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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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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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.

Eden Project Christchurch Ōtautahi: Ki Uta Ki Tai

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An eco‑tourism project to transform the earthquake‑scarred land along the Avon Ōtākaro River into a dynamic waterscape—blending performance space, wetlands, sensory “rain,” “moss,” and “rainbow” rooms, and flood‑resilient landscapes. It combines environment, culture, and experience to reshape Christchurch through water‑enabled connection and renewal

Seaview Vineyard White Road Tour Storytelling

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Storytelling panels and wayfinding signs guide vineyard visitors along Yealand's White Road Tour, explaining sustainable winemaking practices—like caring for water, nurturing vines naturally, and repurposing prunings—with engaging visuals and clear directions, turning each stop into an immersive, educational journey through the vineyard’s regenerative processes.

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.

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.

WildLab Field Guide to Designing Great Storytelling Panels

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For over a decade we’ve been designing storytelling panels that connect people with nature. This guide shares the principles behind our work—how good design and strong stories can inspire, build connection, and help communities bring the values of Te Taiao to life.

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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