Milly's Story
The Stripey Caterpillar started with one simple realisation. People need more reasons to get outside.
It all began with a dahlia farm. My family and I ran a Pick-Your-Own flower farm, where people came to wander through fields of color, breathe fresh air, and take home armfuls of blooms. But the thing that caught their attention even more than the flowers? The butterflies.
One day, my grandma and grandad visiting from England, sat down for a high tea in our dahlia garden. Just as they settled in, a butterfly eclosed from its chrysalis right behind them, emerging into the world for the first time. It fluttered onto the top tier of their three-tier high tea stand, gently opening and closing its new wings as it dried in the sun. And it stayed there the entire time! A tiny, magical guest at their table. Moments like that remind us of how closely connected we are to nature, and how much joy it brings when we take the time to notice.
That feeling stuck with me. But then, we moved house and everything changed. No more fields of flowers, no more monarchs flitting past, no more magical butterfly moments. It felt empty, like something important was missing. It was sad and worrying to think that so many people might be living without experiencing the joy of butterflies at all. That’s when I started thinking. What if we could bring back dahlias, butterflies, and joy, not just for our local community, but for people all over the world?
I’m Milly, a learning-by-doing homeschooler who believes that learning should be hands-on, messy, and full of discovery. Seeing how much joy butterflies brought to people made me wonder. What if we could create more of these moments? What if we could turn conservation into something fun, engaging, and meaningful for everyone? That’s when The Stripey Caterpillar took flight.
Gracie-Mae's Story
A 12-year-old with a lens for nature
The Stripey Caterpillar may have started with butterflies, but my part of the story began with dahlias and a visit from a photographer named Lottie. She came to our flower farm to take photos for New Zealand Gardener magazine, wandering through the rows with her camera. I watched her laughing, kneeling down in the flowers, capturing tiny details, and I thought that looked like the best job in the world. She got to travel, meet fascinating people, and learn directly from them about so many different things.
Not long after, I bought my first camera, a second-hand one, and started teaching myself everything I could about photography. The internet became my classroom and the dahlia farm became my studio. With so many colours and shapes, every bloom looked beautiful, and there was no shortage of subjects. But it wasn’t just the flowers that caught my attention, it was the life they attracted. The bumblebees with their tiny pollen-dusted legs. The monarchs with their shimmering wings.
Now, my photography focuses on capturing those moments of connection between flowers and pollinators, the same magic Milly is helping protect through The Stripey Caterpillar. Together, our passions work hand in hand, her mission to support butterflies and nature, and my lens to share their beauty with the world.
