Ms Patrick worked for DOC for 10 years. She's now the Green Party candidate for the Whanganui Electorate and loves the conservation policy it announced on August 1.
The party aims to double funding for DOC and within five years have twice as many rangers working in the field. It said the National Government has cut the jobs of about 200 frontline rangers since it took office.
The Greens also want to double funding for pest control, with some coming from a $20 levy on tourists.
The National-led government's May budget put an extra $108 million into conservation - but much of that was for tourist infrastructure.
Facilities such as toilets on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing are necessary to protect the land - but tourism shouldn't be the main driver of conservation, Ms Patrick said.
"It should be more about biodiversity and the experience of nature for New Zealanders."
It's hard to know whether governments are cutting funding for conservation, because much of it can be capital spending. Ms Patrick said there has been some "smoke and mirrors" along the way.
"The frontline conservation delivery by rangers has not kept pace with inflation."
At one restructure the public was told administration jobs were being cut. Those jobs were programme manager jobs, and Ms Patrick said they were not administrative.
"Those people spent time in the field and did all the operational planning. They were vital."
Under Green Party policy, DOC would also resume its role of advocating for the environment. In recent years it has refrained from making submissions on major developments such as seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight.
It's Ms Patrick's impression that DOC has been under the direction of the growth-focused government.
"This agency is now being charged with thinking about impacts on economic growth.
"Their job is to consider what they have been set up to do, and that's preservation, protection and advocacy."