Jessielee Pearce

Judge for the Spring Prize Awards.

Jessielee is the Lush staff judge for Spring Prize 2023.

Jessielee is a proud Māori wahine, a māma, an environmental and indigenous land rights activist. She is a member of several activist communities and movements focused on social, environmental and upholding indigenous land rights.

Jessielee has worked for LUSH Aotearoa (New Zealand) for nearly a decade. In this time she has worked alongside many different regenerative organisations that focus specifically on permaculture, education and restorative practices.

Raised with indigenous mara kai (vegetable gardening) practices, permaculture has been intrinsically woven into her way of life. Companion planting and following a lunar/solar structure is rooted in Indigenous knowledge and is a way of connecting with the Te taiao (the environment) and ensuring that we have something to hand on to our future generations. Jessielee has also volunteered at a local community garden, teaching families the basics of permaculture and how to successfully grow their own food in a regenerative way.

Jessielee has assisted RE:Fund NZ in granting the very first application for Australasia to Papawhkaritorito a Hua Parakore (permaculture) Project, a Māori organic seedling CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) project that grows rangatahi (youth) leadership and skills in seedling production.

With a fair understanding of permaculture I dont always look at it from a singular lense of gardening. It is much broader than that, though social and economic impact is really where permaculture has its true potential.