My name is Teun and I am the brand-spanking new member of the Matuku Link volunteer team! Along with our newest intern, Maud, I moved to New Zealand for half a year. And since Maud is going to be spending a lot of time here, I decided to join her. Now a bit about myself:

I am Dutch, I am very tall and I love the outdoors and being creative. I’ve never been this far away from home and never for so long, but the Kiwi-hospitality makes me feel like I’ve already lived here for a year!

If we haven’t met yet, I’m looking forward to doing so and if we have: nice to meet you 🙂

See you soon!!!

Teun 

Ps: If you’re having a hard time pronouncing Teun, I also listen to Tone or Tony 😉

Hi! I am Maud, 22 years old and just started my internship here at Matuku Link.

I am from the Netherlands, so it took some time to come here, but so far totally worth it! I am studying Tropical Forestry in the Netherlands and have learnt a lot of stuff about forest and nature management, de- and reforestation, wildlife management and working together with local communities (in tropical areas). During this internship I can put my knowledge about wildlife management to use and we actually live in a (subtropical) rainforest. In other words, the perfect place for my first internship!

During these 6 months I will support Annalily with all kind of different tasks and I am working on a lizard monitoring/research together with John Sumich.
I am here together with my boyfriend Teun and after my internship we are planning to travel for a couple of months to see the other parts of NZ. Tips are always welcome!
So far, it’s been lovely to meet you all and we (also speaking for Teun) feel very welcomed by all the kindness and hospitality that’s everyone is showing.

Always open to chat!  Contact Maud here 🙂

Vicky joined the Matuku Link team in 2026 as an Environmental Educator. She grew up in the Waitākere Ranges and has a love for the outdoors and a commitment to environmental protection. Vicky views the wetlands as the critical, living link between the land and the sea. Vicky has had 30 years of teaching in a wide range of schools from Years 1 to 8 and being part of the Matuku Link team allows her to merge her teaching with her passion for nature.

Vicky’s path to Matuku Link came through her participation in the Science Teaching Leadership Programme (STLP). The programme provided her with the opportunity to step outside the classroom and work directly alongside scientists on conservation efforts. This experience led her to Matuku Link, where she connected with this wetland environment and the team. Vicky is focused on combining scientific inquiry with hands-on learning, helping students explore local biodiversity and understand why protecting these ecosystems matters.

Contact Vicky at schools@matukulink.org.nz for anything education related!

Melanie (she/her) first heard about Matuku Link in 2023 when her daughter Eloise visited on a school trip and came home raving about all the cool things she had learned! It sounded like exactly the sort of stuff that Melanie wanted to learn more about too, so she looked up the website to find out how to visit. She has been a regular volunteer at the Sunday working bees ever since, along with husband Phil and daughters Eloise and Samantha.

With a background in language teaching, educational publishing and learning design, and a lifelong passion for birds and the New Zealand bush, Melanie supports the team with fundraising, working with school groups and developing educational resources.

Matthew (he/him) is joining the Matuku Link team across 2026 as part of his AUT Capstone placement, where he’ll be working on a science communication project exploring ways to share the stories and ecological work happening across the wetland.

He is currently completing a double degree in Law and Environmental Science, with a Geospatial minor, at Auckland University of Technology. He’s particularly interested in how environmental science and data can be communicated in ways that help people better understand and connect with the natural places around them.

Outside of university Matthew is the Secretary for Te Hōnonga a Iwi – Restoring Rosedale Park, a community-led urban restoration project on the Shore. In practice this seems to involve being part of a little bit of everything, governance, projects, systems, and often the jobs no one else really wants to deal with. If you ever find yourself near Rosedale, he highly recommends coming to check out the restoration work happening there.

He’s also heavily involved in all things hockey (playing, coaching, officiating, admin) and also St John Youth. Matthew is looking forward to spending time learning more about wetland ecology at Matuku Link and getting involved in the mahi happening across the site and meeting all the people behind it.

Rebecca joined Matuku Link in 2023, after volunteering with our education programme for a year. She grew up locally exploring the Waitākere Ranges and West Coast beaches. Now she shares her love of the natural world with her three children.

Rebecca brings her experience from 10 years of child education, fundraising, and event organisation with Playcentre Aotearoa. More recently she has been involved with setting up an environmentally conscious online business that inspired families to explore nature-play while being kind to the world around them. Rebecca is also involved in running the Kiwi Conservation Club in Waitakere for the most junior members of our local Forest & Bird.

As Lead Educator at Matuku Link, Rebecca leads the development of our education programme and resources while delivering hands-on learning experiences for visiting students. She enjoys creating opportunities for young people to connect with nature, explore environmental issues, and discover the unique wildlife and ecosystems of our wetlands.

In addition to education  Rebecca also manages our Matuku Link shop.

Contact Rebecca at shop@matukulink.org.nz

Contact Aileen at schools@matukulink.org.nz for anything education related.

Grac is a young queer conservationist who has recently come on board the team at Matuku Link to add their skills in storytelling for conservation. 

They have been volunteering with us for just over a year now, helping out with the School Holiday Programme, getting their hands dirty in the nursery, doing bait lines and general mahi around our wetlands. Growing up in the Waitākere Ranges, they developed a passion for connecting community and te taiao which spans both terrestrial and marine spaces.

Grac has a BA/BSc in Anthropology and Marine Science, and works for Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust as their Volunteer Coordinator. They regularly volunteer with other conservation initiatives and a peace education organisation, CISV, as well. As a young, queer, disabled person Grac strives to improve accessibility and intersectionality in conservation spaces for all.

With Christine’s background in ecology, and a skilled conservation field worker by trade, Christine is enjoying being able to practically assist the Matuku projects in growing predator control across the landscape.

Christine happened to be between contracts at Ark in the Park, when Annalily saw the opportunity to nab her and set her to work reconfiguring the bait lines around Stoney Creek. Since then Christine’s role has grown and she has been kept busy around the wetland, installing more lines, baiting, trapping, camera monitoring, and mapping, as well as regularly servicing the lines at Stoney Creek.