Seeds

Welcome to the 50th episode!  Marcelle Lunam is the founder and project lead for Tūmanako Wellness Centre.  Marcelle has worked in film as a director and we discuss the influence her Grandfather had on her as a child learning to appreciate light, paintings and film.  We also discuss her career and work with the innovative Chris O'Brien Lifehouse in Sydney as well as being a creative who has been t...

Andrew Bell is the Executive Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ which he has led since 2010.  In this interview we discuss his background and childhood in South Africa as a child of apartheid, studying anthropology and sociology and what that was like with a growing sense of the injustice of apartheid.  We also discuss his role now with efforts to prevent blindness through the work of The...

Sarah Kessans is a research fellow at the University of Canterbury.  In this interview we talk about her work as a synthetic biologist and discuss genetic engineering and the ethics of change as well as how it all actually works at a practical level.  We also talk about her application to become an astronaut to NASA and what it was like to go through that process. This is one of 48 interviews with...

Peter is the project coordinator for the local urban food hub Ōtākaro Orchard.  Its aim is to provide knowledge and inspiration about sustainable food systems as part of the Food Resilience Network.  In this interview we talk with Peter about his background and experiences in different parts of the world and what led him to move to Christchurch to be involved with this new initiative as well as hi...

Alanna Chapman is a co-founder of 27 Seconds which is a social enterprise winery whose profits go to ending modern day slavery.  They do this by supporting the work of Hagar with their profits.  In this interview we talk about her childhood that included living in South East Asia, her more recent encounters with modern slavery and the resulting origin of the idea for 27 Seconds and how it operates...

Samantha Jones is a social entrepreneur who founded B Corp certified Little Yellow Bird (https://www.littleyellowbird.co.nz/). It's aim is to ethically make uniforms and other workwear while also considering the source of organic  cotton, impact on the environment and the fair treatment of the workers involved. In this interview we talk with Samantha about her childhood, living in Russia, some ini...

Michael founded the iconic New Zealand brand Cookie Time more than 30 years ago.  But that wasn't his first business idea and the initial ones he had tried failed - but he kept trying.  When you talk to Michael it is apparent that if the cookie idea hadn't worked then he would have tried something else - that entrepreneurial spirit is still evident today with the launch of social enterprise Nutrie...

A bonus episode to celebrate getting to a total of 10,000 listens of the show and to say thanks to those who subscribe! This is a bit different as it is from the recent conference at Te Papa where I was able to help moderate a session on the topic " Are there too many Charities in New Zealand ".  Thought it was worth sharing as there were a lot of very stimulating ideas and perspectives shared by...

Miranda is the STEM Coordinator at the Ara Institute of Canterbury.  In this conversation we talk about Miranda's background including her early years in the ski industry, involvement in space camps for youth, visiting NASA, the mission of Spacebase, the colonisation of Mars and the promotion of STEM for the next generation. http://www.ara.ac.nz/   https://spacebase.co/ Earlier interview with Emel...

David is the Chair of Canterbury Tech and in this episode released during Techweek '18 we talk about the origins of Canterbury Tech, what it is involved in and the future of technology for the next generation.  We also discuss David's childhood in South Africa, his different entrepreneurial ventures, what makes a good manager and how you hire to get the best people and culture fit.  Canterbury Tec...

Stella is the Chief Digital Officer (and Acting Executive Director Allied Health) for the Canterbury DHB and West Coast DHB.  In this interview we talk about Stella's career and what she is involved in relating to technology and the health sector.  What will a ward of the future look like?  What will 'big data' mean for health care?  We explore these and other questions in this interview. This int...

Peter is the Chief Executive of Antarctica New Zealand and in this interview we talk about his background as well as the history of explorers in Antarctica, the work being done supporting world leading science and environmental protection, keeping people safe on the ice, the role of technology now and in the future as well as the international significance of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Thi...

