Nate Wilbourne (born 17 March 2008) is a New Zealand environmentalist, activist, speaker, and photographer.[1] He has worked for environmental organisations, working on both regional and national levels. Wilbourne is recognised for his contribution to his local community as a conservationist.[2][3][4]
Wilbourne lives in Nelson, and was born on 17 March 2008.[2] He grew up in the suburb of Brightwater, where he attended the local primary school.[5]
At 12 years old, he transitioned to a plant-based diet after learning that farming was responsible for nearly half of New Zealand’s emissions each year.[4]
Wilbourne is the founder of 'Gen-Z Aotearoa'[6] a youth-led organisation who "use the power of social media to drive positive change."[7]
In 2022, Wilbourne was a speaker at TEDxNelson[8] and gave a TEDx talk titled 'The Power Of Connecting Young People To Nature'.[9] In 2024, Wilbourne was invited to speak at the Youth Environmental Education Congress (YEEC) as part of the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) in Abu Dhabi on, from the 29th of January to the 2nd of February, on "Intergenerational Action for Biodiversity."[10]
At 13 years old, Wilbourne became involved with Forest & Bird Youth. To get young people involved in conservation within his region, he set up a 'Youth Hub.' There is now up to 40 youth supporting the hub.[19][20][21][4]
Wilbourne has worked with School Strike 4 Climate New Zealand and is a current spokesperson.[22] He organised his local climate strike in March 2023, which mobilised local students and handed an open letter to Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.[23][24][25] Wilbourne was mentioned in RNZ's story: 'Climate Strikes: Thousands march around New Zealand to demand action'.[24]
He is an advocate for turning his home city, Nelson into a Climate-resilient city, that incorporates Mātauranga Māori, affordable housing, and green spaces.[28] He also advocates for more cycleways in his community.[29] Wilbourne criticised the ACT party's plan to introduce a 'Treaty Principles Bill' that would re-define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, stating that "ACT preys on Pākehā fear, capitalising on the ignorance and misunderstanding of Te Tiriti."[30]