WildLab

WildLab is a group of designers and researchers committed to growing a world where people and nature thrive together.

We collaborate with community groups, iwi, farmers, business, and government agencies. Together, we create regenerative landscapes, strategies, experiences, and communication tools that connect them and their partners with te taiao and nature.

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Designing With Nature

What changes when nature is both the purpose of our designing and an active collaborator in the process? Designing with Nature is both a collective and personal exploration of that question — thirty projects across Aotearoa New Zealand where we’ve been examining this possibility.

$48.00

Te Araroa Map Series and Toolkit

Be among the first to explore Te Araroa in a whole new way. This new six-map series brings the whole trail together, beautifully designed for walkers, section-planners, and everyone who’s part of the Te Araroa journey.

$58.00

Southern Faces - An Introduction to Rock Climbing in Ōtepoti Dunedin

Southern Faces is a comprehensive climbing guidebook for Ōtepoti Dunedin, created to fill a 25-year gap in local climbing information. Designed and edited by WildLab's very own Riley Smith, the project brought together climbers, designers, mana whenua and scientists to produce an accurate and visually engaging resource. It combines detailed route descriptions, maps and access notes with essays and photography that highlight the region’s geology, ecology and climbing culture.

$48.00

Southern Faces Tees - Pinnacle

Tees feature Dave Brash’s original topos from his 2000 classic Dunedin Rock - cheers Dave! These shirts are a tribute to the cliffs, climbs and community that continue to shape the climbing story of Ōtepoti. There are three awesome designs to choose from!

$48.00

Our Projects

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Franklin-North Waikato Tracks and Trails Strategy

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The Franklin–North Waikato Tracks and Trails Strategy sets out a vision for how trails can connect communities with the Waikato River and its surrounding landscapes. By building on existing opportunities and aligning with local aspirations, the strategy provides a pathway to grow active, healthy, and connected communities.

Marian College

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An industrial warehouse site is transformed into a warm, welcoming learning environment with themed gardens, fruit trees, and a reflective walk. Outdoor classrooms, native plantings, and productive gardens invite students to nurture and care for their surroundings—blending place, spirituality, and nature.

The Future is Wild @ The Hillocks

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WildLab designed and developed the concept, landscape and building for The Future is Wild @ The Hillocks - an innovative visitor experience where place, architecture, VR storytelling, and hands-on planting combine. Each stage reveals Aotearoa’s ecological past and future, guiding visitors from awe to action. The result is a powerful design framework that directly supports nature’s restoration.

Taranaki Tracks and Trails Strategy 2040

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The Taranaki Tracks and Trails Strategy 2040 sets a long-term vision for how journeys through the region can connect people with the mana of Taranaki. By grounding design in cultural narrative and ecological values, the strategy offers a pathway for tracks and trails to inspire, connect, and transform communities and visitors alike.

Field Notes

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The Story of the National Parks of Aotearoa New Zealand

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In September 2017 we brought the story of the national parks of Aotearoa New Zealand to Beijing, China. It was hosted at the Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture, and shows the ways the National Park idea has evolved over the last 130 years in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Being Landscape

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This article reimagines landscape not as a static scene to be observed or preserved, but as an active, lived relationship between people and place. Drawing on personal experiences, design research, and fieldwork,a case for more participatory approaches to conservation is made—ones that foster mutual shaping between people and landscape, and enable deeper belonging through embodied practice.

Wildness: planting new natures in Aotearoa, New Zealand

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This article rethinks wildness—not as something untouched or lost, but as something new, messy, and shaped by us. It’s useful because it gives designers ways to work with real, changing landscapes instead of trying to recreate the past. It encourages using what’s already there—native and exotic plants, people and animals—and trying out creative, practical ideas. Rather than aiming to fix nature, the article asks how we might live better with it. The article shows ways design can help grow new relationships between people and place, offering fresh ways to care for land, support life, and imagine more hopeful futures.

Behind the Image

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This column, some years back for Wilderness Magazine, takes a look at our love of pristine wilderness photos—those calendar shots with no people, no huts, no mess. But behind every image is someone swatting sandflies, hauling gear, and eating tuna from a foil pouch. Maybe it’s time we showed that too

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DesigningwithNature

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