Author: Alejandra

Today we visited the Te Papa museum in Wellington. Te Papa means our place which is appropriate because the museum offers 5 floors of New Zealand history. The museum features some stunning and interactive exhibits such as, the earthquake simulator, the exhibit about native New Zealand birds, and the Mare. The museum is free for…

Today we met with the sustainability manager at the Sustainability Trust in Wellington. They have many different projects that not only meet some of the sustainability development goals but also support people in Wellington with housing needs. Their curtain bank projects encourages citizens and big companies to donate their curtains when they feel that they’ve…

The various professors at the school of architecture showed us how they teach sustainability in their classrooms. I though it was very cool how one of the professors made an assignment for their students to make a stable chair out of cardboard. This encouraged the students to use materials that are easily available to them…

Today we sat down with some of the sustainability advisors of the Tourism Industry Aotearoa. This group works as an intermediary between the government and their 1600 members. Their members consist of small business and big companies. Their latest campaign has split the industry into four different sectors and have created 12 total goals that…

Victoria University: Today we visited Victoria University and spoke to two of the staff on sustainability. Andrew Wilks spoke to us about the different factors and challenges that the university took into consideration when attempting to be sustainable. One of the main challenges was finding ways to have keep students engaged in keeping sustainable habits…

Waimangu Volcanic Valley: We got to see a valley that was created after a volcanic explosion in 1886. The land is protected and Māori owned. It was very interesting to see how the land is growing back on its own. It’s a glimpse to the beginning of the world. The geothermal springs of the valley…

Sanford & Sons Fishing: Today we spoke to the GM of sustainability for the oldest business of New Zealand: Sanford & Sons Fishing. I was impressed with how proactive and transparent they were with their sustainability methods. He spoke about the company pulled their mussels out of the water because there was a toxin being…

Ferry: We took a ferry from Auckland City to Waiheke Island. On the way we got to see a lot of the smaller island that surround the mainland. This includes seeing all of the lush greenery of the islands. Wetlands/Sustainability Center: We had the opportunity to plant shrubbery in the wetlands of Waiheke today. Our…

Sky City: It was very nice to meet the Sustainability Director of Sky City and learn about the hotel’s efforts to be sustainable. I was most interested in learning about their “host responsibility”. The casino staff are trained to check in on their guests in an effort to prevent gambling addictions. We had the afternoon…

Hello, I’m Alejandra! I’m a rising senior English major and Business minor. This is my first time going to New Zealand and I’m very excited. Here is a picture of me: