A Cromwell cherry grower working to prove his farm can run without fossil fuels has been named a finalist for a national sustainability award.

Mike Casey, who grows cherries at Forest Lodge Orchard in Mt Pisa and leads electrification advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa, has been named a finalist in the sustainability category of the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Mike told The Central App he felt “chuffed” to have made the shortlist.

He said the award brings together very different versions of ‘sustainability’ - from food rescue and biodiversity to his own work on electrification - and the winner might ultimately depend on how judges chose to define the word.

Mike said he had learned New Zealanders “turn off very, very quickly” when they sense virtue signalling, so he leaned heavily on his ‘boots on the ground’ experience establishing his electric orchard.

He frames electrification as an economic no‑brainer that just happens to cut emissions as well.

A field trip at Forest Lodge Orchard near Cromwell. Image: Facebook

Award organisers described Mike as, “a driving force” in the country’s move towards sustainable energy, saying he was “reshaping conversations on climate justice and electrification” while proving “green innovation is not only possible but profitable”.

Russel and Teresa Trow, a Southland couple who have spent decades leading conservation efforts on Kundy Island, and Valerie Marie Ngaoa Teraitua, an Aucklander who has created a community gardening, food rescue and sustainability hub at a marae, join Mike as finalists in the category.

New Zealanders were invited to nominate people for the awards, with thousands of nominations reviewed by a judging panel.

Ten semi-finalists were selected in each category before being narrowed down to three finalists.

Judges said the nominees stood out as people using their passion to make New Zealand a better place.

Winners will be revealed at a gala event in Auckland next Thursday (March 19).

Xero founder and philanthropist Sir Rod Drury, who lives in Queenstown, is one of three finalists for the overall New Zealander of the Year Award, alongside neuroscientist Professor Sir Richard Faull, and charitable sector leader Dame Julie Chapman.

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