Meet some of our climate action superstars

When it comes to the climate emergency, Wellington City Council's focus is on how we can respond with a collective effort to make measurable change.

The pocket of a blue denim jacket covered in seven colourful badges with various climate-themed messages, including 'eat less meat', 'shop seasonal', and 'there's no planet b'.

Urgent action is needed to make sure we more than halve our emissions by 2030 and become a net zero carbon capital by 2050, as laid out in our Te Atakura First to Zero plan.

Meet some of our climate action team members who are working to help us achieve these goals, and find out how they are leading change within the Council and around the city.

Bree Graczyk, Zero Carbon Advisor

A young woman with dark long hair and a black jacket and beanie, looking left with a slight smile, in front of a blue and white wall on which the paint is beginning to chip.

The common theme running through Bree’s six years at Council is improving the resilience of people and places.

Having started in Community Services, Bree then joined the Resilience team to work on earthquake-prone buildings, and she’s now focused on climate change.

Bree says her work helps Council understand its full impact on carbon emissions “from what we spend our money on, how we build, and how we operate our services”.

The goal is to identify where the Council can reduce emissions, and influence others to do the same.

Bree’s role also supports climate-conscious building around the city, work that aligns to her background in social work and holistic systems.

Her career has spanned many areas, including mental and physical wellbeing, teaching and nature-related projects.

Bree loves learning new things and right now she’s enjoying crafting items from recycled leather.

Peter Jones, Zero Carbon Advisor

A young man with dark blond hair smiling in front of a lake with rocky surroundings and bush.

Peter is part of the growing team tasked with implementing the Council’s climate action plan, Te Atakura – First to Zero.

It’s his job as a Zero Carbon Advisor to ensure the vision of a net zero carbon future is embedded in the organisation’s culture, and that Council staff have the knowledge and skills to achieve climate action in their roles.

The bulk of Peter’s career to date has been working in sustainability policy and skills development in the UK. This involved working with leaders across industry, private sector, government and academia to develop thought leadership across environmental, social, and governance issues in the pursuit of a Green Economy.

Peter is fully embracing life in the capital, making the most of the vibrant social, art and food culture.

Anna Blomquist, Behaviour Change Lead

A blond woman with a friendly smile, glasses and lipstick, looking up in front of a book shelf.

Leading the Behaviour Change team is Anna Blomquist, who’s worked at the Council for over 12 years in various roles with City Planning, Transport and City Design.

Her background is in education and health promotion and now she works across both road safety and mode shift – getting people out of their cars and on to public transport, bikes, scooters or travelling on foot.

Many barriers to active and sustainable transport are related to perceptions of safety, so it’s Anna’s job to challenge and change these perceptions.

She’s looking forward to the mahi that focuses on achieving strategic outcomes for the city and delivering on programmes of work like Let’s Get Wellington Moving.