Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Aotearoa New Zealand’s first environmental group Forest and Bird is turning 100 this year and NZ Post is marking the milestone with a stamp release featuring exquisite watercolour artworks of flora and fauna.
NZ Post worked with Forest and Bird to commission works by Wellington wildlife artist Rachel Walker.
NZ Post’s Lynette Townsend says the stamps represent Forest and Bird’s many significant achievements over the past 100 years in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“This collection represents the four main areas of Forest and Bird’s conservation work which are terrestrial, freshwater, marine and climate.”
Townsend says as well as stamps, NZ Post has also produced other Forest and Bird 100 year collectables including greeting cards, tea towels and prints.
Paying tribute to the work Forest & Bird does, Rachel said forest and birds are some of New Zealand’s most important treasures.
Walker says she loves the flows and patterns, and feathers and scales, nature creates. It’s great for your wellbeing to be outdoors amongst the flora and fauna, listen to the birds, and get the fresh forest air.
She wanted to bring a little bit of that feeling indoors to the walls with her artwork.
Working with communities, government and supporters, Forest and Bird is funded solely by memberships, donations and bequests.
Forest and Bird’s chief executive Nicola Toki says the stamp release is a significant and an emotional moment for members of the organisation.
“It recognises the efforts of thousands of Forest and Bird members, volunteers and staff over the past century to preserve our endangered wilderness areas and the critters they’re home to.
“The four artworks depict landscapes and species of significance to the society and its membership,” she says.
The stamp collection starts with a depiction of Kāpiti Island, through to the fourth image of the Buller plateau, representing current conservation concerns/future work.
