OUR PURPOSE
Girls who Grow are connecting young women back to the land of Aotearoa New Zealand to create meaningful and values aligned career pathways into climate positive agriculture and farming (well in short food and fashion!)
Girls who Grow are engaging young women who are interested in being part of the climate solution in agricultural industries. We’re transforming the way we think about food and fibre systems by using the power of imagination and creativity to work toward a prosperous, healthy and thriving world.
Our Future Environmental Guardians
Girls who Grow are focusing impact on the following UN Sustainable Development Goals
3. Good Health and Wellbeing - the power of connecting people back to the land to enhance mental and physical wellbeing
4. Quality Education - we know that educating women and girls on climate positive practices is intrinsic to the solutions to our most wicked environmental challenges
5. Gender Equality - creating a gender equal agricultural sector
11. Sustainable Cities & Communities - bringing urban communities together from across New Zealand and re-connecting people back to the land
13. Climate Action - working toward a climate positive future in agricultural systems by supporting our next generation of educated female leaders to be part of the climate solution
15. Life on Land - supporting a diverse future where all living systems thrive
Kotiro he mokopuna koe na Hine-titama
Waiwai ana ngā karu te tirohanga atu
I te whakairatanga
I whakatongia e Io
No tua whakarere te mana o te Tane, o te Wahine
To all of the young girls and women, you are a descendant of Hine-titama (the First woman)
It is said that when men gazed upon Hine-titama, their eyes shed tears because of her beauty Hine-titama the spring of life
Hine-titama within whom Io planted the spark of life
The mana and prestige of men and women are handed down from Hine-titama and our ancestors.
— Taonui Campbell, Waikato - Maniapoto
In 2023 Girls who Grow has been activating a pilot of the programme in Central Otago including
Imagination Centred Workshops
Designed for 15 - 17 year old female college students
To spark their imaginations and get curious about the roles that they can play in creating a climate positive future and how by connecting back to the land, they can create a meaningful and values aligned career pathway.
Imagination Challenge
Where collectives of diverse college students worked together to use their imaginations and get creative to design meaningful solutions to drought through water capture and storage solutions. Working with diverse mentors from across the region, the students crafted ideas and presented these to judges from Otago Polytech, Sustainable Food and Fibre Fund, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Pamu and Otago Polytech.
On farm lunch and learn experience
College students from across Otago had the opportunity to immerse into diverse experiences at Hemp Central, Moreish Kitchen and Forest Lodge Orchard to learn more about diverse farming, sustainable fibres for fashion and construction, land use, locally sourced produce, electrification of farming practices and co-designing the next iteration of Girls who Grow.
The students were super excited to have a chance to drive the only electric tractor in New Zealand.
Who’s behind Girls who Grow?
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Co-founder, Girls who Grow
Catherine grew up in Sydney worlds away from a farming or agricultural background, in the fast fashion game after her father founded a youth fashion brand, SUPRÉ. So although she doesn't have roots grounded in generations of farming, she moved to the Awatere Valley in 2019 to create a diverse life and change of pace. Surrounded by generations of farming families, she started to learn more about being connected to the land and its importance on physical and mental well-being.
Catherine hosted an online gathering of 350 farmers and industry leaders alongside a New Zealand organisation leading the charge on NZ’s Carbon Zero by 2030 plans, Toitu and she was introduced to farmers from across Marlborough inclduing Geoff and Justine Ross from Lake Hawea Station.
That session sparked so much interest in what role we all have as consumers and as humans who need to eat every day, on the importance of agriculture, food production and farming on our future livelihoods and how creating climate positive farming, how much all of our ecosystems can thrive.
After the session, Doug Avery, director of Resilient Farmer who joined us as a speaker shared a video on Facebook https://fb.watch/iSl1HeEJx7/?mibextid=q5o4bk from She who Dares Farm’s and it triggered something in me that activated various conversations across the country with entrepreneurial women and thought leaders about what could be activated to engage more educated young women to be part of the solution to climate action.
