Whilst working for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Craig held a number of roles which included fisheries negotiation, environmental policy and research, environmental advice, programme leader – environment and as a project manager for freshwater strategy development. He has also worked for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority as a Senior Advisor in Strategy and Planning and as a Māori Researcher for Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research.

Craig’s technical expertise is complemented by a range of Governance roles for both iwi and community organisations. These roles include being a steering committee member of Ngā Aho Incorporated (a national network of Māori design and planning professionals), a member of the Aoraki Bound Advisory Group and the Te Taumutu Rūnanga Kaitiakitanga Committee. Craig was also a former member of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy Christchurch West Melton and Regional Zone Committees and the Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) Management Board and Co-Governance Group.

Professor George Perry completed undergraduate and Masters studies in the Departments of Geography and Plant and Microbial Sciences at the University of Canterbury, before doing a PhD at the University of Melbourne. He worked in the Department of Geography at King's College London for four years before moving to the School of Environment at the University of Auckland where he teaches the broad areas of terrestrial ecology, environmental change and associated quantitative methods.

George is interested in the dynamics of forest ecosystems at spatial scales from the population to the landscape and at temporal scales from decades to millennia. His current research is primarily focused on understanding the effects of humans on forest ecosystems and he is a collaborator on two projects focused on developing socio-ecological simulation models to support decision-making for ecosystem services and conservation in multi-functional landscapes. He has conducted research in ecosystems in SW Australia, Spain, and New Caledonia. 

Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū/Banks Peninsula has a rich whakapapa which is a part of Yvette Couch-Lewis, who lives at Rapaki, her ancestral home within Whakaraupō. Yvette’s knowledge as kaitiaki has been from learning and being supported by her elders to work across the environment community. With experience in restoration, water quality, and her passion, tāonga species, Yvette represents her hapū, Ngāti Wheke and iwi, Ngāi Tahu at a variety of local, regional and national levels. As an RMA Hearing Commissioner and a board ministerial advisor. Yvette is passionate and committed to ensuring that the voice of kaitiaki is heard at the decision-making table.

Nicola Toki is DOC’s Threatened Species Ambassador. With an extensive career in conservation, Nic’s mission as Threatened Species Ambassador is to advocate for our threatened native plants and animals. Day to day, she’s also on the senior leadership team for the Biodiversity Group in DOC. Nic believes that, while New Zealanders’ sense of self-definition is heavily bound up with the love of the natural world, there is a disconnect between what we think and what is really happening out there. She always has her hero, David Attenborough’s, mantra in the back of her mind: “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no-one will care about what they have never experienced.”