The Whanganui District Health Board member and former district councillor has asked for people to get behind him and his Bushy Park cause and give him their vote.
He was nominated for the awards for his conservation work, particularly his fundraising efforts, and for being "the driving force in the creation of one of New Zealand's premier fenced sanctuaries for rare native birds".
He has been associated with the Bushy Park sanctuary - a 98-hectare conservation area, 24 kilometres northwest of Wanganui on Rangitatau Road East - since 1962.
He started volunteering at Bushy Park through Forest and Bird, and his efforts included baking 400 scones for the park's first open day that year. He also served 12 years as executive committee chairman of the Bushy Park Trust.
His nomination for the awards records that since 1996 he has given on average 30 hours per weeks of unpaid voluntary work to the park. This includes the building of the 4.8km pest-proof fence that now rings the park.
"Allan single-handedly raised the $1 million, which saw the project opened on time, within budget and paid for," his nominator noted.
Mr Anderson, who reckons he has been a member of Forest and Bird longer than anyone in New Zealand, was initially reluctant to accept the nomination, but did so on behalf of all the others who worked on the project.
"You are always part of a big team - it fell to me to the the leader," he said.
"It doesn't matter where you are in the chain, you are irreplaceable - be that the person who puts out the sugar water for the birds, catches them or does the funding applications."
His efforts certainly caught the attention of the regional finals judges - Silver Fern netballer Maria Tutaia, ecostore founder Malcolm Rands, Hospice New Zealand chief executive Mary Schumacher, the Weekend Herald and Herald on Sunday editor Miriyana Alexander and The Hits announcer Polly Gillespie.
Mr Anderson is one of four national finalists in the environment category.
