Photo: Luca Calderone | Unsplash
Having a 500-year vision does not seem daunting to Zealandia's conservation team, given that their primary stakeholders often live a thousand years. Zealandia is an eco-sanctuary in New Zealand's capital Wellington -- home to, among many others, native rt trees, which can live up to thousand years, and to over 40 native bird species and dozens of endangered reptiles and invertebrates. The fences around the 225-hectare land keep out the predators and allow bio-diversity to thrive and almost extinct species to spring back to life. Having such a sanctuary within the city limits promotes an inclusive vision of nature and means that the whole community is invested in the conservation efforts. Support includes planting native trees, mending the fencing, feeding birds and trapping predators in a responsible manner. The people of Wellington do complain about the raucous calls of the t, a native honeyeater and the home-destroying propensities of the kk, an at-risk parrot, but are learning valuable lessons on co-existence and how to interact with nature. For it to be enduring, we have to get people involved and committed to an intergenerational view, where we are stewards and not owners," said Paul Atkins, Zealandia's chief executive.
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