Sam the Trap Man, on a mission to make New Zealand green again, with an ambitious goal in mind – a large-scale restoration of our native forests and wetlands.

From the remote forests of Te Urewera to TV screens across New Zealand, Sam Gibson, better known as Sam ‘the Trap Man’, is leading a nationwide call to inspire New Zealanders to reconnect with nature and restore what has been lost. As an author, trapper, father and conservationist, Sam has taken his deep knowledge of the bush and collaborated with Pure Advantage, a registered charity investigating and promoting opportunities for New Zealand to fulfil its massive potential for green growth – and turned it into a movement with one ambitious goal in mind, to Recloak Papatūānuku, our Earth Mother.

‘Recloaking Papatūānuku is a national-scale environmental initiative that will mobilise people to keep intact the old forests we have, remove predators and carry out restoration of native bush across more than two million hectares of Aotearoa in the next 30 years,’ explains the team at Pure Advantage. ‘Restoration, regeneration, planting and long term management of native forests, will increase the resilience of our landscapes to the effects of climate change and ensure our productive lands and communities thrive.’

Sam’s journey began at just 12 years old, learning the trade of trapping from the time-honoured bushmen of Te Urewera. Long before social media fame or political ambitions, he got to know the forest intimately, spending long stretches off-grid. This boots-on-the-ground approach shines through in his book, Sam the Trap Man, and his conservation work today.

At the heart of Sam’s kaupapa is respect. For the land, the creatures that live in it and the people who care for it. He challenges the term ‘pest’, preferring to see animals like stoats and possums as taonga in their native ecosystems, while acknowledging in New Zealand, these introduced predators pose a major threat to species like the whio and kiwi. Sam has dedicated his life to tipping the balance back in favour of our native species.

Recloaking Papatūānuku, goes far beyond trapping. It is a call to reforest hillsides, restore wetlands and protect our more vulnerable landscapes from the worsening effects of climate change. The Pure Advantage 2025 documentary, Think Like a Forest, sees Sam travels the motu meeting farmers, scientists and local communities – all working together in an effort to return forest to the land. The film showcases the diverse native forests of our country and the benefits they provide; highlighting the importance of preserving those that are left and regenerating what has been lost. ‘If we think like a forest, we can support and connect with nature, weaving climate and ecological resilience into our whenua.’

The message behind Recloaking Papatūānuku is simple but powerful, ‘we caused this mess, we must fix it.’ As Sam states, ‘Whether it’s finding the funding to support protection and reforestation of native bush, educating about the importance of native species, or planting trees on the ground, we all need to do our part to make Recloaking Paptūānuku a reality. Before it is too late.’