Rob is a Professor and Research Leader at the HIT Lab NZ (Human Interface Technologies) at Canterbury University.  This interview is released in the lead up to  Techweek  '18 as we highlight stories from the tech sector.  In this interview we talk about Rob's background and how he started researching virtual reality in the 1990s, the origins and key points in the history of virtual reality, how yo...

Fiona is the Chief Executive and Secretary General of Paralympics New Zealand.  In this interview we talk about her childhood growing up in the UK, the role her parents played in her days as an elite athlete in Europe and how the transition to being involved in Paralympics happened.  We also talk about the role of elite sport and in particular in the context of Paralympians, what it is that they i...

Peter has written many books on New Zealand's leading creative authors, writers, painters and musicians.  His most recent recognition was the 2017 Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in honour of his non-fiction.  In this interview we talk about his work as an editor, writer, critic, curator and former academic in New Zealand and Canada. We also talk about his memories of growing up ju...

Chris is the Founder of Impact Ventures NZ which is a partner in the Impact Enterprise Fund which recently completed a first close having raised $8 million dollars for impact investing in New Zealand.  In this interview we talk about his background and work as an investment banker before the decision to get into impact investing.  We also discuss what impact investing actually is and what you look...

Nigel is a co-founder and Manager of social enterprise Crave Cafe in Morningside in Auckland.  In this interview we talk about his childhood memories of the Solomon Islands, how he moved from the desire to make lots of money into setting up Crave, the challenges of operating a social enterprise (particularly in the hospitality industry), the dangers that can come with "success" and the transformat...

Jarrod is a sociologist at the University of Canterbury and the author of " Patched: The History of Gangs in New Zealand" which was a finalist for best non-fiction book in the New Zealand Book Awards in 2013 (and is also the most stolen book in New Zealand).  He recently co-edited " Criminal Justice: A New Zealand Introduction" .  In this interview we discuss his life and what has led him to becom...

Erica is involved in a wide variety of different groups and organisations and we talk with her about all of them and her role as an Experience Curator, Photographer, Community Weaver, #ChChAmbassador and Social Intrapreneur (working with existing organisations to help them grow).  The interview begins with her memories of coming from China to New Zealand as a child, studying architecture and then...

Michelle is the Chief Executive Officer of Kilmarnock Enterprises which is a social enterprise established 60 years ago.  I interviewed Michelle for the first episode of the podcast about her own story but in this follow up episode we focus more on Kilmarnock itself and the challenges it has faced in recent years as an organisation.  In particular we talk about developing a great culture as well a...

Camia worked as an architect in Europe for many years before she made her home in Christchurch after the earthquakes.  In this interview we talk about community building, the role of architecture in that and the key lessons learned on her journey.  We also discuss the XCHC, transitional architecture with the pallet pavilion and her work now with Ohu (Office for Holistic Urbanism). https://ohu.nz/...

Leighton is the Chief Executive of the Rātā Foundation which provides millions of dollars in grants to community groups and charities each year.  In this interview we talk about his life and journey to taking on this role at the end of 2017.  We also learn about his motivations, influences, mentors, the key experiences which have shaped him and the meaning of "True North". http://www.ratafoundatio...

Franca is an Environmental Social Scientist with a curiosity about many things in the world so we discuss topics ranging from her childhood in Germany, her research on transnational sovereignty, climate change and love of poetry and the importance of engaging each other across disciplines to both challenge and innovate. Links discussed provided by Franca: DFG project on Sovereignty in the transnat...

Sam is mayor of the fast growing Selwyn District and is one of the youngest mayors in New Zealand.  We talk about his childhood, the decision to pursue a political career and what he has learned on the journey.  In particular, he reflects on the people who have played a role in his life and encouraged him and what sort of legacy he wants to leave behind.  We also cover his involvement in other thi...

Dorenda has studied and worked in Design for nearly all of her life and founded The Britten Institute.  In this interview we discuss what application principles of design and design led strategy have in other areas (beyond those we would traditionally think about).  We also learn about a life spent trying new things and pushing boundaries that included several years in Papua New Guinea and helping...