Jonty

“When I was five, my family left England on a boat, and over the next three years, we sailed around the world before arriving in New Zealand. We checked out all these awesome locations, the Galapagos Islands, Palmerston Atoll, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama Canal. Alongside that, we had all these books about animals. Travelling with […]

Hana

“I’ve been involved in Te Ahu Pātiki (Conservation Park) since before its inception, but I’ve only been formally on the board since 2022. The founding board members wanted me to go on for quite a while, but my life was pretty busy; I didn’t feel like I could give it what it needed. I represent […]

‘Weedy’ Will

“I’m an amateur botanist. It’s definitely my passion. I grew up in Halswell. This place [Ngā Puna Wai] is like my second home. I spend so much time here weeding and planting and walking the dogs and whatnot, all the planting I do here is sanctioned. I did start out guerrilla planting, I was working […]

Michael

“I’m a good worker. I love working here. (Bottle Lake Forest). I like the guys working here.  We’ve done an excellent job.  I come out here once a week. Wednesday. I’ve been coming for 30 years.  I love mulching. And the van gets a clean aye Tess? I love it, I do love it. Keeps […]

Przemek

“It’s a consistency in my life, going to the mountains and exploring. I grew up in the Carpathian Mountains and one of the most spectacular national parks in Poland – Tatra National Park – is not far so I could go just for a day trip. I loved just going for long walks in those […]

Taylor

“After the earthquakes, I was a bit of a menace as a teenager. I wasn’t as self-aware as I am now about what exactly I was struggling with but I just knew that I was really, really sensitive to what was going on around me. I used to go to Travis Wetland when I felt […]

Bex

“I lost my hair in 2017 and I moved here (Diamond Harbour) that same year. I didn’t realize I was having a mental breakdown until I discovered my physical breakdown. Before, my hair was down to my bum, beautiful, long, dead-straight. At first I was hoping it was ringworm because I’ve been volunteering with Cat […]

Warren

 “I always had a love of the outdoors so right from school I started as an apprentice in the Botanic Gardens. I used to see the rangers going around and I thought; those guys had a great job. I joined the Police and I thought if I like it I’ll stay, and if I don’t, […]

Maria

“It started about nine years ago alongside my kids. There was a swan plant at our playcentre and I thought it was amazing that anyone could purchase a plant and see this miraculous life cycle of a butterfly happening in their own garden. I realised how much joy, wonderment and magic my children got out […]