Peter Garden has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit due to his conservation and aviation services he has performed. He ran his own company, Peter Garden Helicopters Ltd, for 25 years in Otago and Southland doing agriculture work. This line of work introduced him to working for the Wildlife Services and Department of Conservation, where his skills in agricultural GPS technology were used to locate predator-free large areas to release endangered animals.

His work led him to become the Chief Pilot for predator eradication on the sub-Antarctic Campbell Island, reports Stuff. He has also worked on projects in the Pacific Islands, the Aleutian Islands and the Seychelles. His eradication work also included the five year project of removing rats from the South Georgia Island. The 70-year old is still busy with work, having a project in the Galapagos Islands lined up.

“The real satisfying thing about it is that I’ve had the opportunity to do something positive for the environment – for the world. Not many people have that opportunity.”