Author: Julie

Today we visited the Te Papa Tongarew Museum. The museum featured exhibits that showed artwork, Māori culture, and New Zealand’s wildlife. I still cannot believe that a museum that nice is completely free. The exhibits with penguins and the native birds was so interesting and highlighted the loss of biodiversity in New Zealand due to…

We toured the sustainability trust today. The sustainability trust has created multiple different programs with the goal of helping the public be more sustainable. For example, they hold repair workshops so that items are repaired and usable again instead of the items going to a landfill. Another project they do is repurposing donated fabric into…

Today we started our day at the Wellington school of architecture. I really enjoyed the first speaker being that he addressed how sustainable practices are often hard to implement and how sustainability can often focus on the wrong issues. Sustainability is often practiced in the wrong ways and greenwashing is what causes people to think…

Today we visited Victoria University of Wellington. We learned about sustainability initiatives that the university is taking. I loved learning about the worm compost bins and seeing it in action. I wish Whittier would do something similar. I also thought that it was cool that the cafes at the school try to only use reusable…

Yesterday morning we toured waimangu volcanic valley. We had a tour guide who guided us through the valley and explained the history of the valley. The valley was once completely devastated by a volcanic explosion. We saw geothermal pools that bubbled due to carbon dioxide and had very high temperatures. I enjoyed hearing the history…

Today we met with the manager of sustainability at Sanford Fishing. During this visit we were able to see the production line and how fish are processed to be sold. We also saw the area where the Sanford Fishing company sells their fish. I thought that the companies plan for climate change and how they…

Today we left early to catch a ferry to Waiheke Island. We started our time on the island by planting Manuka trees on land that is being restored. The land is undergoing a restoration project to transition from farmland to a space with lush native plants. Next we stopped at Mud Brick vineyards where we…

Today, we started our morning by meeting with the director of corporate sustainability for Sky City. Sky City takes multiple approaches to sustainability such as focusing on 5 sustainability pillars. These 5 sustainability pillars include sky cities customers, the community, their employees, suppliers, and the environment. Their 5 pillars of sustainability allow for the company…

Hi, my name is Julie and I will be a senior this upcoming fall. I am an environmental science and environmental studies double major. I am also minoring in public health. I am so excited for the trip! This will be my first time going to New Zealand. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking,…