After 20 years leading Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo, Karen Fifield is preparing to step down as Chief Executive.

So we sat down with her to ask a simple question: What has a lifetime in zoos taught her?

Her answer reaches far beyond the animals that visitors see. It’s about conservation, technology, ethics, diversity in the workplace, animal welfare, storytelling, and learning to share the planet with other living beings.

Karen reflects on what animals have taught her about authenticity, why good zoos must be built around care and trust, and why facts alone rarely change how people see the world.

As she puts it, “we’re storytellers as human beings, we are not fact collectors.”

This is a thoughtful conversation about animals, people, and the role of good zoos in a changing world.

Here are some of the key topics we discussed:

• What animals taught Karen during her time at Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo
• Lessons from observing animal behaviour
• Chimpanzee leadership styles and what we can learn from them
• The evolution of zoos towards conservation organisations
• How technology shapes conservation research and outcomes
• Why Karen cares so much about animal welfare
• The 5 domains of animal welfare
• What Karen has learned about leading people in a ‘heart-based’ profession
• How to empower staff to do their best work for animals
• The changing role of women in zoos, conservation, and leadership
• Why storytelling is more powerful than facts alone
• The evolution of technology in the zoo sector
• Karen’s outlook for the future of zoos and technology
• And much more…

Love the People Helping Nature Podcast? Get notified when new episodes go live - subscribe for emails here: www.conservationamplified.org

👩About Karen:

Originally from Australia, Karen’s zoological career began at Taronga Conservation Society Australia and Zoos Victoria before she joined Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo in 2006. In June 2026, Karen will step down as Te Nukuao Chief Executive after 20 years in the role.

Alongside her Chief Executive role, Karen was also the President of the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia (ZAA) and was the most recent President of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) before she completed her term in October 2025.

In 2023, Karen was recognised as one of the Power 10 Zoo and Aquarium Blooloop Top 50 Influencers internationally, and in 2016 became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit MNZM for services to Business and Animal Welfare.

Under Karen’s leadership, Te Nukuao has celebrated many achievements. In 2009, Te Kōhanga The Nest, a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital, opened. The Zoo was the first Toitū carbon zero-certified zoo in the world in 2013 and won the inaugural WAZA Environmental Sustainability Award in 2018.

🔗Learn more:

• Website: www.wellingtonzoo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wellington.zoo
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/WgtnZoo

🎙️Learn more about the podcast at www.conservationamplified.org

One day, hearing kiwi call from your backyard could be normal again.

To many New Zealanders, kiwi are our national icon - but not a bird they’ve actually seen or heard in the wild. Throughout Aotearoa, translocations are helping bring kiwi back from endangered to everywhere.

In this episode, we sit down with Tineke Joustra, Operations Manager & Population Biologist at Save the Kiwi to explore how kiwi are being returned to places where they once lived - and why people are the key to ensuring they thrive.

At first glance, a translocation might sound simple: move kiwi from one safe place to another. But as Tineke explains, it takes years of planning, predator control, monitoring, dog management, iwi and hapū relationships, community support, and a shared long-term vision before kiwi can be returned safely.

Because when kiwi come back, they do more than boost population numbers. They can become “the carrot” that motivates people to go the extra mile.

Here are some of the key topics we discussed:

• How current kiwi population numbers compare to historical estimates
• Why kiwi populations declined drastically
• What kiwi translocations are and how they work
• Save the Kiwi’s Kōhanga Kiwi Strategy
• How safe sites can help grow kiwi populations for future release
• What makes a landscape ready to receive kiwi
• Why relationships are central to successful translocations
• The role of iwi, hapū, neighbours, landowners and community groups
• How kiwi populations could eventually reconnect through safe habitat corridors
• Case Studies: Capital Kiwi & Waiheke Island translocations
• The importance of bringing kiwi closer to our backyards to restore our connection
• And much more…

Love the People Helping Nature Podcast? Get notified when new episodes go live - subscribe for emails here: https://ww.conservationamplified.org

👩About Tineke:

Tineke Joustra is a conservation scientist with more than two decades of experience working with New Zealand wildlife. As the Operations Manager and Population Biologist for Save the Kiwi, Tineke merges science and logistics to lead the national strategic framework for kiwi conservation across Aotearoa. Her portfolio spans translocations, kōhanga management, population modelling, research/innovation, and driving excellence in best-practice standards. She is committed to building robust, science-based strategies in partnership with iwi/hapū and community projects to establish the best possible long-term decisions for kiwi recovery.

🔗Learn more:

• Website: savethekiwi.nz
• Save the Kiwi Kōhanga Kiwi Strategy: savethekiwi.nz/about-us/what-we-do/kohanga-kiwi
• Report a kiwi sighting: savethekiwi.nz/report-a-kiwi
• Kiwi avoidance training: kiwiavoidancetraining.nz
• Support: donate-save-a-kiwi.raiselysite.com

🎙️Learn more about the podcast at www.conservationamplified.org

In times of heavy rainfall, water can rush off farmland, carrying soil, nutrients and contaminants into waterways - and adding pressure downstream.

In this episode, we sit down with Laura Simpson from the Mangaone West Catchment Group to learn how detainment bunds help improve water quality alongside more familiar methods such as fencing off waterways, riparian plantings and wetlands.

Laura explains how understanding your local landscape, soil type, and water quality testing insights is crucial when deciding which tools to use for improving stream health. We also talk about the broader catchment-wide mindset and the importance of working together from source to sea to create resilience in our landscapes.

Ultimately, healthier waterways means healthier farms, ecosystems, and communities.

Detainment bunds are not a silver bullet. But in the right places, they can help slow water, reduce sediment loss, protect wetlands, and keep more soil and nutrients on the land where they belong.

Here are some of the key topics we discussed:

• What detainment bunds are and how they work.
• How detainment bunds can help slow floodwater and reduce sediment loss.
• Why soil type and local landscape knowledge matter.
• The importance of regular water testing.
• How detainment bunds can work alongside wetlands, riparian planting and fencing.
• Why reducing sediment upstream benefits waterways further downstream.
• The importance of catchment-wide collaboration.
• Conservation outcomes and swimmable rivers.
• And much more…

Love the People Helping Nature Podcast? Get notified when new episodes go live - subscribe for emails here: www.conservationamplified.org

👩About Laura:

Laura Simpson is the Mangaone West Catchment Group’s leader, a rural professional, on the Manawatū River Catchment Collective’s committee, and part of the family farming operation. Planting and protecting wetlands on her family farm led to getting involved in the Mangaone West Catchment Group and eventually taking on the leadership role. With a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science, and a Masters in Agricultural Science, Laura understands the importance of data driven decision making for projects within the catchment group.

🔗Learn more:

• Website: https://manawatu-river-catchments-collective.co.nz/mangaone-west-catchment
• Detainment Bund Consultancy: https://www.detainmentbund.co.nz

🎙️About the podcast:

The People Helping Nature podcast is brought to you by Conservation Amplified, a registered New Zealand charity.

We are on a mission to help make conservation mainstream by amplifying the awesome stuff people are doing to help nature all around Aotearoa New Zealand.

Because when people are aware, connected to the ecosystems around them and care enough to take positive action, only then will we see lasting change.

Listen in and follow us to start or deepen your journey.

Find out more about Conservation Amplified at www.conservationamplified.org.