Our story

We're weaving a sustainable future together — one thread at a time.

We are passionate about achieving positive outcomes for people and the planet.

Founded in 2011, our journey began with a vision to enhance the natural world, lower carbon emissions for businesses, and support resilient communities. Since then, we have worked with communities, businesses, councils, and NGOs across Aotearoa to catalyse ideas for a more sustainable future.

Our talented team works across the sustainability spectrum. We are experts in carbon reduction and offsets, bio-energy, waste minimisation, biodiversity, restoration, integrated land use, and community development.

We work alongside communities to help them enhance their place. Together, we bring vision and leadership to every stage of the projects we work on.

Our Work

Our team

Liz Sherwood

Liz joined us in 2019 as a writer and project coordinator, applying her skills and 17 years of experience in conservation communications, community engagement, and ecology to The Halo Project, Predator Free Dunedin and drone seedpod trials. Liz has a Master’s degree...

Solis Norton

Solis recently joined our food, farms and climate team to work at integrating productivity, sustainability, resilience and adaptation to a changing climate. He brings two contrasting skillsets, one embedded in post-growth and resource depletion theory and application,...

Jacinta Steeds

Jacinta joined us this year to lead communications and monitoring for Predator Free Dunedin. Her love of the environment comes from her childhood. But her passion for creating conservation and environmental content comes from studying ecology and botany, at the...

Our people

Whirika is derived from the word ‘whiri’ — the plaited foundation of a kete used to combine different strands together – thick, thin, wide or narrow.

It represents the role we play in projects and the type of work we strive to deliver. Collaborative, strong, interwoven.

Our logo takes inspiration from the whiri whilst including environmental references to represent the work we do. These shapes represent land and water, mountains and sea, and the coming together of various entities and groups towards a shared goal.

Our values

Mana

We acknowledge the mana of all living beings and of Te Taiao.

Mauri

We strive to enhance the life force of the environment by helping to rebalance nature.

Aroha

We care for each other and for the planet, and we are optimistic about the future.

Mauitaka

We are innovative, creative and forward thinking, and we apply this approach to our work.

Mahi Tahi

We believe in working collaboratively, giving back and achieving positive outcomes for all.