Nature lover Sarah Sickorez establishes new Forest & Bird Youth Hub

Sarah Sickorez is a leader in the new Te Matau-a-Māui Hawkes Bay Hub of Forest & Bird Youth. Sarah's interest in nature was sparked by her visits to zoos, and a nature and science museum, in Texas. Then – when she moved half-way across the world to Aotearoa – she fell in love with the flora and fauna in her new home country, and resolved to do what she can to protect and restore it.

Sarah talks to us getting involved with local conservation groups, setting up a new Youth Hub, and the projects the Hub is busy establishing (such as insect hotels!).

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

I was born in the United States of America, but my family moved to Hawke’s Bay, Aotearoa New Zealand when I was eleven years old. 

I was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia as a child. Due to my ADHD, I have often found it challenging to fit in and have struggled with school due to my learning differences. I found solace in learning about nature and science – there was just something about the natural world that captured my attention and imagination from a young age. I loved, and continue to love, learning about different species of plants, animals, and fungi, and how everything in an ecosystem interacts with one another. 

As I learned about the environmental issues effecting the planet, such as pollution and climate change, I felt a lot of fear and anxiety about how it would effect my future as well as the world other people my age – and future generations – will grow up in. 

I felt really overwhelmed, but also that I needed to do something about this. I felt it was my responsibility to do my part in helping to make this world a better place and help deal with these environmental issues that will effect our entire planet. I have cared about human rights and environmental conservation for as long as I can remember.

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

From a young age I developed a love of animals, plants, and fungi. I was always curious about how the world functioned and wanted to learn as much as possible about nature and science. I loved going to the zoo and learning about the different animals there. 

I also remember going to the nature & science museum (in Dallas, Texas, USA) near where I lived and learning about extinct species and how the Earth used to look. It always fascinated me, but it also filled me with sadness when I thought about what it would be like for some of the currently endangered species to go extinct, just like the dodo or giant ground sloth have. 

The idea of an animal like the polar bear or elephant seal going extinct rattled me to my core. I knew I couldn’t just stand by and let something like that happen in my lifetime. 

Learning about plastic and air pollution only solidified my belief that I needed to at least try and do something to help – even though I felt like there wasn’t much that I could do as an individual, I still wanted to help. 

When I moved to Aotearoa, I fell in love with the native wildlife and found New Zealand’s ecosystems and the way everything in the environment interacts with one another very fascinating. When I learned about the environmental issues New Zealand faces, it further fuelled my passion to restore and protect our environment. So much of the incredible flora and fauna in New Zealand is found nowhere else in the world, and I didn't want it to continue to decline or go extinct.

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

My parents signed me up as a member of Forest & Bird Youth in December 2023 because they knew I have a passion for nature and conservation – and because they believe Forest & Bird Youth is the best chance of turning that passion into action. 

I had already been going to beach clean-ups and tree plantings in the Hastings-Napier area. I also was on the Hawke’s Bay Youth Environment Council from 2022-2023 (until it was unfortunately discontinued). 

After I signed up to Forest & Bird Youth as a member, I went to some of the Hastings-Havelock North branch meetings for Forest & Bird, but there was nobody else there in my age group. 

I asked some of the members from the Hastings-Havelock North branch about Forest & Bird Youth. They said that there was a Hawke’s Bay Youth Hub for Forest & Bird some years ago, but that it shut down due to Covid. They suggested I reach out to the Forest & Bird Youth Network Support Coordinator at national office to see if I could start up a Forest & Bird Youth Hub in the Hawke’s Bay. I wanted Hawke’s Bay youth, passionate about the environment like me, to be able to help protect and restore our native flora and fauna in Hawke’s Bay. 

I became an official Youth Leader in March 2024 and started working on convincing local youth to join a new Forest & Bird Youth's Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay Hub. I created some recruitment posters and sent them to secondary schools and public libraries in the Hawke’s Bay region to try and reach rangatahi young people who might be interested in joining. 

Two lovely members from the Hastings-Havelock North branch of Forest & Bird went to one of the high schools in the area as guest speakers and did a presentation about Forest & Bird, Kiwi Conservation Club, and Forest & Bird Youth. They encouraged the students to participate in conservation by joining Forest & Bird Youth's Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay Hub.

Our first meeting was in July this year.

Sarah planting mānuka at the 2024 Youth Hui.

You are a Leader in the new Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke's Bay Hub of Forest & Bird Youth – what is your role and vision for the Hub?

So far, I have been in charge of recruiting new members and volunteers for our Hub by creating posters and helping promote the Hub on social media. 

I am also heavily involved with planning and organising projects, and the monthly meetings for the new Hub. My vision for the Hub is to grow the number of youth members and volunteers to a level where it will be able to continue after I leave for university. 

I would like young people in Hawke’s Bay to have the opportunity to engage positively with the environment, and to have a space where their passion for nature translates into action – helping with conservation efforts and enacting positive change in their community.

What Hub project are you most excited about? What are you working on?

Forest & Bird Youth's Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay Hub is mainly helping other conservation groups in the region with their projects – including a skink conservation group, and a shore bird conservation group (called ‘Save the Dotterels, Hawkes Bay’) who provided us with photographs we used to promote the Banded Dotterel for Bird of the Year. 

We are also in the early stages of an insect conservation project. The Hub is interested in helping to protect native insects in our region because there are many threats to them, such as predation from mice, rats, stoats and other introduced predators, and loss of habitat.

We are starting off small by choosing native insects to focus our efforts on and planning how we will carry out our project in the most efficient way possible with the resources we currently have. Then we'll spread awareness on social media about the issues and threats they face, along with how important they are in the ecosystem. For example, many of them are a food source for native birds such as the pīwakawaka, and some of them are also important pollinators for native plants. 

We are also planning on creating ‘bug houses’ or ‘bug hotels’ – small wooden structures which with holes and cavities in them for insects to use as temporary shelters, or to turn into nests. 

We are also going raise local awareness about the Fast-track Approvals Bill on social media and via posters, flyers, pamphlets etc. and encourage our community to do their part and stop the bill from becoming law.

Sarah (front, far right) with other Youth Leaders at the 2024 Youth Hui.

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

Climate change and pollution, particularly plastic pollution are massive issues effecting our planet. They feel like huge, overwhelming problems, especially because there is pressure forced upon young people, to fix them. 

My generation is expected to be the one who will find the solution to these problems, even though most rangatahi aren't able to make huge lifestyle changes, such as going plastic free or only using renewable energy, to help the environment. 

Plastic is everywhere and is used as packaging for most products. Products that don’t use plastic are usually too expensive for many people to afford. Most people also use cars that are fuelled by petrol or diesel because the eco-friendly cars on the market are simply too pricey.

Pressure is placed on consumers to make changes to protect the planet, but making those changes can be really challenging or impractical for financial reasons. 

More pressure should instead be placed manufacturers and retailers to produce and use more environmentally friendly options in the first place because they have the money and resources to make large-scale changes that can have an even greater impact on the environment. They are the ones that should be:

• Phasing out the use of fossil fuels.
• Using eco-friendly alternatives to plastic (rather than expecting people to buy the more expensive options they might not be able to access or afford).
• Developing more affordable eco-friendly options for consumers. 

We need to speak up against corporations who refuse to take responsibility and change their business practices to help protect and restore the environment.