Chris Arbuckle on the shores of Lake Wanaka.

MADDY HARKER

After spending his early life on the remote Mount Aspiring Station then heading off to work in environmental management in New Zealand and abroad, Chris Arbuckle has now returned to the place that first inspired his deep love of nature.

Chris moved back to Wanaka just a week ago, and has set up home in a caravan on the shores of Glendhu Bay.

"I don’t think I’ll ever leave this place now,” Chris said.

As a child, Chris’s family alternated between winters in Wanaka and summers in the remote Matukituki Valley. His father was a deer culler, killing deer for meat. "It was a pretty sparse existence,” Chris said.

"Thinking about it, that probably explains why I’ve gone back to a caravan.”

Chris works as an environmental management consultant under his company Aspiring Environmental. He’s also one half of the Wanaka-based Touchstone Project, alongside Eddie Spearing. Chris began Aspiring Environmental while living in Dunedin, but Wanaka inspired its name.

"I love that space up at Mount Aspiring and I thought to myself, ‘you had to aspire to do something’ too. There’s a link to the mountains there in the name.” 

Environmental management wasn’t Chris’ original plan: when he left school he planned to become a wildlife ranger at the Department of Conservation.

"DOC was full, so I decided I better head off to uni,” Chris said.

After obtaining a Diploma in Wildlife Management, and a Masters in Zoology (looking at the effects of farmland use on freshwater), Chris managed a research project through the university, called the Taieri and Southern Rivers Programme.

After university, Chris spent 20 years working in an impressive range of roles focused on freshwater science, policy and leadership, particularly management of freshwater.

The work was satisfying and aligned with his passions, but in 2013 Chris decided to step out on his own. It "was about a need to re-engage with my children after years climbing ladders,” Chris said.

A few years on, Chris’s daughter Danielle is now 19 and attending university in Dunedin, while his son Braden, 15, lives in Dunedin with his mother but plans to spend summers in Wanaka.

The Touchstone Project is one of the things that has drawn Chris back to Wanaka. It is a direct action initiative supporting those concerned about the Lake Wanaka water catchment, raising awareness of impacts around the lake, and looking at how individuals can have a positive influence on the water in the lake.

Chris and Eddie met after a Chris returned a wayward biking helmet to Eddie’s son after a biking competition: they quickly connected through their shared love of Lake Wanaka.

Touchstone is amping up now: it has received government funding for a citizen lake monitoring project. Chris loves working closely with people who care about the environment. It was this group that discovered the sewage leak on Stoney Creek recently.

"The work I’m doing is educational, it’s not trying to find blame. The point of Touchstone is to raise awareness.”