A keen kayaker, sailor and almost-daily swimmer, Janie’s passion for connecting with the sea at her home in the Bay of Islands led her to become a self-styled ‘zero waste granny. She strives for a low impact packaging-free lifestyle and to pick up ten pieces of roadside litter every day.

‘Janie Banfield is a New Zealand grandmother with a vision for a ‘connectful’ world.  “We humans are each born with the instinct for connection,” Janie says. “In my experience, replacing moralistic judgements most of us were regrettably raised to view as normal, with new habits makes relationships far easier.”

“As I see it,” Janie shares,  “Nonviolence is a worldview which encompasses every part of life.   For me, it is as much about honouring creatures such as fish and seabirds through stopping plastic entering their ocean home as it is about respecting rather than judging myself; it is as much about honouring the natural world by choosing a plant-based diet as it is to responding with respect and empathy to others even when they hold differing views to my own.”