Mr Phill Waddington, of Lower Hutt, MNZM for services to conservation and art
Mr Phill Waddington is an artist who contributes to conservation in the Hutt Valley. He funded a QEII Covenant on a 23-hectare property, which Hutt City Council now manages. He helps protect natural habitats and controls predators with specialised traps that protect kiwi and other endangered wildlife. The traps have been adopted by the Department of Conservation and conservation groups throughout New Zealand, and have eliminated many thousands of predators nationwide. Mr Waddington was Wellington Zoo’s inaugural Artist in Residence, and has donated artworks to fundraise for trapping programmes. Mr Waddington was Wellingtonian of the Year in 2013 and won the Local Hero New Zealander of the Year award in 2019.