About Us

Our mission, people, values and vision.

Cultivating Healthy Soils & Thriving Communities

We believe in a world where nature, including our precious soils, flourishes. We see a future where our people and communities thrive in harmony with our environment. Our mission is rooted in these values, bringing us together to make beautiful compost.

Illustration promoting community composting in Nelson, New Zealand. Features people working in a garden with compost, a person eating, and a map of New Zealand with stages of a circular food economy, including compost collection, food growth, collection, and recycling.
A colorful infographic illustrating a mission to make a positive environmental impact through urban organic waste transformation and regenerative food systems. It depicts the vision of thriving communities, a diagram showing two approaches: diverting food waste from landfills to reduce emissions, and creating regenerative compost systems to support local resilience. The image emphasizes values of interconnectedness with nature, caring for community, taking care of land and water, and transitioning to a regenerative economy.
An infographic illustrating urban composting. It shows collecting food waste from homes and businesses, sorting and shredding it, composting with arborist green waste, and producing living compost. The compost matures in a garden, grows healthy vegetables, and is then distributed back into the cycle, supporting home gardens and organic food projects. The graphic features a man in a green shirt with a speech bubble emphasizing localised, scalable solutions, and lists locations such as CBD, Whakata Nelson, and distant hills. It includes steps like collection, composting, distributing, and growing, with icons and illustrations of bins, trees, people, and trucks.
Illustrated infographic about community compost in Whakatū Nelson. Shows people managing food waste, composting, and urban farming. Highlights Ben Bushell and the Compost Club starting in Whakatū Nelson, the transition from landfill to compost, and the development of the Beartha composting system, including versions 1 and 2, tested and installed in various locations. Features community activities, composting process, and the growth of urban food farms.
Illustration of a community composting presentation featuring people discussing compost system design and scalability, with icons representing composting techniques, ecological systems, and community engagement.

Core Team

  • A bearded man smiling outdoors wearing sunglasses that reflect a person taking the photo, a white van, and greenery in the background.

    Ben Bushell

    Founder | Director

  • A close-up of a smiling man with a beard and mustache, wearing a green shirt and a brown cap.

    Shea Dawson

    Director | Innovation

  • A woman with short curly hair and earrings, smiling, wearing a yellow and black safety vest and black shirt, standing inside a tent with other people around, holding a white bucket labeled 'Community Compost Nelson.'

    Jo Cook

    Administration

  • A woman with short brown hair and a tank top, smiling and looking up, standing outdoors near a tree with pink lichen, surrounded by green foliage.

    Kate Howard

    Collections

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with light skin, freckles, a nose piercing, and wavy, shoulder-length hair outdoors.

    Em Wareing

    Collections

  • A young woman with dark hair smiling in front of a plain white wall.

    Luisa Zuppardi-Smith

    Collections

  • A smiling man wearing sunglasses giving a thumbs up, with a woman in the background wearing a cap and sunglasses outdoors on a sunny day.

    Tilman Walk

    Collections

  • Smiling man with curly hair, wearing a blue striped shirt and black apron, sitting indoors.

    Tania Davidson

    Collections

  • Close-up of a woman smiling brightly, wearing a wide-brimmed black hat and a blue top, with her blonde curly hair flowing around her face against a clear blue sky.

    Tess Cimino

    Communications

  • A smiling man wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt and black gloves, standing inside a white tent with blue exterior wall visible through the open side.

    Alan Ramsay

    Compost Practitioner

  • A man smiling outdoors with arms crossed, standing in a grassy field with trees and an overcast sky in the background.

    Alex Narbutus

    Compost Practitioner

  • A woman in a beige cap and light-colored shirt holding a white bucket with some orange items inside, outdoors on a sunny day with greenery and hills in the background.

    Anna Bensemann

    Compost Practitioner

  • A man with glasses and a beard is lying down in a garden, smiling, surrounded by green plants, with mountains and a blue sky in the background.

    John Valentine

    Compost Practitioner

  • A woman and a young girl on a wooden deck outside, with a blue sky and clouds in the background. The woman has sunglasses on her head and the girl is wearing a straw hat and a floral dress.

    Lucie Bell

    Compost Practitioner

  • Man wearing a large hat and dark shirt speaking outdoors to a group of people.

    Ben Cains

    Compost Practitioner

  • A man with gray hair and a beard wearing glasses, a gray button-up shirt, and khaki shorts stands outdoors next to a large green spherical object, with a young man with long hair leaning over in front of him, and a background of shipping containers and industrial buildings.

    Cristian Cienti

    Electrical Engineering – bEartha

  • Smiling man with glasses in a plaid shirt standing against a plain wall.

    Matt Clements

    Electrical Engineering – bEartha

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing glasses and a black top, smiling against a gray background.

    Kate Fulton

    Strategy Advisor

  • A man with glasses, a beard, and short brown hair wearing a grey suit jacket and a light blue collared shirt standing against a plain white wall.

    Michael Stocker

    Legal Advisor

  • A woman smiling, with shoulder-length dark hair, earrings, and a black top.

    Katrina Kidson

    Business Advisor

Our Partners

Nelson Environment Centre
Kernohan logo with three hexagon shapes above the text 'Kernohan' and 'EST. 1992' in black and gray.
UpShift. Creative. Digital. Development.
Ministry of the Environment Logo
Ministry of Social Development Logo
Nelson City Council Logo