The Team
Become a team member. Find out below how you can join the team.
Dr Ian Horner, MSc, PhD (Project Leader)
Ian grew up in Massey in West Auckland, then went to the University of Auckland where, for his MSc, he investigated the role of Phytophthora in seedling establishment of kauri and kahikatea. Since 1984 Ian worked for DSIR and its successor organisations, HortResearch and Plant & Food Research, with a 4-year stint at Cornell University for his PhD studies. His research has mainly focused on soilborne diseases, mostly of tree and fruit crops such as apples, kiwifruit and strawberries, and for the past 34 years he has always had at least one project on Phytophthora. Since the early 2000’s Ian returned to his roots in native forest pathology, with a focus since 2006 on kauri dieback. Research in this area has included helping to develop techniques for detecting Phytophthora agathidicida in soil, subsequent determination of distribution of the pathogen, and the potential of phosphite treatment for healing diseased kauri or protecting trees from infection.
Outside work, Ian is married to Mary, with three adult daughters. They have a lifestyle block on the banks of the Tukituki River in Hawkes Bay, and his life’s mission is to get it planted up in native bush. He has always been passionate about native flora and fauna, and relishes the opportunity to work with the community to protect New Zealand's unique and threatened forests for future generations
Outside work, Ian is married to Mary, with three adult daughters. They have a lifestyle block on the banks of the Tukituki River in Hawkes Bay, and his life’s mission is to get it planted up in native bush. He has always been passionate about native flora and fauna, and relishes the opportunity to work with the community to protect New Zealand's unique and threatened forests for future generations
Dr Mels Barton, PhD
An environmental scientist turned coordinator, campaigner, organiser, networker and environmental advocate, Mels works with many community organisations and not-for-profits including The Tree Council, Friends of Regional Parks, Revive Our Gulf, Titirangi Residents & Ratepayers Association, Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand and is a former Trustee of Ecomatters Environment Trust and the Weedfree Trust. She was the National and Auckland Coordinator of NZAEE Seaweek from 2011-2019.
Mels has a degree in Geology and Physical Geography and PhD in estuarine sediment transport processes. She worked for Environment Agency Wales for 9 years, culminating as the Water Quality Consents Manager for Wales. She worked for Te Atatu Labour MP Phil Twyford as his Issues Assistant for 5 years. Mels has lived in Titirangi, west Auckland for 20 years since emigrating from Wales in 1999 & in her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her horses and walking her dogs.
Mels has a degree in Geology and Physical Geography and PhD in estuarine sediment transport processes. She worked for Environment Agency Wales for 9 years, culminating as the Water Quality Consents Manager for Wales. She worked for Te Atatu Labour MP Phil Twyford as his Issues Assistant for 5 years. Mels has lived in Titirangi, west Auckland for 20 years since emigrating from Wales in 1999 & in her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her horses and walking her dogs.
Lee Hill
After graduating from the University of Exeter, England, Lee worked in a Haematology Laboratory of a Hospital before deciding to travel. After a few years he found himself in New Zealand and immediately fell in love with the environment and people. After volunteering on a number of conservation projects he began work on the first large scale survey of kauri dieback within the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. Lee has worked on kauri dieback for the past 8 years over which time he has been part of a team tasked with developing and implementing a management strategy on a regional and national scale. The work has allowed him to be involved with all aspects of delivering such a programme from field investigations of symptomology, small and large scale surveillance projects though to working in multi-organisational and stakeholder groups making operational and policy changes aimed at preventing pathogen spread. A large portion of the work has also been in research on the disease, its impacts and investigating potential treatments. Lee was the Senior Advisor - Kauri Dieback at Auckland Council for several years and now works for BioSense.
Dr Marie McEntee, MA (Hons), PhD
Marie is a socio-environmental scientist with Aranovus Research who has research interests in the wider field of science / society interactions, particularly relating to environmental issues. Within this her areas of interest include science communication, community-based participatory research, collaborative learning and science innovation. To date her research has investigated how science / community partnerships can generate effective environmental outcomes while meeting the multiple objectives of all partners. Marie's work takes her to a variety of interesting communities and places in New Zealand. She has recently undertaken an intensive community-based project on Great Barrier Island, where she worked with the community to develop an ecological vision for the island. Marie also co-ordinates three undergraduate courses at the University of Auckland in science communication, science innovation and community engagement. She received a sustained teaching excellence award from the University in 2014 and in 2015 received a National Tertiary Teaching Excellence award.
Marie is a mother of two grown children who are both at university. She and her ecologist husband Grant have recently purchased 40 acres of native bush and exotic forestry in Tolaga Bay on the East Cape where they spend time away from the hustle and bustle of Auckland. You can find out more about Marie on her personal webpage.
Marie is a mother of two grown children who are both at university. She and her ecologist husband Grant have recently purchased 40 acres of native bush and exotic forestry in Tolaga Bay on the East Cape where they spend time away from the hustle and bustle of Auckland. You can find out more about Marie on her personal webpage.
Dr Nick Waipara, PhD
Nick has a background in bioprotection based research specialising in plant pathology, mycology, biocontrol and environmental microbiology. His PhD (University of Canterbury) investigated the role of plant pathogens in the decline of pastoral productivity and economic profitability of primary production. He was employed at Auckland Council for 10 years as Principal Biosecurity Advisor where he coordinated and implemented biosecurity research and innovation that underpins operational pest management programmes including the national Kauri Dieback programme (Kia Toitū He Kauri) and Treasure Islands (Protecting the Hauraki Gulf - Tīkapa Moana o Hauraki). This included engagement with mana whenua, community and industry to improve public understanding of the increasing range of economic and environmental issues arising in biosecurity and pest management.
Nick has a particular interest in research which incorporates mātauranga Māori to help improve management of biosecurity threats as well as mitigate future risks to primary production and native ecosystems. He currently works for Plant & Food Research.
Nick has a particular interest in research which incorporates mātauranga Māori to help improve management of biosecurity threats as well as mitigate future risks to primary production and native ecosystems. He currently works for Plant & Food Research.
Other Team Members
Some of the Kauri Rescue Project Team.
|
Waitangi Wood
|
Join the Team
You can join the team in a number of ways:
Become a Participant
If you know or suspect that you have Kauri Dieback on your residential or rural property in Auckland you can join this project and treat your own sick trees. To find out more about this please fill in our form "I want to treat my kauri". If necessary one of our team members can provide a free assessment of your kauri tree(s) and soil to confirm kauri dieback, but the majority of our site testing is done through Auckland Council's Biosecurity team. It is important this testing is undertaken as only sites with confirmed kauri dieback can be included in the project.
Sign up to receive our newsletter
If you do not currently have affected kauri but want to be kept informed of the project and have not yet provided us with your contact information so you can receive our newsletter (through taking part in our online survey), then fill in the newsletter form and indicate you would like to receive our quarterly e-newsletter
Join us on social media
See our links below to facebook, twitter and instagram and LIKE US!
Show your support / Become a Kauri Rescue Ambassador
Show your support for this project and our efforts to make significant advances in the management of kauri dieback, by purchasing a Kauri Rescue t-shirt / hat or bag from our online merchandise store. You can also be a Kauri Rescue Ambassador and promote the project in your area or help us with practical work treating and monitoring trees on private land. To find about more about being a Kauri Rescue Ambassador contact us.
Examples of some of the Kauri Rescue merchandise
