Theatrical, effervescent, yet down-to-earth, Dunedin woman Tahu Mackenzie operates on one gear. And it's full-on, writes Shane Gilchrist.
It's a Friday night at the Inch Bar, Gardens Corner. Tahu Mackenzie has a Ken doll wedged in her hair.
A present from a friend, ''Ken even winks,'' she points out before confirming said action by pressing a button at the back of the figure.
An hour or so later, Ken has migrated. Jammed in cleavage, he is front and centre as Mackenzie, resplendent in a metallic green dress, joins guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Morris in performing to a small but appreciative audience.
According to those who witnessed Mackenzie in full voice as she stood atop the wooden bar several months back, it's a more laid-back approach.
Then again, there's only a duo tonight, as opposed to the almost Earth, Wind and Fire proportions of Mackenzie's main musical vehicle, Dunedin band Tahu and the Takahes.
A week later, she strolls into the Otago Daily Times office, her cardinal red outfit (completed by a dash of glitter here, a touch of feathers there) juxtaposed against an interview room paint scheme best described as early-'90s peach.
Yet restrained decor can't dull Mackenzie's energy. For her, excitement seems a default setting.
Take, for instance, a primary school's visit to Orokonui Ecosanctuary, where Mackenzie has a full-time job as an educator: Their number exceeding 100, the children crowd into a large room.
Legs folded, backs straight, their attention held by Mackenzie, they learn lessons both of environment and exuberance.
After six years at Orokonui, Mackenzie has a role that includes communicating with teachers as well as visiting schools, where she maps the flora and fauna within the grounds and helps promote environmental goals.
Responsible for a small team of educators, she currently has four people in her watch (although that number fluctuates); they comprise a ''wonderful mix of science-based people, musicians, even a former school principal who has experience in curriculum-based material'', Mackenzie explains.
''We get students from the University of Otago's zoology department. Depending on what they are studying, they might also be doing research within the ecosanctuary. There are lots of amazing people we can call on.
''I just tell people to be themselves, because children know when people aren't being genuine. Also, it's important that we engage in conversations with the children, to allow them to express what they are thinking or feeling.
''It's every important to meet the learning objectives. And going outside, being hands-on, is a good way for children to learn.''
Mackenzie has been involved in her own educational odyssey of late.
The 28-year-old was one of 30 people selected from around the world for a week-long Roots and Shoots symposium last month at Windsor Castle, near London, run by the Jane Goodall Institute (for more on Mackenzie's experience there, see the side story).
Led by Dame Jane Goodall, the British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist and United Nations Messenger of Peace (and one of Mackenzie's role models), the Roots & Shoots global youth programme was established in 1991 to inspire ''lifelong interconnected thinking for people, animals and the environment'', Mackenzie explains.
The Roots & Shoots programme was launched in Otago last year in a collaboration between Orokonui Ecosanctuary, Dr Goodall, University of Otago professor Phil Bishop and Enviroschools, which funded the first year of the programme within six Dunedin secondary schools.
''I'm learning all the time,'' Mackenzie says.
''I'm really interested in nature-healing and have been involved with social workers in schools. We work with small groups of children who might be experiencing difficulties; they come out to the sanctuary ... we've been doing that for the last five years.
''I'd like to develop that more. There's research that shows the importance of children engaging with nature. Depending on how overt you want to be, you can introduce concepts such as mindfulness. Even things such as walking down the road to school can help ground a kid, setting them up for the day ahead.
''There are lots of ways in which people can get to that point of peacefulness, be it religion or otherwise, but I find it through nature. And I think science helps elucidate that.''
Although she hardly requires an excuse to dress up, Mackenzie has sometimes combined her love of the natural world with a penchant for accessorising.
Flower-like creature?
Yes.
Peripatus?
No problem.
Some of these incarnations were spawned during the four years she spent as a science communicator at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at Portobello.
Such was Mackenzie's enthusiasm, she was awarded the Michelle McCormack Dunedin tourism personality of the year award in 2008.
''I was lucky in that they wanted someone theatrical,'' she reflects.
''I was always into science but thought I wanted to do brain stuff, as in how the brain works. I ended up working there and realised science communication was what I wanted to do.
''I've been really lucky to work in places where there are heaps of scientists, people who want to share their passion. I can therefore be a conduit for them. I love that.''
Born in Dunedin, raised by her mother ''and her best friends, a woman and a man'', Mackenzie spent her early years in Broad Bay before leaving for Scotland at the age of 7.
Culture shock can be packaged in a range of guises. For Mackenzie, who later moved to Canterbury in Kent, England, realisation she was far from home came when she was told she couldn't climb a tree.
''I felt it was harder to be engaged with nature in England,'' she reflects, adding her mother still lives in Canterbury, where she lectures in medical law.
''I used to have vivid dreams about being back in Dunedin. I had been back twice, but just for short times. I think I'm more suited to living here. From an early age, it's been really important for me to find a connection with nature.''
