5 September 2013

New Zealand celebrities pledge for nature

Sam Neill is one of a bunch of Kiwi celebrities who are promising to do their bit to look after our environment and celebrate Conservation Week this year.

He joins TV presenter Matua Parkinson, Black Seeds musicians and Shortland Street actors, with celebrity kākāpō Sirocco, to make his pledge in the short video—What’s your whānau doing?

Sam Neill commits to plant kōwhai at his central Otago vineyard to attract native birds, while Matua Parkinson plans to go pig hunting to keep the forest healthy and put food on the table for his whānau.

“We wanted to go beyond the image of rugged trampers in bush shirts to show how mainstream and cool conservation is,” says DOC communications advisor Siobhan File, who managed the video’s production.

“There are so many ways your whānau can get involved, as our celebrities show. It can be as simple as getting out to a local conservation park or reserve for a picnic or giving a native tree as a gift.”

Filming the people and wildlife that feature in the video at seven locations around the country was fun and at times challenging, says DOC community outreach coordinator and documentary maker Claudia Babirat.

“A funny moment was pitching a tent out the front of the Shortland Street studio in west Auckland to create an impromptu ‘national park’ setting, which turned heads,” says Claudia.

“Sirocco proved the biggest diva when he bit Zealandia Education Manager Brian’s finger, perhaps hinting there were insufficient star treats on offer.”

“I was amazed at how much the celebrities actually knew about conservation, and how enthusiastic they were at being involved,” she adds.

Find out what actor Robyn Malcolm, New Zealand Sevens player Scott Curry and the ‘What Now’ team are doing for Conservation Week. And where ‘Shorty St’ nurse Wendy Cooper and doctor Harper Whitely (aka Jacqueline Nairn and Ria Vandervis) plan to go...

So, what’s your whānau doing?

Register your pledge at conservationweek.org.nz and be in to win a trip for four to Great Barrier Island.

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ENDS

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