Driving change - Sustainable Kaipara Sarah Bray and Steph Gibson
Founders of Sustainable Kaipara, Sarah Bray and Steph Gibson met in 2018 when a local group called Plastic Free Mangawhai was formed by Kate Matheson. After running volunteer initiatives, and being inspired by the awesome changes made by the Mangawhai community to reduce single use plastics, it was clear that more work was needed to minimise waste and look after the Kaipara district’s beautiful environment. The following year, in 2019, the heart of Sustainable Kaipara began to beat!
Sarah had previously worked on waste minimisation and circular economy projects in Sydney, while Steph had a wealth of experience in building community initiatives. The team applied for a grant under the Ministry for the Environment waste minimisation fund and were successful in obtaining a three year grant for a project called Closing the Loop, as well as a grant to look at ways to deal with organic waste in Kaipara.
Fast forward four years and the Sustainable Kaipara team has expanded, delivering innovative and science-based solutions to challenges affecting our landscapes, waterways and biodiversity. Working alongside mana whenua, communities, schools, local business and government they aim to amplify existing initiatives and address gaps with practical solutions that will sustain and regenerate the Kaipara environment for future generations; currently running programmes across building waste, climate change and continuing to run a successful food scrap collection service and community compost in Mangawhai.
Sarah’s passion lies with strategic change and looking at the systems that are in place. She led the construction waste feasibility study last year and is currently looking at ways to implement the recommendations. Sarah explains, “in the face of escalating environmental challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss, there's an urgent need for a fundamental shift in how we approach sustainability. While individual actions like recycling or using energy- efficient appliances are valuable, they're not enough to address the systemic issues driving environmental degradation. What's needed is a holistic transformation of the systems that underpin our societies.”
Steph has always loved growing food and working with people, so it has been a natural fit for her to be leading the community compost project and teaching the community how to compost at home. Steph highlighted that “using our food scraps as a resource to enrich our soils is an absolute no-brainer, and if you can do that at home with zero travel required and compost going back into your own garden, then that’s always going to be best. That’s why I love teaching people how easy it is to set up a home composting or worm farm solution. The joy people get from seeing firsthand the extraordinary transformation of their food scraps into a new and valuable resource is incredible.”
At its core, Sustainable Kaipara is dedicated to working on projects with real world impact that will protect and restore our environment. With integrity as a cornerstone of the organisation, Sarah and Steph have their feet firmly planted in the ground, always looking at ways to have a greater impact on improving our environment.
www.SustainableKaipara.org | kiaora@SustainableKaipara.org