People

When asked what his role is Nicholas likes to call himself a “community troublemaker.” It is a title that fits him aptly as he steps into many roles that others in the church avoid, as where he challenges others to follow in mission. He has spent over a decade working for a trade union and has served two terms as an elected member of the Upper Harbour Local Board of Auckland Council. He founded the Upper Waitematā Ecology Network, runs an ecological restoration project in Unsworth Reserve for the Auckland local group of A Rocha Aotearoa, and grows a couple thousand native seedlings in his backyard.

Helen Bathurst is a long-time member of A Rocha’s Wellington Local Group and captures the history and events of the local group through stories.

Richard Rhoades heads up the Waiu Wetland restoration project for A Rocha’s Wellington local group. He attends Hutt City Baptist Church and recruits lots of volunteers from the church to help out at this restoration site.

Richard Noble has been an active supporter of A Rocha Aotearoa NZ since 2007. During that time he has regularly joined in the restoration project at Ōwhiro Stream in Wellington, the regional A Rocha project at Swampy Gully in Battle Hill Farm Forest Park, and the annual eco-retreat at Our Lady of the Southern Star Monastery at Kopua in Hawke’s Bay. Richard has also had the privilege of visiting the A Rocha field centres in Kenya (three times), Portugal, and France, an experience he would highly recommend to others.

Val has a dynamic personality and great big hugs. Her passion for outdoor education began at 8 when a chickadee ate seeds from her hands on a school trip in her native Canada. Val has been providing similar experiences for others for over 20 years. When she isn’t in Raglan, she is probably in the Antarctic guiding, kayaking, SUP, and hiking.

Ngāti Ruanui, Terence’s maunga is Taranaki although he now finds himself restoring a bit of land on the lower slopes of Karioi. Terence’s interests lie with native plants, rongoā, predator control, and te reo Māori. He’s also a small business owner, a carer, and a hunter-gatherer for kai moana and kai ngahere.