Living and working where we do, we can’t help but want to give back to the natural world around us. Donovan Group’s operational centre and head office is in Whangārei, a coastal city in the northern part of Aotearoa New Zealand, with a second office in New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland. We live and breathe in one of the most beautiful and unique environments in the world.
New Zealand is an island nation, home to the fourth largest ocean space in the world with a rare and unique ecology. Isolated by many hundreds of miles of ocean from neighbours, it is home to around 80,000 species of native birds, animals, plants, and fungi. We have 425,000 kilometres of rivers and streams, and almost 4,000 lakes. Both Whangārei and Auckland are maritime cities. Auckland sits within the Hauraki Gulf, home to more than 50 islands with beautiful bays. Likewise, Whangarei is just a short boat trip from the Poor Knights marine reserve and the Bay of Islands.
While we have the privilege to enjoy this natural beauty, we also urgently need to step up to our responsibilities as guardians, by protecting life above and below the waterline, to ensure a healthy future for all.
Recently Donovan Group partnered with Live Ocean Foundation. We sought out this group because they work alongside exceptional New Zealand marine scientists, innovators and communicators to scale up action for a healthy ocean. With Live Ocean Foundation as an example, we are supporting our staff to get out and take part in local environmental initiatives.
These are generally local events that take place near our homes or workplaces. They can include beach clean-ups where we remove rubbish from our beaches and coastlines. Weeding bees, where we take away pest species to help improve the health of our waterways. And pest control – there are many community groups in both Whangarei and Auckland working to control rats, mice, stoats and possums in order to ensure that native birdlife can flourish.
Not only are these activities helping us to connect with and care for the natural environment, but they are also great for our mental health. They are a way of meeting and interacting with other like-minded people in our neighbourhood. They get us out doing physical work in the fresh air. And they make us feel positive about the future because we are making a difference.
Thank you to everyone at Donovan Group that has taken part so far.