Graeme has recently retired from Department of Conservation after 30 years working in the Taiao restoration space and was awarded the Loder Cup in 2020. Graeme was one of only three finalists in the 2024 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards in the Te Toa o te Tau category and is known as the ‘Māori David Attenborough’ of plants because of his knowledge and role in protecting rare plants. He founded and continues his work with the Tairāwhiti Ngutukākā conservation group, founded the Raukumara Pae Maunga Restoration Project which was established to restore the ecological health of the Raukumara ranges which have been devastated by introduced pests. He also founded the hapu-led myrtle response project Te Whakapae Ururoa, which tracks the spread and infestation of myrtle rust across a 27,800ha stretch of the East Cape. Graeme now has his own consultancy business - Te Rimu Environmental Consultancy.
Special plants of the coastal environment around East Cape and Post conference field trip (optional)
Graeme will tell us about the threatened species of the coastal environments of the East Cape, how myrtle rust is devastating several myrtle species, his work to save Ngutukākā (kākā beak) and his work with other threatened coastal species.
Post conference field trip: Graeme will take us on a guided tour of the East Cape coastal environment following the conclusion of the conference. Habitats visited include coastal sand dunes, coastal bluffs, coastal pohutukawa forest, coastal wetlands and ephemeral coastal wetlands. Full of rare and threatened flora all packed into one day.