Two senior officers from the National Environment Service (NES), Benjamin Maxwell and Mathew Rima, are among four staff members who recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Environmental Management and Sustainability from Newcastle University.

Their achievement is not only a personal milestone but also a major boost to the technical capability of NES as it expands into new and increasingly complex areas of environmental science.

The two men, both long-serving public servants, described the challenges and triumphs of completing a significant online course while juggling full-time work, family commitments, and community responsibilities.

For Benjamin Maxwell, who has served in the NES for 14 years, the experience was a transformative one.

“For me, completing this postgraduate certificate under the Environmental Management and Sustainability, it actually gave us a broader scope in terms of the work that we carry out here at National Environment Service,” he said.

Maxwell works in the Environmental Compliance Division and sees the qualification as not just an academic achievement, but also a practical asset that enhances the team’s ability to assess and manage projects across the Cook Islands.

“The course covered areas like biodiversity, ecosystem health, marine ecology, climate change policies, even the legal aspects around environmental management and going into conservation managing environmental programs.”

He said the programme had helped him better understand the complex interrelationships between ecosystems and human activities, and how that insight can guide more informed, sustainable decision-making.

The course was completed in under a year by most of the graduates, including Maxwell and Rima.

This feat was made more impressive by the fact that all four students were working full-time in demanding roles.

“Our team here at NES, I reckon working first, and then going to do tertiary studies is the key,” said Maxwell.

“Because we're working here, we already have the information, we're already seeing issues that are occurring here in the Cook Islands, putting all that information together to actually help us through this whole course.”

Support from fellow graduates played a big part in their success. “Having other graduates working here too as well was pretty helpful in terms of formatting some of the essays, writing that we have done. So their assistance was also amazing.”

For Mathew Rima, the path to graduation was not straightforward. He spoke candidly about the pressures of balancing multiple roles.

“I didn't think I'd get through it, it was just overwhelming with the workload we had to put in,” Rima said.

“It was like long hours, but I think with just the help of friends and family, they got us through this whole year.”

Rima, who has worked in the environmental sector for 12 years, previously held positions in television and public health before finding his passion in environmental work. The course gave him his first opportunity to gain formal qualifications in the field.

“Last year was full-on. We had to balance our work with studies, as well as our normal 8 to 4 jobs, and then our other responsibilities with family and community. But for myself, the experience was just full-on, but at the same time, I was learning things.”

Like Maxwell, Rima found that the knowledge he gained was directly applicable to his work.

“I think my scope of work now has kind of expanded more in my field of work, and I understand more the quality that we need to provide for our people, as well as for our partners overseas.”

The online nature of the course presented its own set of challenges. With a time difference that meant live Zoom sessions often began at midnight Cook Islands time, the group had to adjust their schedules and stay highly disciplined.

“There is a requirement to have two hours per day, ten hours a week for the course. But if you skip a day, it doubles,” Rima explained.

“At first, when I started, the course reading was a bit overwhelming. So at times I was like, ah, I'll skip today… but you have to stay on top of it.”

Even so, he praised Newcastle University staff for their understanding.

“The people, the tutors, coordinators, they're pretty understanding. We did explain to them that we're a day behind so all the due dates that they have on the courses, we have to submit a day earlier… sometimes we’re up late midnight.”

A strong support system was key to their success according to Rima.

“We were lucky, fortunate for us, we had our team together, and we just helped each other, you know, pull together. If we're down in some areas, we just support and that's the good thing about our team, we supported each other throughout the whole year,” he said.

He also credited NES Director Halatoa Fua for his encouragement and leadership. “Fortunate for Halatoa, he kept pushing us and it was because of him, we actually got along the same. Without his push, I don't think we would finish this paper.”

The initiative is part of NES’s broader strategy to build scientific capacity within the agency. “When the opportunity came out and we got accepted into Newcastle University, it was amazing,” Rima said.

The postgraduate qualification has not gone unnoticed within NES. Both men have now been appointed to the organisation’s science and technical team.

“Yes, we're part of our science and technical team now. After graduating from Newcastle, we've been contributing to our technical team here at NES,” said Rima.

“This will help us to balance the way decisions are made and with the background we now have, with these credentials, we kind of have a say. And our assessment does have relevance to what we want.”

Looking ahead, the journey is not over. Maxwell has already enrolled in a Master’s programme, following in the footsteps of his colleagues.

“Ben's coming in on another paper and I'll probably jump on the next semester,” Rima said. “But everyone’s doing the same. Him, Halatoa and Kura… I thought I'd get a break because it is a bit overwhelming in some ways.”

Rima had a special message for those who might be hesitant to take on further study.

“Can I just say, just because the challenges of the girls you face doing this is kind of hard. But then you have your family support and without that, I don't think we've got to go through a day.”

He added, “I even had doubters about me drawing this paper. You've got your friends and your family like, going oh, why are you doing this? Why? You’re too old for it. Time's gone. But I actually did it within one year, which is kind of surprising to me.”

He encouraged young Cook Islanders to consider online study.

“Even if you're just staying and doing nothing, get online and look for a good education.”

“I got relieved when I finished the day. Then three months later, I got my paper. I received it in email and just three months later, I'm still buzzing… I'm like, man, I've done so much work, but I've never got a real good paper like this.”