No Ordinary Sheila

#234 Do - see the documentary No Ordinary Sheila and celebrate the life of an incredible and inspiring lady from the South. Sheila Natusch, born in 1926, spent her childhood growing up surrounded by nature on Stewart Island, she went on to study at Dunedin Teachers’ Training College and at Otago University, at a time few women attended. With a love of nature, plants, animals, rocks, sailing, Stewart Island, writing and painting, she wrote and/or illustrated over 30 books (including this wee gem, A Bunch of Wild Orchids from 1968). Her career was recognised with a New Zealand Order of Merit in 2007. I saw her life story documentary (made by her cousin Hugh Macdonald) today at the cinema, it was brilliant, she’s certainly no ordinary Sheila.

#film #nature #explore #book