Student’s stellar voluntary mahi brings rich rewards

The tendency to beat an unwavering path from scarfie flat to lecture theatre and back again, with a spot of socialising in between, is the lot of many an assignment-addled undergraduate. But step off-piste, and there are riches to be had. That’s what fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce and Science student Jess Squire discovered when she made room in her schedule for some community-minded mahi.

For the last 18 months, Jess has been volunteering at Give to Grow Ōtepoti – a charitable organisation that refurbishes and redistributes surplus gardening tools to people who want to grow their own food but lack the resources to do so.

Jess first came across Give to Grow’s inspiring work when she signed up with Ignite Consultants – an organisation that pairs skilled, impassioned students with local non-profits to help them maximise their impact.

“Ignite is a great opportunity to get stuck into the community side of Dunedin,” Jess says. “As a student, it’s easy to get bogged down with your study and social life and lose track of everything else. When I connected with Give to Grow, I genuinely noticed a huge shift in how I was feeling. Having the chance to engage with a diverse group of people and feel like I was making a meaningful contribution to the community was really important for me.”

Give to Grow was founded in 2022 by Carla Thomson after she clocked the ripple effect of a simple act of generosity – that of her father gifting his surplus gardening gear to a refugee family who’d been trying to grow herbs in a clay bank using their hands as digging tools.

As a student majoring in environmental management and marketing with a minor in sustainable business, Jess liked the future-proofing slant of Give to Grow’s mission: ‘growth through generosity and gardening’.

“We’re facing the rising cost of living and climate extremes, so the ability to grow your own food is such a source of resilience. The redistribution of gardening tools is the means to achieve those bigger outcomes. It’s about increasing food security and enhancing people’s confidence and ability to support themselves.”

After she’d completed her Ignite semester with Give to Grow, Carla created a role for her as Operations Coordinator and Liaison (or, as Jess puts it, “that’s a fancy way of saying that I do a lot of the background stuff and the marketing/comms side of things.”)

“Jess is an absolute star, a real go-getter, a linchpin, a joy to work with and generous with her time,” Carla says. “She cares passionately about sustainability and genuinely wants to build a better world. She brings her boundless energy, enthusiasm and considerable organisational skills to all aspects of our operations.”

Some of that go-getting energy even spilled over into a social action project for one of her management papers. With fellow students, Jess oversaw the creation of a community seed library for Give to Grow.

Jess’s voluntary oomph has done more than expand the circumference of her student experience. It’s helped pave the way to paid employment too. Last year she was offered an 18-month part-time role as a Tētēkura (Student Lead) with the Sustainability Office, promoting sustainable transport options to Otago students and staff. She’s also secured a graduate role in Auckland for 2026 – at Aurecon, a design, engineering and advisory company.

Asked where her environmental fervour stems from, Jess says it was brewing from an early age.

“When I was in Year 9, I watched a documentary that talked about climate injustice – and came away revolutionised. I left high school knowing that I cared an awful lot about the environment and wanted to do something in that field."

She also credits an outdoorsy upbringing for setting her compass environment-wards, though she resisted its charms at the time.

“I was very reluctant to get outdoors as a child, but my parents would take me camping and drag me out for walks. Mum always said, ‘you’ll thank me for this.’ And I’d say, ‘no I won’t!’”

After finishing her schooling at St Marys College in Auckland, Jess was quick to choose Otago for her tertiary studies – partly because it enabled her to study both environmental management and marketing.

“Marketing is often associated with encouraging consumption, but it doesn’t have to be like that. You get this massive skill set that can be used for good. I wanted to use it to communicate the importance of sustainability and climate action.”

It wasn’t just academics that drew Jess south though.

“I came down for the open day and had the best weekend ever. I really liked the student-centric feel of the place and how well-connected it was – especially coming from Auckland where the campus is embedded in the city and quite dispersed. Otago just had the nicest communal feel.”

She’ll miss it then?

“Absolutely. I’ve loved my time here.”

Kōrero by Claire Finlayson, Communications Adviser (Otago Business School)