A renowned environmental educator, ecologist, broadcaster and conservation advocate, Ruud Kleinpaste has spent more than four decades inspiring New Zealanders to connect with nature, protect biodiversity, and better understand the world around them.
Born in Indonesia and raised and educated in the Netherlands, Ruud migrated to New Zealand in 1978 armed with an MSc (Hons) in Silviculture, Animal Ecology and Nature Conservation from Wageningen University. Fascinated by insects from an early age, his lifelong passion for entomology would eventually become central to his public identity as New Zealand’s much-loved "Bugman".
Ruud began his career studying kiwi in Northland's Waitangi Forest before joining the Ministry of Agriculture, where he worked as an entomology scientist for 14 years. Combining scientific expertise with a natural gift for communication, he later established his own successful career in media, environmental education and consultancy, becoming one of New Zealand's most recognisable science communicators.
For more than 27 years, Ruud hosted the hugely popular radio programme Ruud's Awakening on Newstalk ZB, helping everyday New Zealanders better understand ecology, gardening, wildlife and environmental issues. His television career has been equally diverse, with appearances across numerous programmes including Maggie's Garden Show, children's favourite What Now?, and internationally distributed documentaries and series for Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, including Buggin' with Ruud.
Beyond broadcasting, Ruud is a prolific author, columnist and educator. He has written several books and remains a sought-after contributor on ecology, biodiversity, insects and gardening. He has also shared his expertise through tertiary education, lecturing in plant protection at UNITEC Auckland.
A passionate advocate for conservation, Ruud has dedicated much of his career to supporting environmental organisations and community-led restoration initiatives. He has served as trustee, patron or ambassador for numerous organisations including Project Crimson, Kiwis for Kiwi, the Air New Zealand Environment Trust, Kids Restore New Zealand, the Little Barrier Island Supporters Trust, the National Wetland Trust, Trees for Survival, the Southland Community Environment Trust and Wingspan. His work consistently focuses on protecting New Zealand's unique ecosystems while empowering communities to take an active role in conservation.
Ruud's contribution to science, conservation and public education has been recognised with significant honours. In 2008, the University of Waikato awarded him an Honorary Doctorate, followed by Wageningen University naming him an Outstanding Alumnus in 2009. In the 2018 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to conservation and education.
Today, environmental education remains at the heart of Ruud's mission. A firm believer that future generations must be both science-literate and nature-literate, he champions biodiversity, biosecurity and environmental education projects across New Zealand. From Fiordland to Hawke's Bay and the Bay of Islands, he continues to engage communities through citizen science, conservation initiatives and hands-on environmental learning.
Energetic, curious and endlessly enthusiastic about the natural world, Ruud Kleinpaste remains one of New Zealand's most influential voices for biodiversity, conservation and environmental stewardship.
The audience reaction to Ruud was very positive; there was much interest in his bug display. ... keep reading Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) Inc.
Ruud made sure he knew the audience make-up and the material discussed during the conference that day and tailored his presentation exactly. He capped off a fabulous day and contributed to the overall excellence of the two day conference.
We were confident that Ruud Kleinpaste would be a hit at our Garden Tour event, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. He delivered an engaging and fun presentation that our guests and residents absolutely loved, was incredibly flexible with the natural changes of a busy event day, and did everything he could to ensure everyone was happy and the event ran smoothly. Highly recommend.
Fantastic presentation by Ruud, he's a very engaging and entertaining speaker! Our audience really seemed to enjoy it and were fascinated by all the live insects he brought along (and the dead ones). Ruud had some good messages about protecting our fauna and flora and we enjoyed hearing about the work he does with children about looking after nature. Would recommend him to anyone, worth every cent.
Ruud was a delight to work with, he was very enthusiastic about the content of the Environmental Compliance Conference and his talk fitted in perfectly with the theme of the event. Our delegates raved about how much they enjoyed Ruud's presentation and all remarked on how entertaining he was. Ruud is a very funny, personable, intellectual, insightful and entertaining speaker and we would highly recommend him!
Wonderful, very engaging and very appropriate very knowledgeable about the topics covered and lovely to deal with and very flexible.
Ruud was very engaging, he kept everyone alert at all times and the crowd loved him. We will definitely use him again.
Ruud was engaging, funny and factual. He grabbed the attention of the audience.
