself speaking very little because I did not want to interrupt Geoffs train of thoughts. Instead, I focused on paying attention to him because it turns out that he had a lot of insightful opinions on the issue.
Towards the end of the interview, I mentioned the Auckland council report and Geoff said that he had read it. I then asked Geoff what he thought about the report and, to put it briefly, he said that he appreciated the council’s interest in the issue but he is skeptical about some of their approaches.
