There’s many birds chirping in the background. The water is flowing quickly, and the ducks are quietly quacking while they are sitting on the grass. I will admit, bird watching is not my strong suit, so I cannot (currently) identify any bird calls. However, I do enjoy making a mental collection of all the birds I’ve seen in New Zealand thus far, which include the kererū, the blackbird, the starling, the house sparrow, and the pīwakawaka. They make such beautiful calls; I will admit that sometimes I am standing in the kitchen and hear a bird calling that sounds like it’s from some online recording. 

New Zealand has been colonized in the past by British settlers, but the Māori people very much have a presence in the country and its culture. This was partially driven by the Treaty of Waitangi, which was a treaty between the Māori people and the British Crown: the Māori people would retain their rights and land, while the British would be able to be in power. While New Zealand is no longer a British colony, the Treaty of Waitangi created the precedent for strong Māori influence despite New Zealand opening up to foreigners. Māori culture believes that the land, sea, and sky are taonga (treasures), and that they have a responsibility to protect these resources (a concept known as kaitiakitanga). Having recently gone to Aoraki (Mount Cook), I can see that New Zealand respects their outdoor spaces, and strives to preserve them for as long as possible. However, I was very surprised to learn that New Zealand does not have a very extensive train system. Instead, it heavily relies on buses, which only go to major cities. Though, I imagine this may be because building an extensive train system may cause detrimental environmental changes, hence the bus system. In my daily life, I see a lot of small practices that help the environment: for example, my flat has a compost bin for our food scraps, and there are nifty reusable “paper” towels in the bathrooms at Otago (they are basically long loops of cloth that you pull down for a fresh section to wipe your hands). New Zealand seems to see environmental protection as a more commonplace thing, something that is more seamlessly integrated into daily life.