And so Girls who Grow was born.
Cath Quote “At school, I didn’t really value education. I didn’t quite fit into the system that is school. The structure, the boundaries, the regimented learning. But I knuckled down on my final years of education to finish on a high. But it wasn’t until after having children that I decided to educate myself beyond the family business, and did a University degree, and fell in love with education and now am an avid, continuous and curious learner. Educating women on climate change solutions is the number one thing that drives me every day. I am certainly no expert, but have surrounded myself with experts, academics and professionals that have diverse intelligence to learn from.”
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Co-founder, Girls who Grow
Aimee Blake is a rural professional, social researcher and systems thinker with a passion for reconnecting people back to food systems. She is currently pursuing her second master's degree at Lincoln University, specialising in agribusiness and researching the role of information in land use decision-making. Aimee’s rural roots run deep as the sixth generation on her family’s small dairy farm in Waiau Pa, Tāmaki Makaurau.
Aimee is on a mission to support sustainable transformations and is the co-chair of Future Farmers New Zealand a collective of young farmers, students, and urbanites who are passionate about ahuwhenua and the principles of kaitiakitanga. This group aims to discuss and inform beliefs, principles and policies to shape the future of New Zealand farming. It was through this group she was introduced to Catherine. Her parents used to joke with her that she should go get an education so she doesn’t have to become a farmer, this has fuelled her to change the narrative growing a community she wished she had in high school
Aimee has a background in FMCG marketing and a deep passion for all things food, farm and planet related. She loves connection, storytelling, and is endlessly curious. She is excited about embracing change for a healthy future. Food has always been her love language, and getting together to connect over a meal is one of her favourite ways to spend time. If she could choose one superpower, it would be to enable people to talk and communicate with plants and animals so that we can better understand each other and the natural world around us.
“When I got sick in 2020 I came to realise that we all can’t truly be healthy when our planet is sick. Agricultural systems shape us and shape our world, however rather than be an issue they can be part of the solution. Food is our most direct connection to nature, it’s made from living things that come from the earth. For me food and farming are culture and love, my favorite memories are those around the dinner table and always revolve around a meal. As we heal and regenerate nature we also regenerate ourselves. I’m optimistic and so excited about changing for a healthy future and everyone has a role to play. Everyone has to eat, and we all make choices when we get dressed and consume food every day, everytime we do that we owe it to a farmer and to nature. This means we all have agency and we need to be conscious of that. No one should think food comes from a supermarket.”
Aimee Blake, co-founder Girls who Grow
Presenting at Future Whenua
OUR PROGRAM PARTNERS
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"The Lake Hāwea Station Whenua and Whanau is proudly supporting Girls who Grow with a safe, open space to explore ideas and to set goals"
Justine Ross, Lake Hāwea Station
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"We see your project as a way to encourage more students and especially young women into the Primary Industry sector by showing them the vast range of career opportunities that are available whilst also being more aware of kaitiakitanga"
Natasha Hitchman, Teacher, Dunstan College, Otago
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"Our school is excited to be a participant in the pilot project for Girls who Grow"
Rose Kidd, Teacher, Lake Wakatipu High School
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"AgriSea is proud to support this amazing kaupapa Girls who Grow, empowering our future leaders, unlocking their curious minds by exploring new ideas and opportunities."
Taonui Campbell, Waikato - Maniapoto
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“Mount Aspiring College is delighted to host a pilot of the 'Girls who Grow' programme, an initiative that will encourage more young women to pursue careers in agriculture and farming, enabling them to help find climate-conscious solutions to the challenges we face as a result of climate change.”
Nicola Jacobsen, Teacher, Mt Aspiring College
OUR FUTURE VISION
A healthy future where people, communities and landscapes thrive. A future where people and nature, urban and rural are united as one.
A series of Climate Positive, BCorp-certified farms - inspiring, educating, and connecting collectives of youth.
OUR COLLABORATORS IN THE MAKING
