By ALISON WHITLEY
Sick of seeing the trees he planted outside his various homes felled in redevelopments, conservationist John Hogan found the perfect answer.
In 1969 the green-fingered 86-year-old bought a property in Albany, planted several hundred native and exotic trees and shrubs, and promptly gave it to the Queen Elizabeth II
National Trust to ensure its survival.
Saving the country's natural environment is a passion for the founder and chairman of the NZ Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
From his idyllic 5ha property, Three Streams, Mr Hogan runs the charitable trust which marries conservation projects and their financial backers with eager volunteers.
International conservationist Dr David Bellamy, a personal friend, is one of its patrons. He heads a similar trust in Britain.
In three years Mr Hogan's initiative has blossomed to the point where it has hundreds of volunteers both here and overseas. In the past year it was involved in 50 projects nationwide.
Mr Hogan has established a database and website which is so time-consuming that he can spend only about three hours a day working in the reserve.
He says German, Swedish and Danish students undergoing environmental courses find New Zealand a great place to do the required six months' practical experience.
These students are among dozens who visit the reserve - named after the streams bordering the property - each year.
Mr Hogan says there is untapped potential for volunteers in today's market economy, where fewer people can get employment.
One of the trust's projects is replanting the banks of Albany streams, which were heavily polluted by intensive industrial development in the past decade.
Another is the Millennium Kauri Forest project at Waipoua in Northland, home of the country's largest living kauri, Tane Mahuta. Numerous volunteer hours have gone into planting more than 3000 kauri and 10 times as many manuka.
The 700ha site is the largest kauri restoration project in the country.
A seedling from Tane Mahuta, planted at Three Streams 14 years ago, today stands proudly in front of Mr Hogan's home among nearly 600 other kauri on the property.
When Mr Hogan moved to Albany the property was overrun with pine trees. More than a dozen he felled himself were used to build his house.
Over the past three decades he has been building the many walkways snaking through the reserve, which has its own glow-worm grotto. The longest walkway, 1km, should take a dozen volunteers two years to complete.
Mr Hogan spent eight years teaching East Coast residents the importance of planting manuka as a protective cover following the devastation wrought by Cyclone Bola in 1988.
In 1990 the sprightly, London-born conservationist was awarded a Queen's Commemorative Medal for his service to the environment. He has no intention of slowing down.
"In 1969 I was looking for somewhere to practise conservation both physically and emotionally - to plant trees that would stay. I did not anticipate it would grow into an industry and now I couldn't live without it.
"I've promised the kauris I'm going to come back every 200 years and give them a hug," he says.
Conservation Volunteers
nzherald.co.nz/environment
By ALISON WHITLEY
Sick of seeing the trees he planted outside his various homes felled in redevelopments, conservationist John Hogan found the perfect answer.
In 1969 the green-fingered 86-year-old bought a property in Albany, planted several hundred native and exotic trees and shrubs, and promptly gave it to the Queen Elizabeth II
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.