Charlie Thomas
he/they
I am a 21 year old takatāpui atrtist and conservationist from Aotearoa, New Zealand. I was born and raised by the coast and have a strong connection to the ocean and all its inhabitants. I spent my summer holidays on Great Barrier Island, crawling around looking for shells and bugs, heading home, pockets heavy with specimens to practice my scientific drawings. Through school I volunteered behind the scenes at Auckland War Memorial Museum, helped PHD students studying kororā and grey-faced petrels at Tāwharanui Peninsula, tracked whio duck in Te Anau with the Department of Conservation and travelled to Sumatra to film a documentary about the impact of deforestation from palm oil on orangutans and other Indonesian wildlife. I've been a youth ambassador and deckhand for Sea Cleaners, exploring every inch of coastline the Hauraki Gulf has to offer while helping to clear it of plastic at the same time.
During 2020, I spent 9 months on one of the most isolated atolls in the world - Kure - helping to eradicate invasive weed species, clear marine debris, and restore the island in an effort to help its seabirds and marine wildlife. I have since visited Midway Atoll, some of New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands as an ambassador for Heritage Expeditions, spent time on the Mercury Islands, Hen and Chicken Islands and now live and work on Waiheke Island as the Monitoring Technician for Te Korowai o Waiheke as we work towards making the island free of rats and stoats.
I speak regularly to groups, clubs, schools and organisations about my time in Hawai'i and my work in conservation. My passion for nature, particularly birds, has lead me to create art in all forms highlighting how we can help take better care of them. Through my work, I hope to connect people of all ages and backgrounds to the natural wonders in our backyard as well as in the places they've never heard of before.
As a young, queer, and fiercely passionate environmentalist, I hope to be the person I wish I'd had to look up to while growing up. Please don't hesitate get in touch via my email or social media.
