What are your concerns
and hopes for nature?
Sharing your worries and hopes is powerful. All the stories shared here will become part of the growing conversation about the concerns and hopes for nature of people living in Aotearoa New Zealand. They will be shared* to encourage more people to be brave and speak up for nature.
*Your stories will become part of the collective conversation, and may be moderated and/or edited for brevity before appearing publicly. Stories or parts of stories may be shared in communications materials. Greenpeace believes you have a right to privacy on the web, and your data is safe with us. See our data privacy policy here.
i’m scared about oil exploration restarting. What will happen to the penguins?
I’m concerned about the sustainability of our food production. Soon we’re going to reach a tipping point where we won’t have quality land and soil to grow nutritious food. And clean, fresh, drinkable water will be a thing of the past.
One of the scariest things about the world right now is the terrifying rush to mine the deep Pacific ocean… Surely in the midst of a climate crisis, destroying one of our biggest allies is a terrible idea…
I find it really hard to see what my rural neighbours are doing with their properties. They use poisons just to make nature look tidy; they use animals to keep the grass; there’s a lack of bugs and biodiversity, nowhere for birds to live. They rely on the local forest nearby probably without understanding the benefits of it. They look at our property and think its untidy because the grass is long.
This whakatauki from tangata whenua reflects how I feel:
Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei – Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain….
I think we need to remember we are in it for the long game and aiming for the lofty mountain of a greener more sustainable world. I am frustrated that nature is not being valued in the same way as the built environment but I am not going to bow my head down, I am in for the long game and seeing lots of awesome local initiatives, our local council endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty proposal, repair cafes, sustainability workshops, compost sharing initiatives.
I feel like some people are so willing and easily able to abandon nature in favour of exploiting it. Narratives like “but we need it for X” just seem so backwards and selfish. It really worries me that there isn’t more protection for our environment and the people in charge are corrupt enough not to care
I have grave concerns and I’m worried that individual actions in my daily life, such as separating waste, and considering public transport where appropriate, aren’t enough to protect nature and the environment. I welcome guidance and leadership around real action that can be taken.
The loss of animal species as well as overall animal welfare
In Cambridge, Waipa, the Tree fund is constantly spraying the trees on public spaces without acknowledging the danger that glyphosate and round up products entail for humans, pets and natural life.
Globally we’re facing a choice between planned degrowth and societal collapse. Yet most people I know simply refuse to even talk about it, especially if their lifestyle (consumerism, road trips, flying) is challenged.
When are we all going to realise that Nature is the Essence of our being. “NUTURE NATURE & NATURE WILL NUTURE YOU!!!”
Cleaning up our rivers & lakes so the fish, creatures & plants that once thrived there can return. We must stop putting poison & crap into our waterways … so our tamariki & mokopuna can swim & play in them.
Climate change and the vested interests, including politicians who spot weasel words. I am 82 so unlikely to be really affected but I am very concerned for my whānau and the future of the planet. We are a self absorbed profligate species
I worry that this government is going to undo all the good work that the previous one did. I worry that greed for fossil fuels and so called precious minerals will take priority over the health of our sea beds.
Without a healthy environment, we can’t have a healthy economy. A point ignored by a lot of politicians.
At the same time we’re battling plastic bags and bottles and trying to push back against oil exploration, we’re still surrounded by so much fossil-fuel based plastic. It’s so cheap to create polyester thread that the clothes made of that fabric is generally much cheaper than natural fibre, or processed plant-based fibre like viscose (from bamboo). The answer is not to make plastic based fabric more expensive, which would only further disadvantage those in poverty. The answer is to support non-plastic fabric production so it can compete better on price, and to educate people about the impact of their choices. In the end, people will choose what they can afford, so the ecologically better choices need to be more affordable.
I’m concerned that there is a seemingly infinite supply of money for weapons and yet so little funding to save our planet
My country of origin is Aotearoa.
Living half my life overseas give me a greater appreciation of the beauty of this country.
Sadly, living also in a number of Pacific countries, more threatened by sea level change, I note that there seems very little effort in those nations to fight pollution. Some are floating rubbish dumps!
I’m concerned that people can do stuff like drive down riverbeds, killing the chicks of endangered birds and nobody with any power says “Not Okay, you can’t do that.”
Why do we allow vehicles on our pristine beaches here in the far north I. Go to some amazing beachs no one around stunning surroundings only for the tranquility be destroyed by big four wheel drives tearing up the sand destroying the environment!!!
We hope more more people will realise that we could actually have better, healthier, more joyful lives by connecting with each other, with nature, finding balance, gratitude and joy in the real stuff of life, rather than the distraction, overconsumption and inequality of our culture. Learning to say ‘I have enough’ is key, and then turning outwards to help those who don’t have enough, and outwards to nature which needs our kaitiakitanga and care.
We are not taking care of nature so it is rebell!ng!!!
Lack of regeneration of wetlands, methods of agriculture, rewilding of native forests, deer, possums, predators in forests, seabed trawling, introduced marine pests, greenhouse gasses and fossil fuels, neglect of rail network, freight and passenger services, community siting in unsafe areas, spread of conspiracy misinformation on social media, populist political propaganda, lack of critical thinking/skills, and spread of and succumbing to fear in an increasing number of the population, generally spread over the country.
I’m concerned about the spread of housing developments into greenfields which causes loss of open and natural spaces for our native birds and animals and the need for more cars on the road. Lifestyle blocks pop-up everywhere in our rural areas, instead of building houses for people that have none.
I am so tired of politicians talking on and on about GDP. Endless extraction and consumerism is making our precious precious planet uninhabitable. We need a new vision for what it means to thrive as a country, as a society, as people on Earth.