Lynn Freeman has been a Zealandia volunteer for many years and is our most recent recipient of our Faye Schaef Award. This award is given to a volunteer who exhibits kindness, generosity, modesty, dedication, friendliness and approachability. She is a staunch advocate for Zealandia and wildlife and is a true asset to our community. Read on to find out more about her volunteer journey.

Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne relies heavily on our amazing community of volunteers. Our volunteers help us with a wide range of tasks and activities. They come from all walks of life and are passionate supporters of the work we do. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them.

ZEALANDIA is proud to work with the Department of Conservation Takahē Recovery Programme which aims to boost takahē numbers living in their natural habitats, and for the species to be treasured as a national icon.

Our volunteer programme is now open to new volunteers, and we are recruiting to fill a variety of exciting volunteer roles. They are particularly suited to volunteers who may be looking to provide a longer-term commitment, ideally a minimum of six months. You must be over 18 years of age, and acceptance is dependent on a satisfactory police check. Check out the roles here! 

My blinkers have been removed.  

Until recently, my love for and commitment to Zealandia has largely been focused inside the fence. Sure, I knew about the halo effect: how kākā are now all over Wellington, how tīeke are nesting in Polhill Gully, how kererū and kākāriki frequent Karori, how tūī are a common sight and sound in our gardens. 

And I had heard of Sanctuary to Sea, with a vague understanding that it was about the Kaiwharawhara Stream. 

Now that my blinkers are off, a whole new perspective has opened up for me. With the Sanctuary to Sea project, Zealandia’s ‘Living with Nature’ kaupapa has embraced an aspirational and transformative focus beyond the fence. 

Student Volunteer Week, 1-7 April 2019, celebrates and recognises the contributions of young people taking their future into their own hands. 
 
The focus in 2019 is Kaitiakitanga, the guardianship of our environment. Student volunteers are instrumental to this guardianship and are at the forefront of advocating for environmental protection and carbon neutrality. 

Alison and Michael Hamilton were recipients of the 2018 Faye Schaef award for ZEALANDIA volunteers. This award was given in recognition of their work and dedication over the last decade, in which time they’ve done a range of volunteering activities from hihi feeding to mouse audits to being part of the transect team.

I met up with Alison and Michael recently to talk about why they volunteer as much as they do and what keeps them coming back.

“HOLD ON!”

Gripping on for dear life with one hand, camera in the other, as our jeep reversed at speed on a rocky track, hoping for a close encounter with a tiger in India recently - I suddenly thought of ZEALANDIA’s night tours, and how much visitors desperately want to see kiwi.

When Lynn Freeman is not hard at work in the Radio New Zealand studios, she can often be found in ZEALANDIA, which she describes as her “happy place”, a place where she can get away from the stresses of work, take a walk and listen to the birds.

Michael McBryde, Paul Kitteridge, Ian Appleton and Alan Perry call themselves the ‘road gang’. They are members of ZEALANDIA’s Wednesday working group – a group that meets every Wednesday morning  to carry out a wide range of maintenance tasks.