Bridget Abernethy

Executive Director

I grew up in Wellington surrounded by native bush, some of which had survived a local burn-off in the late 1860s. In our back garden the old pukatea and kahikatea, rimu and tanekaha, tawa and mahoe had made their home over a century before we arrived. I can still recall the sound of our resident kereru and tui getting drunk on the karaka berries. From an early age we learnt the value of New Zealand's indigenous trees.

I studied a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and a Master of Arts at Victoria University in Wellington, and then travelled and worked in the US and the UK. I returned to New Zealand to work for a Cabinet Minister in Parliament. This was followed by a period in an international PR agency working primarily for adidas International to leverage their sponsorship of the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup in the UK.

I moved to Auckland to take a role with Carter Holt Harvey in 2000, where as General Manager of Corporate Communications, I was fortunate to work on some major organisational change projects and on managing a range of external issues.

Having the opportunity to work for Project Crimson is a great personal achievement for me. For all the exciting career opportunities I have had in my life, Project Crimson is one of the most exciting. Here, with the help of many others, I can make a contribution to future generations by ensuring New Zealanders and visitors to our country understand the cultural, ecological and aesthetic value of our indigenous trees, specifically the pohutukawa and rata.

In my role at Project Crimson, I am very fortunate to have the support of my husband Brett, and our two wonderful young children Hugo and Lucy.