Isobel Thompson’s contribution to nurturing the Earth has been through activism over a long life. She links her wide-ranging concerns and freedom of thought to her upbringing. 

There can be few Quakers whose background and work experience gave him a greater insight into, and appreciation for, the world of Nature than Joe Short. The Testimony to his life includes the following passage.

Growing up in Perth, Western Australia, in a family of four children among other big families, was a time of great freedom for Rowe, who remembers that ‘we were away from early morning till late and no-one needed to know where we were

Rosemary Tredgold wrote the following paragraphs about the few years when John and Muriel were living in a caravan and cottage on some land at Le Bons Bay on Banks Peninsular.

Don Mead has had a long-life interest in sustainable forest management. After he left high school Don joined the NZ Forest Service and after gaining a B.Sc at Victoria University was sent to Edinburgh to study forestry.

Thirty years ago, we decided to give up our urban life style for a simpler, rural one. Our four oldest children had left home, our youngest, Hilary, was fourteen.

How do people like Rob and Heather List get to a point where they put their money where their mouths are and try to walk lightly as well as cheerfully upon the earth?  It starts a long way back with the attitudes and actions of parents. 

Our mother Kath (1913-2001) was surely one who trod lightly on the Earth. Kath was born into a family of gardeners. Her parents grew flowers for florists and also from necessity produced most of their own food on their acre section in Mt Albert, Auckland. 

Not for the Fainthearted. Not a very attractive advertisement for 15 acres of cut-over ex-forestry land some distance from Waimauku, near Auckland’s west coast beach Muriwai!

If we are to remain a successful living species on this planet we need to live within the limits of the resources around us. I don’t think I thought a lot about this as either a University student or as a young mother.