The man behind Habitat Restorations Aotearoa is Glen Riley, who grew up on an organic market garden near the Kakanui River, something which influenced his later move into conservation.
For more than a decade, Glen and his team have been working closely with farmers, iwi, catchment groups and local and central Government to restore habitats in Otago and beyond.
His nomination cited his knowledge of native plants and their role in riparian areas and his use of long-lasting plant guards which increased survival rates of seedlings and reduced maintenance costs.
As well as planting, the HRA crew undertook weed and pest control, including revolutionary ideas like floating stoat traps and kayaking for willow control to encourage ecosystem-wide restoration that could only happen with native plants, no weeds and no pests.
"By working with local communities, and employing hard working young conservation professionals ... Glen links people and places to nature. He has been resilient, innovative and collaborative in the space of restoring Otago’s habitats," the nomination said.
Providing habitat made Glen feel good and he got a kick out of seeing places where there were healthy plants, plenty of bird life and streams full of fish.
As well as a love of plants and animals, he also enjoyed people and working in restoration allowed him the chance to do things with people where the environment was the main benefactor.
He enjoyed working with catchment groups and supporting farmers. Having grown up amid a horticulture operation, he understood small business and growing food.
HRA could come in and support what a property would benefit from, meaning farmers could concentrate on what they did well and that made real sense in a world where people were increasingly time poor. Everyone wanted the same outcomes, he said.
"We also forget not many of us grow our own food — we need food. I’m really grateful I can eat cheese and drink milk and have an ice-cream ... I also like to swim in the river or kayak in the river without getting sick."
At this point, HRA’s work had been from North Otago to Southland and west to Queenstown and Wānaka.
"Work doesn’t come to us, we go to them. We move wherever we need to. It allows us the chance to see some pretty special places and a lot of variety."
Describing the work as both interesting and rewarding, Glen said the job was not finished, nor would it ever be finished.
"People in conservation often forget, it’s easy to think of things that haven’t been done; we also need to take ownership of what we have done," he said.
He has been instrumental in creating and delivering restoration programmes and outcomes to high profile Otago reserves Penguin Place and Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau Sinclair Wetlands, as well as playing roles in other conservation sites around Aotearoa.
