Earth Beat, 19 August 2011. We bring you odd jobs. From being the caretaker of an entire island, to a Buddhist goose-whisperer, and convincing 300 people to interact with the sea in two-and-a-half hours, we look at unusual professions that don’t fit the nine-to-five format.

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The goose man
Trizin Hof is a Dutch Buddhist who loves geese. And he’s made it his life’s work to save them from the gas chamber. He’s set up a sanctuary in the Netherlands that has 250 of them, as well as lots of ducks, pigeons, dogs and forty cats. He gives host Marnie Chesterton a tour and tells her why geese don’t deserve their bad reputation.
Link - Hofganzen website (Dutch only)

Smell hunter
Dr Roman Kaiser (pictured below) has a very sensitive nose. As smell hunter for the famous Swiss parfumier Givaudan, he travelled the world tracking down rare and exotic scents. Marnie met him in his rambling laboratory, where he explained his work.

COMPETITION: Win a unique unisex perfume, mixed by Dr Kaiser. To enter, tell us the oddest job you can think of. Write to us , Twitter or Facebook or use the comment form below.

The mud ship
The JR (or JOIDES Resolution) is a ship. But not any old ship. JOIDES stands for Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling and it travels the oceans collecting mud samples from far below. It might sound a little esoteric, but it’s actually of huge scientific importance, supplying information on the extinction of the dinosaurs to future climate change. Amy Mayer caught a lift as it sailed from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Panama Canal (pictures below).

Life onboard the JR:

Island seeks caretaker
Ian Strange bought New Island in the Falklands more than 40 years ago, with the aim of turning it into a nature reserve. It’s home to thousands of bird species, seals and whales. But although there are just six buildings on the tiny island, Ian says he needs a helping hand to keep it running. He tells Marnie about the ideal candidate for the caretaker position, and why party animals need not apply (more pictures below). Link - New Island Conservation Trust

Best job in the world
From the man looking for an island caretaker, to one who’s been one – and lived to tell the tale. Two years ago, Ben Southall was picked from 34,000 people to do the “best job in the world” – a six month stint as caretaker for a tiny Australian Island on the Great Barrier Reef. But Ben admits it was more lounging around in hammocks than mending broken buildings. Link - Ben Southall's blog

Ben's video application for the job:

Being the sea
There are odd jobs, and then there are odd jobs. What if your job was to convince 300 people over the course of two-and-a-half hours to interact with the sea? And all you have is a plastic chair and a set of headphones. Earth Beat producer Anik See was there to experience it (more pictures below).
Link - SLeM

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