My name is Jenn Shulzitski, and I live near Blueskin Bay just north of Ōtepoti/Dunedin.
Since I was a little girl, the wilderness has been my happy place, my play destination, and my spiritual centre. I loved hiking, biking, and exploring nature, thanks to my forested childhood home in Pennsylvania with bears, bobcat, bluejays, cardinals, native honeysuckle, mountain laurel and rhododendron. I also give credit to my grandfather who showed me how to press native wildflowers from the Colorado Rocky Mountain tundra into paper. He marvelled at the adaptations of nature in the highest elevations, as each fungus, each bird, and each flower survived in the harshest and most spectacular places. His wonder and awe were contagious to an adventurous person like myself.
I became a Wildlife Biologist and Ecologist in Arizona, Washington, and California, studying terrestrial vertebrates, inventory and monitoring techniques, urban/wildland boundaries, and the effects of fire and habitat restoration on native biodiversity. I also became a sea kayaking guide and naturalist to share outdoor education with my human community. Along the way I picked up sailing and rock climbing, which have now combined to be practical skills at Greenpeace as well as my passions, now that non-violent direct action is a part of my life.
I moved to Ōtepoti, Aotearoa in 2012 from my homes in California and Nicaragua for a better life for my children. I knew that Dunedin was predicted to be one of the last liveable climates on the planet, and I was focused on safe places to become more resilient from droughts, fires, floods and systems breakdown. I was also drawn to Aotearoa, knowing our remnant endemic and native populations are taonga from Gondwanaland. I knew (some) humans had been responsible for far too much destruction, but I knew that by restoring ecosystems and by engaging with democracy through activism, I am able to shift what is possible. And best of all I get to be surrounded by other people who are shifting our values, our actions and our culture. At least we can try.
I showed up to the a Greenpeace training in Tāmaki-Makaurau, feeling like part of a legacy of kaitiaki in Aotearoa and around the world. I remember feeling a sense of family with people from Mana Rākau, Protect Pūtiki, Extinction Rebellion, and Greenpeace. Sharing our stories, sharing kai and linking arms, there is always the sense of strength in community. I was buzzing with the opportunities to learn from each other and to plan for our future projects together. I was also reminded that we showed up together with real world issues of racism, violence, priviledge, and prejudice. It is in groups like these where we have opportunities to amplify each other’s voices and to listen to everyone’s story.
I returned to Ōtepoti/Dunedin as a training member of the Greenpeace climb team to meet new activist friends. We found mature canopy trees to keep us happily occupied with ropes and harnesses, as well as new knots, gear, and even more friends for our next adventures. We inflated and outfitted a Greenpeace boat called Daisy and ventured out into Otago Harbour and saw a Talley’s ship leaving to plunder the oceans by bottom trawling seamounts. We wanted to stop these destructive industrial fishing practices immediately, since they are scouring coral habitats more than six hundred years old. These biodiversity hotspots need our protection, and it was difficult watching the ship leave the port on another plunderous mission.
Looking around me, it’s not hard to find a problem. I volunteer with Greenpeace Aotearoa because they are directly confronting problems, the corporate and government machines which exploit beyond their fair share from Papatūānuku.
I would tell you about the kind hearted people who donate countless time and resources to making the world a better place. I would tell you that they make the best friends and community. I would tell you to connect with us to end the pillage of our planet with a community in action.
Join the call to demand that the NZ Govt bans bottom trawling on seamounts and similar deep sea features, and stop issuing permits for bottom trawling in international waters.