Plant your values and watch them grow🌲
This blog was originally written by Cam Perkins and published on LinkedIn
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When do we ever sit down and really think about how we might turn our values into action?
Do you ever find yourself thinking ‘they should totally invent a way to make it easier to…’?
One of the things I’ve always wondered is where do they plant my tree when I click the little green box that says “offset your carbon”?
Is it weird to think that I’d like to visit my tree(s) someday?
I’d like to have more connection to my values.
I think it’s got something to do with My Big Question…something Digby Scott challenged me on when he asked me “What are you really about?”.
“How can I play my part to build regenerative communities and cities, where every move we make is a move towards a positive legacy for people and planet?”.
I’ve been talking to my accountant (the awesome Robert Westall of NAKED Accounting) for a while now about how to invest in regenerative forestry, so it’s been on the radar.
But trying to figure out how to do it? That’s a full time job in itself.
The thing is, I’ve been so focused on cities and changing streets to make them suitable for communities that I literally haven’t been able to see the forest for the trees.
So when I saw this post from Alex McCall recently, talking about a way for people to contribute to regenerating the spaces outside of our cities, I jumped at the opportunity.
Because it reminded me of a dream I’ve had for a while, to live a woodsman’s life - part time of course as there’s important pirate work in cities to be done, and a double-shot flat white is a rarity in the wilderness.
Imagine managing to do something as awe-inspiring as Dr Hugh Wilson, the botanist behind the regeneration of Hinewai, on Banks Peninsula. (If you haven’t seen Fools and Dreamers, duck in here - its free to watch.)
And then imagine that you COULD actually achieve this with a group of like-minded individuals.
Imagine if there was a way to regularly invest small amounts every week to purchase blocks of Aotearoa New Zealand’s forestry, with a vision to regenerate this land within 100 years AND generate a return on that investment in the process? Imagine if they came up with a way to do that?
Well they have. They’ve come up with a way to make it easier to regenerate Aotearoa New Zealand. And it’s called Regenerate New Zealand. And ‘they’ are Alex and Jonny.
They’ve already started to get the crew together, they’ve run the numbers, and it’s entirely possible to help to connect people to their values. Not to mention that it makes you dollars and cents too!
Imagine…spending time with a forest that you helped to grow…knowing you’ve had impact on the world and you’ve managed to turn your values into action.
This is one of the ways that I see myself playing my part in building regenerative communities and cities, where every move I make is a move towards a positive legacy for the people I love and the planet.
So if you too are really about leaving a positive legacy and have similar dreams of being a Woodsman outside of your city life, feel free to join myself, Jonny & Alex as we embark on Regenerating New Zealand.
Sharpen your axe... We’re before the wind and the trees.
You can read the 100 year vision here and sign up to enable this vision to become a reality.
Ngā mihi mahana,
The Urban Pirate/Woodsman in waiting,
Cam
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This blog was originally written by Cam Perkins and published on LinkedIn.
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