You know, special things can happen when you step outside the norm and try new things… and that is exactly what happened for us last week in the form of Ruud Kleinpaste joining us for an ‘in the office’ picnic.
We met Ruud recently when he agreed to assist us on the night of fundraising event when we raised research funds to save NZ endangered native frogs. He threw himself into the event with an infectious zest that we seldom see in people [but have witnessed on the telly as the Bug Man turned us on to creepy crawlies] so – to thank him, we invited Ruud to lunch.
The key reason was to thank him – BUT we had a secret agenda too; to be exposed to another deluge of Kleinpaste ‘views of the world’ and to have our minds taken out of the recruitment stuff we are so fully occupied by and allow ourselves to be energised by someone who quite simply, loves what he does every day.
Loves it. No doubt about it. Loves it.
This is a person that when he travels, takes at least 40kg of gear with him so he is ready for every bug opportunity; nets, torches, jars, pins – they are all in the luggage.
We asked Ruud the question he has probably been asked ad-infinitium; “What is it that fires you up?”
His response, “I love my job because it’s my hobby. I’m up at 7am every day and on the computer and working by 7.10am. I only take on jobs that I really enjoy doing and I love telling stories.”
Did you know…
- Ruud has never done a formal entomological exam in his life? Yet he lectures in the topic? True.
- His real passion is birds? True.
- That 80% of biodiversity is smaller than the eye can see? True…[and slightly disconcerting!]
And Ruud has heroes in his life like:
- E. O. Wilson; an American biologist, researcher (sociobiology, biodiversity), theorist (consilience, biophilia), and naturalist (conservationism) whose biological specialty is myrmecology (ants)
- David Attenborough; broadcaster and naturalist.
- May Berenbaum; a noted entomologist and likes to show there’s a fun and even freaky side of life with insects.
And true to form, Ruud was keen to share some other insights as well, like the ‘Ruud facts behind global warming’, why ‘road kill’ disappears and why we are scared of bugs.
Perhaps though, the ‘ah ha’ moment was when we were introduced to the notion of … Perkonomics. [You read it here first.]
Perhaps best to not say too much more on that topic here because… plans are hatching.
So after sammies, drinks, strawberries and watermelon – and wandering over a huge range of topics and provocative ideas – we decided Ruud Kleinpaste was like a hurricane of fresh air in the office. Just the kind of Bug we’d love to have a picnic with every week!
