John Barkla above the Mueller Glacier, Mt Cook National ParkJohn Barkla
John is a semi-retired botanist with the the Department of Conservation in Dunedin. He has wide experience of plant conservation and habitat restoration from projects that span the Kermadec Islands to the Subantarctic. John is a member of the New Zealand Threat Classification Expert Panel (Vascular Plants) which periodically reviews the threat status of New Zealand’s vascular plants. With less work and more play time he enjoys roaming the hills, photography, and exercising the black lab (preferably all at the same time).
At Slope Point Southernmost point of the Mainland looking at Selliera radicans.Matt Ward
After ditching the world of baking for conservation I’ve been very fulfilled. I went on a roady the length of Aotearoa in 2004 which ended with a conservation conversation at Waitiki Landing, this involved many questions for the local DOC ranger about how to join the force. This led to a couple of Victoria University degrees and some volunteer work at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary whilst studying. I have now been working with our native plants since 2006 and have become a chronic sufferer of orchid fever. I run my own ecological restoration business which allows me some time to botanise, and collect and process native seeds. I also attempt to be a botanical photographer and artist. Any spare time is enjoyed dining at home with my wife and friends, gardening, continually modifying something around the house, as well as making tasty home brew beverages.
Sarah Beadel
Sarah is a Founding Director of Wildland Consultants Ltd, and is a very keen botanist and ecologist who is passionate about working and exploring in the field throughout New Zealand, and overseas whenever she gets the opportunity. Sarah has prepared many ecological restoration plans and has often led or been involved with their implementation. When not botanising, Sarah is establishing a large native garden along with a large, productive vegetable garden that feeds family and friends. Mountain biking provides excellent botanical exploration opportunities in out-of-the way places. Sarah has served on the NZPCN committee since 2004. She is passionate about indigenous plants and ecological restoration, and is the author of more than 500 botanical reports, papers, and articles, including author or co- author of 17 protected natural area programme survey reports.
Jesse Bythell at Lake PukakiJesse Bythell
I originally trained as a linguist but found myself transferring my interest from endangered languages to endangered plants when I moved from Christchurch to the deep south in 2006. I am currently the NZPCN webmaster and have interests in alpine flora, plant photography, botanical etymology, endurance horse riding and playing the banjo.
Melissa Hutchison, visiting giant kauri in Northland
Bill Campbell, Puketi Forest, NorthlandMelissa Hutchison
I developed a love of native plants and wild places growing up in the rugged Waitakere Ranges of West Auckland. After studying ecology at Massey University, and contracts with DOC and Landcare Research, I worked as an entomologist with a conservation trust in the UK. In 2003, I moved to Christchurch to start a PhD at the University of Canterbury, and worked part-time as an ecologist for NZ Landcare Trust and Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust. This opened my eyes to the highly threatened ecosystems of lowland Canterbury and the challenge to protect the small fragments that remain. I now work as an ecological consultant in Christchurch. I am a keen cyclist and love tramping and exploring the mountains of the South Island. I also enjoy classical and baroque music and learning languages, especially Te Reo Māori. I’ve been a NZPCN Council member since 2014 and am the webmaster for Canterbury Botanical Society.
Bill Campbell
From my childhood I’ve had a keen interest in the natural environment, particularly native birds, plants and animals. Unfortunately, these interests had to be put on the backburner for a long time while I was a family man pursuing a career. Since 2007, when a friend reintroduced me to botany, I’ve got back into exploring with a vengeance. Native orchids are of special interest to me and I take every opportunity I can to track species down and photograph them in their natural habitat. I am also very interested in rare and threatened plant species, particularly those found in the Northland region, where I live. If I am free, I enjoy guiding visiting enthusiasts to local hot spots to share with them some of the natural beauty that Aotearoa’s far north has to offer.
Getting blasted by wind on Auckland IslandRowan Hindmarsh-Walls
I’m a field botanist/ecologist, currently based in Westland, New Zealand. My interests in the natural world are wide ranging, but I have a soft spot for plants. I am passionate about the protection of indigenous ecosystems and species, and am involved in the activities of various groups, including the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, iNaturalist NZ, Friends of Paroa trust, and Forest and Bird Society. Most of my recent work has been carrying out broad scale biodiversity monitoring on public conservation land all across New Zealand.
Alex Fergus
Alex and his two daughters, Rātā and IdaThe smell of mashing geraniums into the top of a concrete water tank as a tot endures in my head as the smell of plant-love and freedom (North Canterbury). Geraniums to thyme (Clyde); thyme to willows (Lauder); it took tertiary education in Dunedin to get me out of weed-love and into some natural NZ ecosystems. Apart from some international sojourns (Zurich, Rennes, Russian Far East) I’ve tried not to look back. I poorly balance young family time (Rātā and Ida) with garden time with field time and currently minimal extracurricular flora-focused adventures. I work for Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research as a field botanist, a great role that lets me interact with plants all over Aotearoa. I have much love for Horomaka – Banks Peninsula, which I live on the edge of, but have a constant low-level craving for silver beech forest, anywhere alpine, and the Subantarctic. Until recently, I always identified pōkākā as my favourite tree, but tāwari may have overtaken it; then again I recently met Streblus smithii – blew my mind.
Taylor Davies-Colley
Taylor geeking out over Tupeia antartica at a teachers professional development workshopI grew up among the beaches and kauri forests of Northland. This surrounding, and the influence of my parents’ passions for gardening and forestry, led me to a natural fascination with flora. I followed this interest to the University of Otago, to study a BSc in Botany and Ecology, and then a Masters researching the decline of one of our threatened carnivorous plant species; Utricularia australis. While at university, I released that, while I really liked researching plants, I loved talking about them more. Over the years I have been increasingly involved with community nature projects and environmental education. I currently work doing conservation education and community outreach. When I am not spreading the word about protecting native species, I try to get out into the amazing environment that surrounds Ōtepoti/Dunedin or wherever else I can get to.
Marley Ford
Marley pondering Pannariaceae taxonomy in the coastal forests of Maunganui Bluff, Northland.Kia ora! I’m a ecologist, botanist, mycologist, lichenologist and full time nature nerd committed to exploring Aotearoa and its vast diversity. I grew up in the wild western Far North, the land instilled in me a love for wild places. Once I realised there were rare plants in my local mountains and coast I was hooked. My interests lie in the underappreciated flora and novel landscapes, I feel at home in an Elvin cloud forest dripping in bryophytes and lichens. I recently completed a MSc in mycorrhizal communities of ramarama (Lophromyrtus bullata) with previous studies in ecology and lichenology. I’m a curator and avid contributor to iNaturalist NZ, a council member of the Auckland Botanical Society as well as a diligent article contributor, and a curator of NZPCN’s lichen content. I am now working as a contractor for a range of organisations focused on ecology and botany.