Dr Katharina Doehring
Freshwater Ecologist
Role at Cawthron
Dr Katharina (Kati) Doehring is a freshwater ecologist and science communicator who specialises in helping people understand and use freshwater science. Her role is about connecting meaningful science with the people who need it most — local communities, iwi, landowners, practitioners, and decision‑makers.
Kati works with catchment communities to support freshwater restoration and management. Her work is guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi and uses transformative, bottom‑up research approaches, working with communities to co‑design what is important for their catchments. She uses practical storytelling and engagement tools to turn complex ecological information into clear, useful messages that support real‑world action.
Alongside this work, Kati brings strong technical knowledge of freshwater ecology to research and advisory projects. By combining ecological science, mapping and analysis, and clear communication, she helps achieve restoration outcomes that are practical, lasting, and meaningful for people and waterways alike.
Technical skills, experience and interests
- Knowledge transfer and science communication
- Science engagement and co-design with communities
- Storytelling and narrative tools for environmental decision-making
- Freshwater restoration, with a focus on land management impacts
- Native fish ecology
- Fish passage and fish screen assessment, including consenting and re-consenting processes
- Ecological habitat impact assessment
- Spatial mapping and analysis to support freshwater management
Professional affiliations
- President, Science Communicators Association of New Zealand (SCANZ)
- Member, New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society (NZFSS)
- Editorial Board Member, Journal of Science Communication (JCOM)
Qualifications
- PhD (Science Communication), University of Otago, 2024
- MSc (Freshwater Ecology), University of Canterbury, 2009
- BSc (Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning), Technical University of Munich, 2002