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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Mackenzie Basin Drylands Park

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The Mackenzie Basin Drylands Park is a design-led exploration of what conservation could look like when integrated with tourism, agriculture, and cultural values. Inspired by the Mackenzie Agreement, this project proposes an alternative future where ecological protection is not separate from - but interwoven with - our productive and recreational landscapes.

Punakaiki Coastal Restoration Project

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A former mining and farmland site now transforms into thriving native rainforest, nurtured by volunteers and an on‑site nursery. It offers hands‑on experiences—seed‑raising, planting, monitoring, citizen science—while restoring the unique habitat where the Tāiko (Westland petrel) breeds. Over 200,000 eco‑sourced plants have been established.

Kiwi Ranger Programme New Zealand

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Kiwi Ranger is a hands-on education programme designed by WildLab to connect tamariki and their whānau with the natural world through playful, site-specific activities. From tasting honeydew to sculpting driftwood and exploring barefoot, each location offers a unique, sensory experience. The programme ran at 16 sites and was the nationwide pilot for DOC's Kiwi Guardians initiative.

Matakana Coast Tracks and Trails Strategy

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The Matakana Coast Tracks and Trails Strategy provides a roadmap for how the community can channel its energy and commitment into creating a truly connected regional network. Through careful analysis and collaborative planning, the strategy sets out a vision for trails that link coast, forest, and community, strengthening both place and people.

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.

New Land

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This exploratory map invites us to see Aotearoa’s public conservation lands—covering a third of the country—not as fixed or finished, but as places full of fresh potential. Re-imagined as a newly discovered archipelago, it prompts us to ask how we might live differently within these lands. Could they foster new forms of innovation, economy, and culture grounded in restoration, care, and a deep engagement with nature?

Social Natures

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How do landscapes and people shape each other? From stone walls built after forests were cleared, to regenerating bush reclaiming old farmland, it reveals how places are formed through work, memory, and material. Rather than viewing nature and architecture as separate, it shows them as deeply entwined—built from shared histories, changing relationships, and ongoing conversations.

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.

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DesigningwithNature

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Our Projects

Field Notes

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