Geoff Button, instilling a love of learning, and a love of the land
Meet Geoff Button, a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the guiding and guide training industry. As the lead tutor of the Trainee Ranger Programme at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Geoff brings a wealth of knowledge and a holistic approach to fostering rewarding outdoor experiences in New Zealand. With a BSc […]
Conservation Hero Cam Speedy
Cam Speedy wants to equip volunteers with the knowledge and expertise needed to engage in successful predator control. He envisages a future of smart, connected people, all working together to hold the line against invasive species. Cam Speedy is a highly experienced freelance wildlife biologist and predator control specialist based in the Central North Island. […]
Conservation hero: Chris Palzer
Chris Palzer’s ambitious aim is to make Aoteareoa predator-free by 2050. She’s begun the mahi by focusing on her own backyard, with the Mārahau Halo Trapping Project. Chris has lived in Mārahau since she was three years old. Her parents moved onto their property in 1993 and transformed it from gorse-covered hills to the biodiverse haven […]
Conservation hero: Gavin O’Donnell
Former Tasman Environmental Trust (TET) board member Gavin O’Donnell is now in the process of a lifestyle change. Having been in farming and agriculture all his working life, Gavin and his wife Sue are now living on a section in Havelock, and reorganising their lives for retirement. “It’s a life transition,” Gavin says, “Something that […]
Conservation Heroes: Salisbury School
Salisbury School in Richmond has been supporting environmental restoration in Nelson Tasman for decades—propagating, growing and donating native plants; landscaping its premises; and supplying eco-sourced seeds. Salisbury’s nursery has provided plants for both TET’s Waimea Inlet Restoration Partnership and Battle for the Banded Rail initiatives. Which is why, as far as we’re concerned, the entire […]
Conservation heroes: Fiona del Bosco and Alastair Wilkinson
Fiona del Bosco and Alastair Wilkinson own Lancewood Villa, an eco-retreat in the Upper Moutere. They’re in the process of converting eight of their 12.5 hectares into native plantings—and all without using sprays. Where are you both from originally? Fiona: I grew up in Richmond and went to Richmond School, Henley School, Waimea Intermediate, Waimea […]
Conservation Hero: Gillian Bishop, QSM
Over the last 20 years, TET’s chair Gillian Bishop has been a Waimeha/Waimea Inlet conservation pioneer and force of nature. Her achievements were recognised in 2020 with the Queen’s Service Medal. We asked Gillian to share her story as our inaugural Conservation Hero. What’s your background? My career has been in the health sector in […]