What I really wanted with Karaka Tree was to give visitors new tools to find value in the environments around us. For me, the path to finding value in something is stories. Walking into Gribblehurst Park, it was overwhelming how many stories were whispering up in the trees, under the soil, in the crushed Corona can just off the path.

We stumbled into this Karaka tree, with little love heart tattoos carved into her arms, sitting proudly in the center of Gribblehirst. From there her story just tumbled out!

Imagining her parents as Owairaka and Maungawhau who erupted thousands of years ago, sewing the bedrock beneath to support her. The rich swamp waters fostered her, while she grew tall and strong. And now, we walk past her on our commutes, or maybe she’s a shrine for young romance, where sweethearts sneak off to meet, down by the Karaka tree.