Management committee

Past President of the NZ Forest Owners Association for 12 years, Past President and Fellow of the NZ Institute of Forestry and a 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 recent member of the executive committee of NZ Farm Forestry Association where he is still actively involved in a number of capacities. Peter has wide ranging interests in many aspects of NZ forestry and has jointly authored two books on New Zealand’s forest history.

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 the inaugural KuDos Lifetime Achievement Awardee in recognition of outstanding achievements in environmental research.

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.

Dr David Bergin is a restoration ecologist and founding trustee of Tāne’s Tree Trust (TTT), with more than 45 years’ experience in native forestry research, establishment, and management in Aotearoa New Zealand. He is Director of Environmental Restoration Ltd and a former senior scientist with Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institute), where he built a long career in applied research. David specialises in the establishment and early management of native forests, including species selection, planting design, and monitoring. His work promotes the integration of native trees into productive landscapes to deliver environmental, economic, cultural, and social outcomes. He has a long-standing focus on the planting, regeneration, management, and utilisation of tōtara, particularly on farmland. He is also a founding trustee of the Coastal Restoration Trust of New Zealand and a technical advisor to programmes such as Trees That Count. Through his role with TTT, he contributes to the development of science-based best-practice resources, including practical tools, monitoring systems, and the Trust’s native forest database and carbon modelling, supporting landowners and organisations to successfully establish and manage native forests at scale.

Mike is a director of Environmental Restoration (ERL) with 18 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 is a registered forest advisor and 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 came to drystock farming in 2006 after 22 years as a computer programmer and systems analyst. In 2007 he began experimenting with native plantings and now has 38 hectares of planted native forest, predominantly tōtara, at various ages and stages of management. He is learning the hard way that ongoing and regular silvicultural management is key to the successful production of high quality native timber.

Ian’s intention is to keep in pasture only those areas which are safe to drive over, with everything steeper being planted and managed as Continuous Cover Forestry. To facilitate management and eventual selective harvest, Ian invested in a network of tracks before planting. These provide safe vehicle access to and through the forested areas, making the property a popular reference site for people interested in native forest establishment, catchment protection and biodiversity enhancement.

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 forestry professional since 2000. He served on the NZIF Council for 11 years, with four years as Vice President and six years as President. He has been a member of the NZIF Registration Board since 2016 and chaired the NZIF Foundation from 2011-2021.

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 ecological processes, especially 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 natural regeneration and native forest establishment. Wayne has held roles with the QEII National Trust, Trees that Count, Whakātane Kiwi Trust, Kōkako Ecosystem Expansion Programme (KEEP) and Bay Conservation Alliance.

Paul is a Landscape Architect, involved with land use planning and management. He has a professional interest and expertise in sustainable indigenous forestry and Close-to-Nature Forestry. He has prepared sustainable harvest permits and plans under the Forests Act and managed low-impact selective harvests. He is particularly involved with activities and projects of The Northland Tōtara Working Group (NTWG), and authored: A Practical Guide to Managing Tōtara on Private Land.

Mel has been with the trust since 2013 and became CEO in 2023. 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 rejoined the Trust in 2023 to help with running the office. She is a former newsroom librarian and now divides her time between two busy office jobs.
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