Forest & Bird Youth's powerhouse, Rewa Gebbie

Rewa Gebbie is leader for Forest & Bird Youth's Ōtautahi Christchurch Hub and on the national committee. Rewa is an all-rounder in conservation and advocacy, and helps organise and share local events and activities, alongside studying towards her master's degree. She describes herself as a life-long learner, always keen to find out more about nature and the people who protect and restore it.

Rewa talks to us about her first memory of nature, trapping and making the planet happy.

What’s your story Rewa? What’s your whakapapa and what has your life journey been?

I grew up in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington and was fortunate enough to live close by native bush so native birds and plants have always been a part of my life. My family comes from England, Scotland, and Guyana, but Aotearoa has been our home for a long time. 

I’m currently working towards my master's in microbiology in Ōtautahi Christchurch after finishing my Bachelor of Science in 2023. While I have a background in science and biology, it's not geared towards environmental knowledge. Fortunately, I’m constantly learning about conservation and how it fits into my areas of interest from my colleagues in Forest & Bird Youth. I did my undergraduate degree in three different cities in Aotearoa, allowing me to experience different environments around the motu, as well as meet people living there and learn about the things they do for nature. Aotearoa is quite diverse in terms of the biomes we have so it’s been exciting to learn more about nature with each city I visit or live in.

Rewa Gebbie on a boardwalk, Mount Somers Track, Canterbury.

What is your first memory of nature? How did you first get involved with environmental work?

My parents were always in the garden and had friends in different types of outdoor work. As a kid I thought it was cool to see all the different ways you can work in nature – and they always shared fun facts with me. One family friend works on trap lines across the country, and he would always tell me about the animals he was targeting and the different techniques for monitoring and trapping. I loved learning more about trapping every time he visited. 

My first proper hands-on conservation experience would have been in my first year of university where I volunteered with Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington trapping group. I decided that I’d done enough listening about trapping and I should give it a go. Now I'm living in Ōtautahi Christchurch trapping is still important to me, and there are different ways I’ve gotten involved with it.

When did Forest & Bird Youth enter your radar? When did you become a Hub Leader?

Both happened at the same time! I found out about Forest & Bird Youth through social media, they were looking for leaders and I was looking for ways to spend my time that would make me and the planet happy, so I applied straight away. That was at the start of 2023.

You are a Leader in Ōtautahi Christchurch Hub of Forest & Bird Youth – what is your role and vision for the Hub?

I manage our social media, but I also have a hand in planning what we do in the Hub and how it gets done. My vision for the Ōtautahi Christchurch Hub is that youth will have the opportunity to spend time in and around native flora and fauna, like I did, and value their time working on an environmental project. I hope that this makes youth appreciate their own local conservation work more, knowing it's part of a bigger picture.  

Forest and Bird Youth is unique because we are all connected across the motu. I’m part of the Forest & Bird Youth national committee, which keeps the different hubs connected and constantly talking about what we are doing and how we can work together. There is regular communication between and beyond our Hubs, which means the volunteers have a deeper sense of their local communities and the value of grassroots action. The actions we each take inspire other groups to do similar things or give rise to nationwide collaborations through the national Communication and Campaign Hubs.

Rewa Gebbie (fourth from left) with her Forest & Bird Youth Ōtautahi Christchurch Hub colleagues at a tree planting.

What do you think is the biggest environmental priority for rangatahi young people today?

I think it depends on the young person! We have a wide range of interests because we come from a diverse range of backgrounds. They’re all intwined but my focus is firmly fixed on habitat destruction and how we can live together with nature, only taking up as much space as we need and restoring habitats to how they should be.

What have been your personal challenges in environment and sustainability as a rangatahi young person?

Sometimes it’s challenging to find the time to go and get something done outside in nature. We have regular events that I commit to going to – which always reminds me that it’s worth it – but when university and life get busy, finding the motivation to break out of study mode and go outside is sometimes difficult. I just have to remind myself how rewarding that work is.