Two Life Memberships Awarded

Dr Marion MacKay, who has served on our Board for many years, is a Senior Lecturer in Environment Management and Doctoral Supervisor, School of Agriculture and Environment, at Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa. She specialises in plant biodiversity and conservation, particularly ex situ conservation.

Marion’s first contribution to the Trust was to survey the Pukeiti forest, recording every plant, native and exotic to be found. The quadrats set up to enable this work still largely remain and can be used in the future to look at forest regeneration. From this work, in 2011 she published Plants of Pukeiti Forest. This magnificent reference book is available to borrow through our library, and will remain relevant for many years to come.

Marion has made an enormously significant contribution to the conservation and enhancement of the collections at Pukeiti, leading the New Zealand Rhododendron Ex Situ Conservation Project, publishing about 25 articles and reports on Rhododendron conservation since 2016; monitoring the integrity of Pukeiti’s Vireya Collection; and co-supervising PhD students studying the diversity of Rhododendron in NZ and its significance to conservation. Working with international colleagues, she is now leading the development of a conservation strategy for the genus.

Rene Duncan, along with her husband Alistair, has been a member of the Trust since the very early years and has always been one of the first to put her hand up and volunteer, no matter the task. Older members remember her collecting money from visitors or serving them tea, coffee and scones from the basement of The Lodge to raise money for the Trust. When not actively working in the garden during weekend working bees she could be found serving as hostess at the Lodge. Rene has also frequently hosted guests in her home, providing accommodation and meals on behalf of the Trust, and, along with Alistair, she successfully led a Pukeiti trip to Jiuzhaigou County in Szechuan, China.

Since the TRC took over day to day management of the garden, Rene has served on the Members Committee, enthusiastically helping run events, whether that is leading walks in the garden and rainforest, potting up extra plants for the annual Plant List, packing newsletters and journals into envelopes and posting them off, or drying dishes in the kitchen.

Thank you to both Marion and Rene for all they have done, and continue to do, for the Trust. We would not be where we are as an organisation without people like them.