Nina Menegatti-Zink, a year 9 Fiordland College student has published a book titled simply “A walk” describing her experience of the Covid-19 lockdown.

About 50 people gathered at the Te Anau Library on Friday, 28 May to attend her special book launch.

“Almost every day, during lockdown, we would go out walking. I would always take my camera with me and photograph the plants and wildlife we encountered and the places we walked to. It became the new ‘normal’ and made me feel safe and happy,” Nina says.

Nina and her new published book, A Walk, moments before she heads out on another outdoors adventure. Photo: David Pickett

The book started in March 2020 as a school project for English to write and illustrate a book for children aged 5 to 7, which Nina thought was “an incredible amount of fun”. Raewyn Patton (then the Te Anau librarian, now Digital Programmes Coordinator at Clutha District Libraries) encouraged Nina to publish her story and illustrations.

For a 13-year-old Nina is certainly punching above her waist.

She has recently won a competition for designing flags that now decorate Te Anau’s main street and is no stranger to public speaking, particularly on the topic of conservation, which is close to her heart.

Little teddy bear biscuits made by Masami Scott were very popular at the supper provided at Nina’s book launch. Photo: Alina Suchanski

Nina said that at this stage she is not planning to write another book, but her next challenge is a project titled Litter Intelligence run by Sustainable Coastline.

Litter Intelligence is Aotearoa’s first national litter database, aimed to build a better understanding of the country’s rubbish problem.

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Funded by the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund and run in association with the Department of Conservation and Statistics New Zealand, the programme engages citizen scientists to collect data about pollution on New Zealand coastline.

Nina plans to get Fiordland College involved in running a survey of waste produced in Milford Sound by collecting and analysing rubbish found along the shore and feed the findings into the Litter Intelligence database. 

Nina’s book was printed by Print Central in Queenstown and can be purchased for $20 at Paper Plus Te Anau.