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Management committee

TTT’s management committee meet monthly to closely work on current projects. Our management committee members are:

Peter Berg

Peter Berg

ONZM

TTT Chairman

Past President of the NZ Forest Owners Association for 12 years and former member of the SCION (NZ Forest Research Institute) and Auckland Conservation Boards, Peter is presently the Chair of the NZ Branch of the Commonwealth Forestry Association and a member of the executive committee of NZ Farm Forestry Assn. Peter is involved in many aspects of NZ forestry and has jointly authored two books on New Zealand’s forest history.

Warwick Silvester

Warwick Silvester

ONZM, PhD

TTT Treasurer

Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences at University of Waikato. He has interests in plant nutrition and productivity and has published papers on nitrogen fixation, nitrogen cycling and tree physiology. He is currently Chair of Pukemokemoke Forest Trust and is the inaugural KuDos Lifetime Achievement Awardee in recognition of outstanding achievements in environmental research.

Jacqui Aimers

Jacqui Aimers

PhD in Forestry, Texas A&M University; BSc in Botany & Zoology, BSc (Hons) in Botany, University of Otago

Jacqui is a research analyst, forestry scientist and writer with over 30 years’ experience. She worked in Westland as a botanist during her university summers. After graduating, she did ecological work in Westland, and worked at the Forest Research Institute (FRI, now Scion). Jacqui then completed a PhD at Texas A&M University, with an emphasis in tree improvement – while working part-time for the Texas Forest Service. After returning to New Zealand, Jacqui worked for 10 years at FRI, in forest biotechnology. She subsequently set up Aimers Consulting in 2004, freelancing with a focus on forestry, sustainable land management and technical communications.

David Bergin

David Bergin

PhD

David is director of Environmental Restoration Ltd (ERL) where he is a scientist specialising in restoration ecology and promoting the planting and management of indigenous timber species. Until recently he was a senior scientist with the Crown Research Institute Scion with 35 years of applied research experience. David has a long history of research with totara including involvement with the Northland Totara Working Group promoting management of naturally regenerating totara on farmland. He is a founding trustee of both the Tane’s Tree Trust and of the Dune Restoration Trust of NZ, and trustee of The Project Crimson Trust.

Michael Bergin

Michael Bergin

Dip. Forestry (For. Mgmt.), Member of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry

Mike is a director of Environmental Restoration (ERL) with 15 years of experience in environmental research and technical advisory roles working on a wide range of projects with councils, landowners, trusts and government departments. Mike specialises in setting up planting and weed control trials, monitoring of performance, managing databases and technical reporting across a range of indigenous plant ecosystems including forests, wetlands, geothermal landscapes and coastal dunes across New Zealand.

Ian Brennan

Ian Brennan

Ian came to drystock farming in 2006 after 22 years as a computer systems analyst. In 2007 he began experimenting with native plantings and aims to have all seven gullies on the farm returned to native forest cover by the time he retires. Recent large scale plantings have been mostly totara at 4m spacings with a mixed nurse crop at 2m. Ian offers farm tours to discuss appropriate land use and integration of forestry on marginal land.

Ian Brown

Ian Brown

Ian Brown is a retired orthopaedic surgeon. Over 40 years he has managed and conducted trials on a range of exotic species in Northland and Mt Pirongia in the Waikato, with a special interest in Australian Blackwood and redwood. Over the last 20 years he has established a native forest on his property on Waiheke Island.

Gerard Horgan

Gerard Horgan

BSc. (hon) in Chemistry and MCom. (hon) in Economics, University of Canterbury

Gerard is an economist with over 40 years’ experience in research, policy, and forestry/natural resource economics. He was a research economist with NZFS/FRI/Forest Research for 23 years, and then for three years worked for APR Consultants on business and community development. For the last twelve years, until officially retiring from MPI in May 2015, he was a Senior Policy Analyst responsible for collating MPI’s log price series, and worked on various other resource related issues including bioenergy, water and climate change.

Andrew & Mary McEwen

Andrew & Mary McEwen

ONZM PhD / D.Phil

Patrons

Andrew & Mary McEwen became patrons for Tāne’s Tree Trust in early 2022. Mary McEwen is a retired professional ecologist and has published four books, including a biography of her father, scientist and conservationist Charles Fleming. Andrew McEwen is a professional forester and former Trustee of Tāne’s Tree Trust between 2007 and 2012. Having joined NZIF in 1967, Andrew has been a registered member since 2000. He served on the NZIF Council for 11 years, with 4 years as Vice President and 6 years as President. He has been a member of the NZIF Registration Board since 2016 and chaired the NZIF Foundation from 2011-2021.

Wayne O’Keefe

Wayne O’Keefe

Having moved to Aotearoa, NZ in 2001, Wayne quickly developed a passion for our unique biodiversity. Since starting his contracting business in 2002, he has been fortunate enough to work in the community conservation space supporting and guiding conservation groups and landowners to achieve their conservation goals. This has helped him to develop a broad understanding of coastal and forest ecology and the challenges we face in caring for them. He is a self-confessed native plant geek and has a particular interest in native forest establishment. Wayne has held roles with the QEII National Trust, Trees that Count and currently works for Bay Conservation Alliance. He is also Chair of the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust, a project that manages 2000ha of predator control around Whakātane, in the Eastern Bay.

Paul Quinlan

Paul Quinlan

BLA Hons

Paul is a registered Landscape Architect, involved with rural landscape design, planning and management. He has developed a professional interest in sustainable indigenous forestry and has prepared sustainable harvest permits and plans under the Forests Act. He is particularly involved with activities and projects of The Northland Totara Working Group.

Mel Ruffell

Mel Ruffell

BMS Waikato

Chief Executive Officer

Mel has been with the trust since 2013 and in the last year has moved into the role of CEO. Mel spent five years as a Corporate and Commercial Banking Manager, dealing with a portfolio of clients’ banking and financial requirements before having a family.
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Keri Wilson

Administration Manager

Keri rejoined the Trust in 2023 to help with running the office. She divides her time between two office jobs and in her spare time enjoys catching up with her two adult children. [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]