Seeds of the Future

Besides that, Sonya has loved learning more about horticulture. “At the moment, we’re growing and tweaking an eco-tour and a kitchen garden to supply the on-site restaurant,” Sonya explains. “We do have a bit of a microclimate here so we’re working with our executive chef to see what we could grow here that’s a bit unusual and can contribute to what he wants to put on the menu in terms of local produce.”

Plants on the wishlist include kawakawa, horopito and watercress, and the team are also planning to revegetate certain areas with the native species that would have grown there originally. It’s a different type of conservation work than she’s used to, but Sonya can already see the potential to use her new knowledge over in Rarotonga in the the Kūki ‘Āirani Cook Islands. Her father signed a plot of family land over to Sonya and her sisters in 2023, and she is hoping to use it to make a difference for the local community.

Sonya’s plans are part of a relatively recent reconnection to her heritage. “I was raised by my mother, who was born in England from an English mother and a New Zealander father of Scottish decent,” she says. “My father is a Cook Islander. When my mother died in 2022, I felt more freedom to connect with my Pacific heritage, which resonated with me due to the parallels between Pacific culture and the cultures I had lived in in rural Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. At the same time, the land that Dad was entitled to came up for confirmation, so I went with him to Raro to get the land signed to myself and my two sisters. I was like, ‘Wow, what am I doing? This is where I need to be.’ I connected with family there and felt a real draw to the place. I was surrounded by cousins and aunties who are strong, intelligent, driven women. I was particularly inspired by my cousin Jacquie, who is a Goldman Environmental Prize recipient.”

For now, Sonya is content to keep enjoying her time at Walter Peak and planning how she can split her time between New Zealand and Rarotonga. “For a long time my purpose was primate conservation or big cat conservation, and then at Walter Peak I felt like I had a holiday for a little while, with no real purpose other than to keep those flowers flowering,” Sonya says.“ But now I’m looking at it differently and realising that I can use all that knowledge about soil health and growing food and bring it to the Cook Islands with me. I want to build off-grid and get involved in organic growing and sustainability. The amount of food that could be grown to feed local people is amazing, but it’s not reached its potential yet. I’m looking into it at the moment to see if there’s away that my skills and my land could be used to make some kind of impact here in the future. I think I’ve found my purpose again.”

Glossary. Horopito, native shrubs with leaves often having large red blotches. Kawakawa, pepper tree.