Nick Mills

Born on a massive ball of molten rock, Nick was raised within Rippon, part of the original Wānaka Station, on the western shores of Lake Wānaka. Son of Central Otago viticulture pioneers Rolfe and Lois Mills, Nick was born around the same time as his parents’ first vinifera plantings and is part of the fourth generation on the 100-year-old family farm.

As children, Nick and his siblings’ school holidays were spent selecting, planting and nurturing the vines they now tend. Nick, since 2002, has headed the team of flora and fauna that live and work in this very unique and distinct place. In 2007, with friends and family, Nick co-founded Te Kākano Aotearoa Trust to help restore native habitats and connect people with public land. This project germinated here in the Upper Clutha, but one of the key goals was to float the seed downstream, assisting other river corridor communities to do the same. 

Nick will moderate the panel conversation at our Film night: ACTionism & Think Like a Forest during the Wao Summit 2025.