News | 28 February 2022

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Our community: Meet some of the team

Wellington City Council is made up of hundreds of passionate staff who help ensure our capital is a safe, inclusive and vibrant place to live, work and play. Meet some of our dedicated team. 

Cheyney smiling and crouching behind a bed of tulips at the Botanic Gardens.

Cheyney Biddlecombe
Assistant Gardener, Botanic Garden

What is the best part of your job?
Getting to be involved in the story of New Zealand flora, working alongside many different and amazing colleagues, and seeing the smiles on visitors’ faces when they're walking about admiring the gardens.

How do you help serve our city?
By nurturing a green space that the public can enjoy, while also being a part of maintaining a plant collection that promotes education, conservation, and a passion for plants.

Vondy wearing a stripy scarf and smiling from the top of a cliff with a couple of sheep in the background.

Vondy Thornton
Senior Community Resilience Advisor

What’s the best part of your job?
Being able to think about how the city can change, and listening to people from all walks of life in order do that.

How do you help serve our city?
Providing support and advice to NGOs, community groups and community-minded people. Wellington is full of amazing people doing some creative, important mahi. This deserves Wellington City Council’s backing.

Caitlin in her parking officer uniform, smiling and leaning against a bollard.

Caitlin
Parking Officer

What's the best part of your job?
The best part definitely has to be seeing the city, whether I'm working in the suburbs or in the CBD, it's really awesome to see what Wellington has on offer.

How do I help serve our city?
I help out by getting Wellington moving, making sure parks are free for the public to use. Also keeping people safe, whether this be by stopping people parking dangerously or illegally. We also help out around schools making sure children are safe leaving school.

Joanna Langford standing in front of a beautiful waste minimisation display board.

Joanna Langford
Waste Minimisation Officer

What’s the best part of your job?
I love sharing the simple, fun and creative ways to reduce waste and look after Papatūānuku. Things like valuing experiences and connection over material goods. Being resourceful with the stuff we already have, repairing, mending and sharing things and thinking twice before we buy.

How do you help serve our city?
Deliver free education sessions to businesses, schools, ECE and community groups. Contribute seed funding to help with local waste busting ideas. Provide advice on how to reduce food waste, recycle right and provide options on what to do with your waste. And promote campaigns like Plastic Free July and Love Food Hate Waste.

Les standing beside a truck at the Karori Cemetery.

Les Blackwell
Cemetery Technician, Karori Cemetery

What’s the best part of your job?
Working outdoors in the fresh air.

How do you help serve our city?
I serve the city by maintaining the cemetery ground; providing families a tranquil place to visit their loved ones.

Cory smiling and standing in front of a blossoming magnolia tree in the Botanic Garden ki Paekākā.

Cory Meister
Team Leader Grounds and Trees, Botanic Gardens

What’s the best part of your job?
In my role I enjoy the wide variety of jobs that working in a botanic garden brings, from general horticulture jobs to work planning. Working with plants has always been a big passion of mine so working in a botanic garden with other passionate staff makes this the dream job for me.

How do you help serve our city?
I help serve our city by taking pride in planning and maintaining the grounds and trees at the Botanic Garden.

Sofaia Kolinisau smiling on a city street.

7 December 2021