Q How long have you lived here and what do you like about the place?
A I first came to New Zealand on holidays in 2006, and I did a bicycle tour around the South Island.
I loved Oamaru the first time I came here. I stayed about 10 days longer than I was planning to.
I always thought, 'I'll come back here if I get the chance'.
I moved to Oamaru about two and a-half years ago and I started at the community gardens 18 months ago.
I love that Oamaru is full of 'project people'.
It seems like everybody you come across has a project they are keen to make happen.
And people are really quite collaborative.
There's something for everybody to be passionate about.
Q What's one thing that people might not know about you that might surprise them?
A I'm trying out for the Ice Ferns in December.
That's the New Zealand ice hockey team.
My parents were working overseas in the States and I had always loved roller-skating as a kid, so I asked my parents if they would let me have a crack at ice hockey.
They were like, `Oh yeah, as long as you learn to tie up your own boots, you can have a go.'
Q Tell me about your involvement in the community gardens, why are they important?
A I had just finished working at the University of Otago and a month later the job came up here.
With public health research - it's really fascinating finding out what the underlying causes for disease and illnesses, but it never gave me the sense that I was actually helping to prevent illness, or improving the quality of somebody's life.
It seemed like quite an attractive option to get involved ... it's sort of like a public-health-in-practice initiative.
A lot of public health research has been done that shows that kids who garden are twice as likely to eat the recommended five fruits and vegetables a day and gardening is linked with lots of other healthy outcomes.
We're working with 12 schools so we're actively involved in what you could call an 'edible education'.
We're teaching kids how to grow and cook their own food, which is empowering them to be more resilient as adults.
Q What issues do you see as important for youth in the district?
A Probably, the biggest issue facing youth in the district is the area's educational and career opportunities.
Quite a lot of our local youth leave Oamaru to go to Dunedin and Christchurch for ongoing tertiary education and then a lot of that young talent is lost, because they don't return.
I'd like to see the Waitaki district nurture local youth in a way that they feel there are opportunities for a career here.
Q Why have you declared your intention to run for council so early and what do you hope to accomplish if elected to council?
A I asked Jinty MacTavish, a councillor for DCC, what she recommended and she said if you are a new candidate you should definitely start your campaign a year in advance of the elections.
I'm following her advice.
It gives me more of an opportunity to speak with members of the public and them to give me their input as to what's important to them.
Some of the key things I've heard back from community members: one, they'd like to keep the Oamaru Hospital fully funded; two, they'd like to see kerbside recycling ... and three, young people are feeling frustrated about opportunities for work experience and career development here, so trying to find more opportunities to bridge that gap.
