From their lounge with a view over Oamaru, Joan and Gordon Martin have quietly sparked a monarch butterfly revival.
The couple, both aged 94, has turned a conservatory into a monarch butterfly sanctuary.
Each summer, Joan fields calls from locals with caterpillars and sends Gordon out to collect them.
“It’s become a labour of love,” said Gordon, who once picked up 583 caterpillars in a single trip.
Swan plants are central to the mission.
Oamaru, traditionally barren of monarchs, now boasts a thriving population thanks to the Martins – and residents like Stuart, a local with a vast swan plant garden.
“I picked up over 4000 caterpillars and bred something like 1500 butterflies.”
The Martins even inspired Oamaru’s community garden to import hundreds of swan plants from the North Island.
The couple, married for 73 years, started their journey together at a Wellington telephone exchange where Gordon had a self-declared “important job” sharpening pencils.
Since then, they’ve owned businesses and shared every chapter of life.
“We’ve always worked together,” said Joan.
“And I’m not ready to let him go yet.”