Conservation campaign group "brings wilderness to the big smoke"

22 September, 2017

New conservation campaign group Enjoy Not Destroy expects large turnout for their campaign launch party in Grey Lynn, Auckland tonight, featuring some of Auckland's finest in alternative music.

The party, called "Wild Side", features female hip-hop artist MEER, festival favourites Tamani and Auckland's alternative folk queen Him.

Coined as "bringing the wild to the big smoke", organisers say it's a celebration as well as a call-to-arms for Aucklanders to get serious about protecting conservation land in New Zealand, which the campaign group says is under serious threat.

Campaign coordinator Holly Dove says she's excited to celebrate after a long few months of pre-election campaigning.

"Our team has been working flat-out pre-election to raise awareness for conservation issues in New Zealand and we are really excited to blow our socks off and finally get a chance to celebrate the launch of the campaign" she says.

"We want to restore the mana of conservation land in New Zealand, because, right now, places across the country - the Coromandel Peninsula, Kahurangi National Park and hundreds of others are under serious threat. These beautiful, wild places are supposed to be protected for all New Zealanders yet right now they are being opened up to industry and it's just not ok. Meanwhile our Department of Conservation is in a state of crisis, with yearly funding cuts and an inability to cope with protecting nature."

“We need our precious and wild places in New Zealand to be protected - this is what conservation land has always been, and how it needs to stay,” Dove says.

"We've teamed up with three amazing bands to bring this issue to the big smoke, so that people in Auckland have a chance to show they care about nature and they care about protecting our wild places. We know Aucklanders love getting into the great outdoors and this is an opportunity for them to support the people taking care of those places."

You can find out about the event here.

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