Kieran grew up in East Auckland, about his relationship with the city he says, “ I think one of the wonderful things about growing up in Auckland is that we are always near the water, be it one of our harbours, rivers or out on the sea”. When he moved from East to West Auckland Kieran fell in love with the people and the natural environment. But he also discovered Te Wai o Pareiera and this awa has gone on to shape Kieran's life in ways he couldn’t have anticipated.
Kieran is a Landscaper who works all across Auckland and in his down time he tends to the plants in his nursery, dines out with his partner or heads out to a market.
On top of all this he volunteers a significant chunk of his time to the mahi that Rivercare Te Wai o Pareira does. With a love of the natural world, the water and an understanding of ecology from his experience as a landscaper it made sense for Kieran to come on board with Rivercare. He first became involved in 2021 and became a board member in 2022. He joined because he recognised that Te Wai o Pareira, the river that he had grown to love, needed help and he couldn’t sit by and do nothing.
Being part of Rivercare Te Wai o Pareira has taught Kieran so much about the significance of the awa and how it feeds the Waitemata harbour. He has also become well versed in Auckland's sewage and stormwater network and its role in the health of our waterways.
Even though being a Trustee requires Kieran to focus on the systemic causes of the degradation of the awa and tributaries, he is still always ready to give practical help. You are likely to see him getting stuck in at one of our planting or maintenance days at Tawa Esplanade or setting up for one of our events.
When asked, “Why should our community care about the health and mauri of Te Wai o Pareira?” Kieran answered “it’s not only sad to see its current state but it’s also unsafe. We need to preserve and recuperate all our waterways in order to preserve our city’s
future". He believes that, “Anyone can help with our mahi no matter what their situation is. We all need to do our part”.
Kieran, we at Rivercare thank you for doing your part, you do so much to help our mahi and to restore Te Wai o Pareira.
If you would like to help with the work that Rivercare Te Wai o Pareira does, be that with donating time or resources please contact us here every little bit helps us to create a better future for Te Wai o Pareira.