Supporting the Garden
Most years, the PRT is able to make a grant to the TRC for use in the garden, thanks to the foresight of those early members who, in 1971, established the Pukeiti Trust Fund. This ensures we can continue to honour the financial commitment we made to the TRC in 2010.
In the past several years, financial contributions from our own funds, or through generous donations and bequests from Members, have also:
- Built the Keiller Rhododendron Home Garden. Designed by Xanthe White, the Keiller Garden is intended to show visitors how to use rhododendrons effectively in their home garden.
- Helped build the new Lodge. This provided a home base for Members in the garden again, as well as a function space for the TRC and other Taranaki organisations.
- Built a new shade house in Pukeiti’s propagation area to grow on the baby rhodos once they are big enough to be put in pots.
- Helped bring global rhododendron expert Steve Hootman to New Zealand to speak at the 2023 Rhodenza, as well as the PRT AGM. He also helped identify previously unidentifiable rhododendrons in the Dunedin collection while he was here.
Meeting Our Goals
Conservation work requires funding, too. In recent years, some of the costs we have covered to help us meet our conservation goals, include:
- Buying a specialist Rouse propagator unit. Rhododendron seeds are tiny, and can be incredibly difficult to grow. With seed of rare and endangered rhododendrons hard to come by, it is critical that garden staff grow as many as possible from what we can source. The new propagator helps enormously in providing the right conditions to do just that.
- Twice a year, sent members of the Project team to Dunedin to collect seed and cuttings, as well as helped fund additional collection trips to gardens in the North Island.
- Financially assisted teams on seed-collecting trips to Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunchal Pradesh. In return, we were able to source wild-collected material, especially seed from Red List endangered plants (all under the appropriate import and quarantine guidelines from the Ministry of Primary Industries!)
- Provided scholarship funds to Massey University to help fund the work of PhD student Ling Hu, whose four main pieces of research were all related to conservation of Rhododendron. Two of Ling’s three supervisors were key members of the Project team and sit on our Board. Ling successfully defended her thesis in 2023 and is now Dr Hu. We’re so proud to have been a small part of her journey.
- Flown Trust members and garden staff to rhododendron conferences and symposia in Germany, Australia and the United States. This serves a dual purpose of re-engaging with gardens and rhododendron organisations with whom the Trust had strong links in the past, as well as sharing with the world the work the Project is doing, and the successes we are having, here in New Zealand.
Pukeiti is a unique place, leaving a lasting impression on so many of us. If it is special to you, too, maybe you’d like to consider a donation to help us grow and conserve this unique garden. All donations go directly towards supporting the work of the Trust in the garden, and will have a positive impact for years and generations to come.
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No matter the season, there is always something to see at Pukeiti so come enjoy the beauty of the gardens.