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Natalia Groom has a natural affinity with the ocean which might seem unnatural when you consider where she comes from.
Groom grew up in Manchester, and left the land-locked English city 11 years ago thinking she would return a couple of years later. She's lived and worked in New Zealand since 2017 and can usually be found not far from the ocean.
She's now combining her love of education and the environment as Yachting New Zealand's education lead, overseeing the implementation of the new schools' programme, RŪNĀ, as well as the Clean Club programme.
Groom spent the last three-and-a-half years working for Sustainable Coastlines where she helped develop a citizen science programme for schools and kura and worked with funders, councils and mana whenua.
Prior to that she worked for a not-for-profit in Malawi, helping with women's empowerment, before finding herself working for a dive centre in Australia.
It was during this time across the ditch that she developed a passion for the ocean and ocean conservation.
"I love the ocean, and what drew me to this role with Yachting New Zealand was connecting kids with nature," she said. "The last couple of years, with Covid and lockdowns, has shown how important it is for kids to be active, so it's nice to be involved in something where kids are connecting with a sport that's outdoors."
RŪNĀ is made up by three modules with in-classroom learning experiences delivered by teachers, and all three offer the opportunity for students to put what they have learned into practice with a sailing experience. The programme is aimed at students in years 5-10 but can easily be adapted for older and younger children.
You can learn more about RŪNĀ here.
The Clean Club programme is a world-first and was developed in collaboration with Sailors for the Sea and the New Zealand SailGP Team. It outlines areas clubs can follow to become more environmentally sustainable and these efforts are recognised in a three-tiered system.
Two clubs have already achieved three-star status and a handful of clubs in Australia are about to join the programme as Sailing Australia look to adopt it across the Tasman.
You can learn more about the Clean Club programme here.
"I'm really passionate about the environment and the amount of interest in the Clean Club programme is really encouraging," Groom said. "Every club I have spoken to wants to do it."
Groom will be spending time over the next few weeks connecting with schools, kura and clubs as she looks to develop both RŪNĀ and the Clean Club programme. She might even find time to try to learn how to sail.
"I have been on plenty of boats but have never been on a sailing boat," she admits. "Trying to learn all the yachting terms is probably one of the hardest things so far.
"It has opened my eyes to the sport and if I can do that for other people, that's really cool."
