Board of Trustees

At the 2007 AGM two new trustees were elected to the trust. Some of our newer members may not be familiar with the existing trustees so we thought we would take the opportunity to introduce them all. Our constitution allows us to co-opt trustees and we hope to co-opt a ninth member later this year.

Dr. Gary Bramley, Chairman since 2003, Forest and Bird Representative Gary is a local of Kaeo, where his family has lived since 1859. Many of his father's family were bushman and Bramley's Ridge in Puketi Forest was named after his grandfather, Jack Bramley. Gary and his wife Carey have three children aged 5, 3 and 2 and own a small farm near the forest (formerly owned by Gary's father and grandfather). Gary works as an ecologist for New Zealand Environmental Ltd in Kerikeri. He has degrees in zoology and ecology from Massey University and the University of Waikato and was also the chairperson of the Far North Branch of Forest and Bird for many years.

Mrs Barbara Nock, Treasurer  Barbara was born in Palmerston North in 1937 and moved to the Bay of Islands in 1968. She is the widow of Graham Nock who passed away in July 2005. Both Barbara and her husband have been involved in the communities where they live. She has four sons and 16 grandchildren, ranging in age from 21 years down to seven. In her earlier years, Barbara and her family spent many happy hours in Puketi Forest enjoying the forst and the bird life. Later on in life, it saddened her greatly to visit a silent forest. As a result, she was delighted to be approached to be a Trustee to work to reinstate the forest and joined the Puketi Forest Trust as Treasurer, putting her background as accountant to good use for the Trust. Barbara is a looking forward to returning the dawn chorus to the forest for her great grandchildren and generations to come.

Mr Ian Wilson  Ian and his wife, June, purchased a 143 hectare dairy farm on the southern side of Puketi Forest in 1980. They quickly realised that the biodiversity in the 40 hectares of forest on their property made it an area worth protecting. Over the next ten years they erected 12 kilometres of fence to keep stock out of the bush, streams and wetlands. They also protected the main block of bush in perpetuity with a QEII National Trust Open Space Covenant. The Wilson's commitment to minimise the impact of their operation on the environment was recognised in 1998 when the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Northland presented them with an Environmental Management in Business Award. For many years, Ian has been actively involved with the Far North Branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, being chairman for four years. His contribution to conservation in the Far North was acknowledged in 1993 when he was awarded the "Old Blue" Award. A year later the Department of Conservation "acknowledged the contribution (he) has made to the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historic heritage" at their annual awards function. Ian is a member of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Botanical Society. The couple sold their high producing dairy farm in 2007 and are now beef farming with their son, David. David has a strong interest in Puketi and was the contractor responsible for marking out the new rat lines in early 2007. Ian and June are the trusts powerhouse, with June producing the newsletters and administering our database of sponsors. Ian organises all the contracts and equipment and does much of the planning involved in keeping the trust running.

Mrs Keri Molloy, Secretary since 2007  Keri and her husband Bob live in Kerikeri, where Keri works as a journalist and edits the local community paper, "The Bay Chronicle". Bob and Keri have lived in Kerikeri for 22 years and have two grown daughters. Keri has always loved nature and has been involved in conservation. She is passionate about protecting natural areas and allowing people access to them. Keri is also an artist and has exhibited her work regularly in Kerikeri over the last few years.

Mr Antonio Pasquale  Antonio and his wife Stephania are Italian and came to Okaihau about 10 years ago. They have 3 young children and currently live in Russell. Antonio and his family have significant business interests throughout New Zealand, including farming and forestry. He has been shocked by some farming practices in New Zealand and considers that "farming should not be like mining". The Pasquales have done much to improve the landscape on their farms and have keen interest in New Zealand wildlife and habitat protection.

Mr Wiremu Williams, Piki Te Aroha Marae representative  Wiremu and his whanau live in Moerewa. Wiremu is also a Trustee of the Waitangi National Trust that administers the Treaty Grounds and visitor centre at Waitangi. Wiremu is a keen carver and is responsible for the pou erected in 2003 at Waihoanga to mark the establishment of the Trust. Wiremu has been a keen supporter of conservation at Puketi since the reintroduced kokako were killed by stoats in 1990s. His comment that "before we can bring these birds back we need to clean out the nest" has resonated with all the trustees and is regularlty referred to. Wiremu is also involved with his mokopuna and on other committees, including the marae management committee, and in training young people to paddle traditional waka (canoes).

Mr Gordon Salt, New to the Trust in 2007  Gordon and his wife Frances have lived in Kerikeri for 3 years and have two grown children. Gordon has been a builder and now owns an orchard as well. Gordon has always been interested in plants and birds and enjoys tramping and being in the forest. He was a Sea Scout leader for 24 years. Gordon's children are also interested in New Zealand flora and fauna with his son having a Diploma in Sustainable Land Management.

Mr John Dawn(Jnr), New to the Trust in 2007  John and his wife, Seok have lived in Kerikeri since 2005. John grew up and went to school in Kerikeri and trained as a civil engineer. He has worked in New Zealand, Brunei and Singapore and is now retired and developing an orchard. The couple have one son. John has long had an interest in conservation. His father, John Snr, is an active member of Forest and Bird in the Far North and has administered the society's lodge at Pukenui for many years. John(Jnr) has been a member of Forest and Bird since 1987 and prior to that was an active member of the Malaysian Nature Society. John became involved in the trust's work when he organised the locating of several hundred rat traps into the forest via helicopter earlier this year. He has also helped with monitoring and coordinates the volunteers who service stoat trap line 10.