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.

Connect with what we do . . .

Shop

See All

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

Love Our Huts T-Shirt Fundraiser

Wear your support for FMC's Love Our Huts campaign with these awesome T-shirts! $20 from each purchase goes to supporting the great work Federated Mountain Clubs do.

$48.00

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

See All

Guide Hill Station Restoration Strategy

See All

Spanning 3,500 hectares, this restoration strategy weaves ecological renewal into working merino farmland. It safeguards critical habitat for the rare black stilt (kakī), restores ecological corridors like Bolton’s Gully, and balances dryland farming with long-term cultural and environmental resilience.

Whitehaven Vineyard Landscape Restoration

See All

The Springs is a long-term landscape vision for Whitehaven Wines - restoring native ecosystems alongside a working vineyard in the Wairau Valley. This project weaves together ecological design, viticultural insight, and community storytelling to show how wine and wild nature can thrive side by side.

Punakaiki Coastal Restoration Project

See All

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.

The Future is Wild @ The Hillocks

See All

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.

Field Notes

See All

Social Natures

See All

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.

Forever Wild

See All

This recent column reflects on how moments in wild places shape who we are. It traces the history of New Zealand’s protected lands and how they came to be, while noting the pressures they face today. It asks us to consider the shared responsibility we all have for ensuring these places remain fully protected both now and into the future.

New Land

See All

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?

Being Landscape

See All

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.

Be inspired! Sign up for our updates on regenerative design and ways to grow places where people and nature thrive.

DesignwithNature

Shop

Our Projects

Field Notes

Thank you!