In 2012, a chance encounter caused Campbell’s wife to stumble across the Berhampore Nursery, where she met Wellington City Council Biodiversity Specialist Anita Benbrook.
They began chatting about the space, and Anita and a park ranger visited the space to provide advice on the best plants to include.
When they arrived, the two were amazed by the work and offered to provide plants from the nursery which Campbell believes made his work possible.
“Everything changed from that meeting. We started off getting around 90 plants a year, and then have built up to 500 a year.
Without that support, we wouldn’t have been able to plant as much as we have,” says Campbell.
Over the years, people on his cul-de-sac became interested in the area after seeing him out day after day, and he was often joined by neighbours, his own family, and volunteers from community groups in the Mount Cook area.