Andrew Tilling’s accent gives the first hint to his eclectic upbringing – a generous dash of British, with base notes of New Zealand, and a perceptible hint of something harder to pin down.
The Ruby Bay resident spent most of his formative years in East Africa after his family relocated from England in 1949. Andrew was two-and-a-half when they arrived in Kongwa – a district in what is now Tanzania.
He has written his second book about his career as an international conservation and environment advisor and will present his story at Te Noninga Kumu – Motueka District Library next week.
Andrew’s first book, Changing the Spots of the Leopard, focused largely on his work in Africa, while his latest publication explores his time in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific.
Its title, Jogoo the Rooster, was a nickname given to him by a household cook who watched the boy strut around in his youth. Jogoo (pronounced Jocko) means “rooster” in Swahili, a language Andrew speaks fluently.
A consummate traveller – a Brit in Africa who was then seen as an outsider when, at 15, he returned to England for boarding school – Andrew says his upbringing gave him a worldly perspective and “a bit of a thick skin”.
A deep interest in environmental issues led to a doctorate in social forestry at Canterbury University and then international work in indigenous forest conservation and environmental management.
“I guess I’m idealistic, and very much an environmentalist, so that helps me in the work that I’ve done,” he says.
In Jogoo the Rooster, Andrew writes about cherishing the “wins” that come with development, even though they may feel few and far between. Two significant successes for him have been helping indigenous communities in Vanuatu create a conservation strategy for its last parcel of lowland rainforest and working with a Micronesian population to develop a watershed management plan.
These projects reflect his passion for grassroots participatory planning – engaging local communities to take responsibility for their own natural environment.
After all, he says, “if local people don’t do it, who’s going to?”
Having lived in Ligar Bay for 20 years, Andrew and his wife of many decades, Moira, made the move to Ruby Bay five years ago. Their two adult daughters, Fiona and Ingrid, also live in the Tasman District. Andrew will present a talk on Jogoo the Rooster and his life at Te Noninga Kumu – Motueka District Library on Tuesday, 9 December, 2.30pm–3.30pm.
