School trip sparks passion for nature

Like most teenagers, Nate Wilbourne has a hobby. Unlike most teenagers, that hobby is now a total obsession. Adrienne Matthews finds out why this busy Brightwater lad is so passionate about enhancing our environment.

Presenting ideas to an audience can be daunting for most people, but when it is a TEDx stage and will potentially be seen by any number of viewers the world over, a special kind of courage is required.

Brightwater teenager Nate Wilbourne is not short on courage and took on the challenge last year at age fourteen to give his inspiring talk ‘The Importance of Connecting Youth to Nature’, never missing a beat while challenging the audience to understand his love of nature and the need to actively care for it.

At eight years old he planted his first tree. “It was on a school tree-planting trip by a local river that made me realise how much I loved Papatūānuku, the land. It made me think about how exciting it is to do something practical that will help nurture the planet,” he says. “It gave me a personal connection to nature and drove me to explore the importance of us humans behaving in a sustainable way, supporting the planet rather than destroying it.”

By eleven he was trapping predators, and aside from announcing his family’s property was predator-free thanks to his efforts to catch the local rats, he was contacting local councils to encourage trapping in our native reserves.

Two years ago, after time spent exploring the Abel Tasman National Park, Nate searched online for organisations that were involved in protection of the environment and conservation, knowing that it was fast becoming his passion. “I discovered that Forest and Bird have youth branches nationwide which are organisations for young people who want to contribute to protecting and restoring the country’s natural environment and the species that live within it. I became their youngest member and obtained approval to set up a hub in Nelson which now has fifty members aged between fourteen and twentyfive,” he explains.

“We have a leadership team who decide what events we want to hold, such as tree-planting and educational environmental trips. We also participate in community events such as the Moturoa Rabbit Island Community Planting days alongside Whenua Iti Outdoors and the Tasman District Council and work to support other local conservation organisations.”

“These events are a wonderful opportunity for those who are interested in conservation to get together with like-minded people of a similar age and do practical things that will make a positive difference while gaining a range of skills along the way,” he says.

Passionately interested in the way climate change is affecting the planet, Nate also became the under-25 youth representative on the leadership committee of the Nelson-Tasman Climate Forum.

Recently Nate was able to attend a week-long ‘Blake Inspire’ week in the North Island. Established in memory of Sir Peter Blake who was a passionate environmentalist, the organisation offers a range of opportunities for people of all ages who want to increase their knowledge and experience of the natural environment. “I feel so lucky to have had the chance to attend the youth leadership week,” says Nate.

“It was an awesome experience to work alongside trained environmentalists and scientists in different spheres as well as meeting like-minded young people and developing connections that will help in the future.”

“We explored an estuary in Raglan with Niwa scientists and learnt about its history and its health, experienced ecotourism in Rotoroa along amongst a wide range of other activities that gave us insight into the realities of climate change, biodiversity and marine science,” he says.

Just about every day after school and every weekend, Nate can be found engaged in some kind of eco activity. A favourite is helping out the HealthPost Nature Trust in Mohua Golden Bay who have established an eco-sanctuary at Onetahu to restore biodiversity to provide a safe, predator-free place for flora and fauna to flourish. “I have been involved in tree-planting, pest trapping and translocating species,” he says.

“There has been a big problem with wild pigs in the area that create havoc by trampling through the undergrowth and destroying the burrowing area of seabirds. The project has also had us cracking down on all the other predators such as rats, possums and stoats.”

A highlight has been helping with the translocation of over one hundred Fluttering Shearwater (Pakahā) birds to the area, a species endemic to New Zealand. “There is also a plan to bring in Flesh-Footed Shearwater (Toanui) next year, which will be exciting,” he says.

Translocation of birds in New Zealand dates right back to one hundred and fifty years ago when Sir George Grey released kiwi and weka onto Kawau Island. His early efforts were followed much later by numerous nationwide projects undertaken by the Department of Conservation and approved breeders to ensure the survival of threatened species.

“My first ever experience with translocation was several years ago at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary,’ says Nate. “It was incredibly exciting and a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to experience the process of working to save a very rare bird, the orange-fronted parakeet, kākāriki karaka, of which there were then only around three hundred left in the wild.”

“I am looking forward in future to help with the translocation of kiwi, tīeke, pāteke and kākā,” he adds. “One of my most exciting experiences ever was seeing a Kiwi during a night tour of the Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Episode 11 - living locally and working globally — The Nelson Pod

Committed to reducing carbon emissions, Nate works alongside the Tasman District Council on the Streets for People initiative, helping to create a safer environment for cyclists on the roads. “I feel it is so important to get behind such community initiatives that will improve our local environment and hope I can encourage other young people to come on board,” he says.

As if he didn’t have enough already to keep him occupied, Nate was also the organiser of the Nelson School Strike 4 Climate NZ and Fridays for Future NZ events. “I firmly believe our government needs to take more urgent action to get greenhouse gas emissions reduced and work determinedly toward a low-carbon economy,” he says. “Every single thing that is done now has an effect on what New Zealand and the wider world will look like in the future. I don’t want to be living on a planet that has lost its incredible biodiversity and is polluted beyond repair.”

Nate is remarkable in not just the passion he has for the natural environment but also for the amount of practical input he contributes. When he is not studying or contributing out in the field or photographing the natural world, which is another passion, he is working hard to establish connections with like-minded individuals and organisations and taking every opportunity to provide a youth perspective on any of the causes he supports and promotes.

“I’m also pretty busy with communication and social media at a national level with various non-profit organisations that are working toward a better future. All things considered, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be involved in,” says Nate.

Sign up to our newsletter to get the week's top stories from Nelson/Tasman delivered to your inbox each Friday morning.