Jan Kelly, of Wanaka, has put her heart, soul and incredible energy into the conservation causes she is passionate about.
Above all, she aims to tread lightly on the planet.
Mrs Kelly, a retired cartographer (or map maker), has lived near Mt Barker with her mining engineer husband Errol Kelly since 2001.
As secretary of the Central Otago Recreational Users Forum (CORUF) for the past five years, she was involved in the appeal hearings for the Hayes Wind Farm and gave submissions at the Nevis Valley Water Conservation Order hearing.
Mrs Kelly has done many hours of volunteer weeding and monitoring work for the Lindis Working Group and the Central Otago Ecological Trust.
Mrs Kelly said she was honoured to be nominated as a finalist but felt she was "just one of the workers".
Her passion for wildlife developed growing up on a farm at Akatore, near Quoin Point and Taieri Beach.
The Kellys lived in several wild places around the world, including Canada and the United States, before settling in Auckland where they lived for 33 years.
Mrs Kelly said she became involved in Central Otago conservation issues because, unlike the Wanaka area, there was no unifying national park.
The CORUF was initially formed as a Department of Conservation initiative and had members from a wide variety of recreational groups.
CORUF has since separated from Doc, so it could apply for funds, and has a charitable status.
It makes public access submissions on tenure review applications and liaises with Government agencies to try to ensure access to conservation areas is not limited to those travelling by foot, bike or horse.
It was accepted access arrangements were subject to limitations and recreational users must comply with farmers' seasonal operations, she said.
"Otago is getting populated - not overpopulated, just populated - and the days of asking farmers for access are nearly gone ... A lot of incomers don't know the rules for things like closing gates. They don't have familiarity with rural land issues," Mrs Kelly said.
The CORUF is also keen to preserve locations that provide a sense of wild remoteness, hence its involvement in the Hayes Wind Farm appeal.
Mrs Kelly's passion for the outdoors begins on her own doorstep, where she nurtures an eco-sanctuary for lizards and stalks them with her camera.
"I just love wild things and making a garden that is friendly to wild things. You get all sorts of beetles and other things with it. I feel I am living gently on this earth," she said.
Mrs Kelly developed her fascination for skinks through her volunteer work for the Central Otago Ecological Trust, which is involved in saving the critically endangered Otago skink.
"When you see the baby skinks coming out, you know your garden is doing well," she said.
• The winner of the Inland Otago Conservation Awards will be announced at a function in Cromwell on Tuesday, September 14.
