Mr Wilson spent the night of June 3 filling sandbags with his 14 flatmates to protect homes in Dunedin's low-lying suburbs against the rising floodwaters.
After spending his entire life in Dunedin, Mr Wilson was spurred into action after "seeing people's lives in trouble''.
"We were happily tucked away in our flat and we thought ‘we could do something to help','' he said.
The flooded streets made a confronting sight.
"It was quite scary,'' he said.
"In New Zealand we are quite sheltered from the outside world.
"On the news you see these disasters overseas, but to see it in your own backyard, even on a small scale, it's scary. I didn't really ever expect to see flooding that bad in South Dunedin.''
The effect the floods had on other people's lives was particularly moving, he said.
"It was definitely traumatic and sad seeing a lot of older people hit by the floods - knowing a lot of them didn't have a backup plan.''
The event had inspired him to be regularly involved in volunteering and had given him a frightening insight into the future of climate change.
"The last one or two weeks when it was raining quite a lot, it brought back memories,'' he said.
"Something needs to be done for the future. There's a lot of talk but there needs to be action.''