Having moved back to Dunedin at the age of 18, the ''straight-As high school pupil'' says she has been ''lucky'' with the opportunities that have come her way.
''Since I returned, I've pretty much always been working full-time.''
Significantly, Mackenzie has also managed to find an occupation that satisfies her interest in flora and fauna while also accommodating a sense of style that is both unique and vivacious.
''I did go through phases of trying to be like other people, but it didn't feel right,'' she says.
Yet possessing a sense of style that stands out from the crowd comes with its own set of baggage.
Namely, the occasional derogatory comment.
''I think people can be intimidated or puzzled with that level of self-expression,'' Mackenzie says.
''I don't take it as an attack. But, yeah, I have had things said ... I think everyone does.
''I think that has lessened over time. I also think being in a position of responsibility at work has helped me.''
For Mackenzie, work, performance and self-expression exist on the same continuum.
''I enjoy making a space in which people can relax and feel good. I think that goes across various realms,'' she explains.
''I got into theatre about the age of 10 and, as a young teen, I realised the point of me performing was to show others that they could do the same.
''From that time, it stopped being an ego thing. It also stopped being scary,'' says the woman whose MC talents have prompted invitations ranging from the Dunedin Fringe Festival, to burlesque shows, to weddings.
In fact, she fancies the idea of being a marriage celebrant at some point.
Having sung in choirs as a schoolgirl, Mackenzie has long had musical inclinations, although she admits she hasn't always been as confident a singer as she is now.
She says chance meetings over the past decade have led to her performing in a range of bands.
A quick rundown: Heart-shaped Gecko Girls, Sky Bus, Tomato Plants, then Tahu and the Takahes, which has grown into a nine-piece melting pot of styles, including blues, soul and funk.
''I'm not concerned with genres. I like singing really hard-out, like Big Momma Thornton.
''I think we all have a lot of fun playing together. But I don't force anyone else to be exuberant. Not everyone wants to be covered head to toe in glitter, gyrating wildly and shouting.''
Which brings us to another point in all this positivity.
Is it exhausting being Tahu Mackenzie?
''I do get tired,'' she admits.
''It is a huge energy output. That's where the nature stuff helps me to recharge.''
We can make a difference
Tahu Mackenzie describes a week spent at the inspirational Jane Goodall Institute at Windsor Castle, near London.
Every individual makes a difference; it is up to you to choose what kind of difference you want to makeFrom July 30 to August 7 this year, I was fortunate enough to attend a leadership symposium for Roots & Shoots, the global education programme of the Jane Goodall Institute, JGI for short.
This wonderful week unfolded at the spectacular hub for ''wisdom through discourse'', St George's House, nestled in the historical splendour of Windsor Castle's grounds.
Jane has inspired Roots & Shoots groups to spring up in more than 130 countries worldwide, from Tanzania where it all began, to the UK and US where it is well-established, and now to New Zealand, where it continues to grow.
Roots & Shoots is a youth-led environmental education programme that encourages lifelong interconnected thinking for people, animals and the environment.
The programme is underpinned by the simple yet powerful message from Jane that ''every individual makes a difference; it is up to you to choose what kind of difference you want to make''.
Highlights for me included meeting fellow educators from all around the globe.
Lebo and Japhet from Johannesburg and Tanzania were particularly insightful about how education from Roots & Shoots programmes has healed rifts in their communities.
The highlight of the course for us all was Jane's grace and wisdom.
Her humility in the face of great adversity is second only to her tireless passion to share the message of her cause: the power of each individual to make positive change.
It was an honour and pleasure to spend more time learning from Jane and hear of her latest campaigns against wildlife trafficking and trophy hunting.
I was able to share the inspiring experiences in environmental education at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, where I have been privileged to run the education programme for the past six years, working with primary, secondary, tertiary and Otepoti community groups.
In talking with other educators, I felt blessed by the deep significance of environmental consciousness in New Zealand in a global context.
I feel so lucky to work in a place where ''education for sustainability'' is part of the curriculum and where everyone, whether it consciously resonates with them or not, has been raised with breathtaking remnants of native glory around them.
JGI also uses cutting-edge technology to unite and encourage groups around the world.
Exemplifying one of Jane's pithy mottos, ''think global, act local'', JGI has partnered Google to offer Roots & Shoots members the opportunity to map their actions on a local, national and global scale using satellite imaging technology.
This approach allows students to access imagery from as far back as the 1970s and bring it up to date with their own actions.
As the satellite records new images every two weeks, it thus serves as a document on the positive impacts Roots & Shoots groups are making in areas such as revegetation and habitat restoration.
Jane, who is also a United Nations Messenger for Peace, will be speaking to this global action map in terms of Roots & Shoots groups offsetting climate change at the United Nations Climate Summit in Paris later this year.
