Read about some of our incredible volunteers who give their time, passion and skills to help the Queenstown Trails Trust reach their goals.
Meet Britta Taylor, Queenstown Trails Trust Volunteer Trustee
Born in Lower Hutt, Britta spent most of her teenage years in Melbourne, returning to New Zealand to study Physical Education at Otago University. Britta went on to teach Physical Education in Dunedin for 30 years and was actively involved with Outdoor Education programmes at the University, specialising in sailing, windsurfing and cross country skiing.
Brita retired as a teacher and with her partner, decided to buy a sailing boat and spend a year sailing in the Pacific. Returning to NZ in the 90’s, only to be shipwrecked in Kaikoura, the boat was destroyed and a new passion for mountain biking was discovered after a big trip to Europe. Britta and her partner have spent the last 10 years travelling to Europe each winter, spending 3 months in the mountains, each time discovering new trails and deepening their love of alpine cycling.
Britta entered the world of volunteering when asked to join the Board of the Otago Southland branch of the Cancer Society. As a cancer survivor, Britta was keen to help increase awareness of the value of healthy lifestyles and expand programmes to aid people recovering from treatment. Currently she is a volunteer at the CanShop at Remarkables Park.
Britta's connection to Queenstown came from six seasons working as ski patrol at Coronet Peak and has always loved exploring the Queenstown area. A decision to move permanently to Queenstown was made 11 years ago after inheriting the family home. After years of cycling trips to Europe, Britta was very keen to pass on knowledge and expertise in the development of trails in the Wakatipu.
Britta brings heaps of enthusiasm and skills to the Queenstown Trails Trust, especially around community focused projects, she bikes regularly and knows the trails intimately. Britta encourages anyone with some spare time to consider volunteering ‘’I enjoy many things about the role, but mostly I get a real kick out of seeing families and young kids enjoying time together on our wonderful trail network’’.
‘’The experience of volunteering makes you more aware of and in tune with your community’’ said Britta. ‘’It takes you out of your comfort zone and teaches you so much about how amazing our community is’’. Britta loves working with the other Trustees who are diverse mix from within the Queenstown community; ‘’they all have passion in common. Passion for Queenstown and to see trail infrastructure improve and grow’’, Britta explains ‘the team are a dynamic bunch, who make things happen and that’s really exciting to be part of’’.
