Riley Elliott Instagram – Brand new @mazda_nz BT50 Takami and Kona I have had the privilege of being a Mazda Ambassador for 7 years now, a relationship which has grown from pure grass roots: being the Treemendous educational program which Mazda runs. This provides schools all around Nz with the opportunity to plant outdoor classrooms to encourage learning in nature and I am lucky enough to give talks to the kids about how sharks help keep the ocean alive and healthy. In parallel the Bug-man Ruud Kleinpaste also speaks about how bugs do the same for the land. Both of these ecosystems provide us with oxygen, food, water and climate which enable us to survive. Talking to school kids is a massive passion of mine, largely because they are my foot soldiers who weren’t taught via JAWS, but rather Finding Nemo, and thus have been much more open to learning and understanding what sharks are all about. The agreement I make with them at these Treemendous events is that they go home and share their knowledge with their parents in order to educate them away from the JAWS understanding most of us adults have. This amazing BT50 is a tool I use every day for my work, for my adventures and most importantly, to take me around the country to inspire kids about the importance of sharks and how half of the very air that we breathe, is only available if sharks are in the oceans. So thank you @mazda_nz for empowering me with this privileged role, for a new BT50 Takami and for funding tree planting events which act as a tool for education in nature.