Date: 6th August 2024
As a long-time volunteer, an integral member of community conservation group KAPOW and with significant experience in local land restoration, Sararose Brown slots right in as our new Ops Manager.
Sararose’s earliest memory of tree planting goes back to her childhood home in Gisborne. At 8 years old, she planted a kauri tree next to the old kauri cottage where she once lived.
“It’s now a whopper that can be seen from a block or two away. Every now and again it’s nice to go back and visit. It’s like a big old friend,” she says.
While this experience may have planted a seed for conservation, when Sararose initially moved to Queenstown in 1999, it was to fill a placement as a student physiotherapist. However, like many who come here with temporary plans, this place and its landscapes stuck with her. Some 25 years later, she and her family are settled and thriving in Arthur’s Point.
“Spending so much time out in the hills, as Queenstowners do, you develop a real love and connection to these unique landscapes and the specific ecology of this place. That slowly developed into wanting to be part of the story to protect it,” she says.
Her involvement with WRT began with an idea to plant “a few natives” at a neighbouring reserve. With the encouragement of Jo Smith, this soon morphed into a more ambitious planting project under the umbrella of the existing community group KAPOW (Keeping Arthurs Point Original Wildlife. Morningstar Reserve now has 3500 thriving native plants thanks to the commitment and support of the local community over the last six years.
“I’ve been lucky enough to spend time working for Barb and Neill Simpson over the last few years on local restoration sites, which has been a real privilege and a wonderful learning opportunity,” says Sararose.
Sararose is looking forward to furthering this knowledge through her new role, which has been so well looked after by Karen O’Donahoo.
“With voluntary work, you just get snatched moments of time. It’s going to be great to have dedicated time to work with the Trust and the community around it.”
Of course, her practical experience is also going to be helpful for Sararose, who counts potting up seedlings into their planting bags as her favourite job at the nursery.
“It’s nice to know the next step for those plants is to be planted out somewhere around the basin. There’s always good quality chat around the potting table and new people to meet.”
With all the support she has received from the Trust with her work through KAPOW, Sararose also hopes to be able to extend that support to others through her new role.
“I think the vision of the Trust is really clear and I’ll be working really hard to carry out that vision. I’m keen to keep connecting and building on the great partnerships the Trust already has. And of course, I’ll be focused on getting plants in the ground, growing those important keystone sites and supporting other communities like ourselves, so that they can be empowered to look after their own neighbourhoods.”
What’s your favourite keystone site?
“Lake Hayes South. I just love visiting it with the kids on a bike ride in summer and going for a swim around the corner. The growth there seems particularly amazing and you see different plants establishing there, like the kahikatea.”
Who’s getting your vote for Bird of the Year?
“The Banded Dotterel will have my vote this year. It could certainly do with a helping hand and they have the cutest ever chicks…”
And what’s your favourite native plant?
“This is ever-changing, with a new one every season. A current fave is Clematis paniculata – in spring I love seeing the clusters of white flowers up in the trees around Sunshine Bay and along the Glenorchy road.”
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