Queen's Birthday Honours: Bruce Wills, conservationist farmer

Bruce Wills ONZM, planting thousands of trees on his Roy's Hill property, where he learned of his recognition in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Photo / Warren Buckland

Former Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay and national president Bruce Wills, who is made an Officer of the Order of New Zealand in the Queen's Birthday Honours, is much like the present that keeps on giving.

Even with the ONZM pinned to his chest, at an investiture expected later in the year, he's not planning on winding down his busy schedule any time soon.

Now aged 60, having sold Te Pohue family-farm Trelinnoe Station about three years ago and subsequently, separately, family-developed garden wonderland Trelinnoe Park, he's now got a 58ha block at Trinity Hill, west of Hastings, where he's developing a wetland and planting 3000 trees in a hands-on fashion.

But also growing is his portfolio, having recently become chairman of the board of the Primary Industries Training Organisation, effectively the head of training for those entering or developing careers in the rural sector.

He's also chairman of the environmental leader the QEII National Trust, a ministerial appointment made last year, and economic and public policy think-tank Motu, beekeeping authority ApicultureNZ,

the deer industry primary-growth partnership, and the NZ Poplar and Willow Research Trust, to name a few of his offices, which also include being a trustee of two national science challenges - Our Land and Water, and Resilience to Nature's Challenges.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Bruce Wills on The Country below:

He has also represented New Zealand on international farming and trade forums as a board member of the World Farming Organisation, and was once Hawke's Bay Farm Environment Award winner, ultimately becoming chairman of the awards' organising group.

Last week he was at the National Horticultural Field Days in Hastings representing the Board of Ravensdown, and on Friday he was back out among the trees, saying the ONZM is a "huge honour and it's humbling".

"I've got no idea how it happened," he said, looking forward to telling the family today, and to having them at the investiture at Government House in Wellington later in the year, probably with new Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, and "possibly" between meetings.

As it happens he will have been there also on September 24 with outgoing Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, who is also Patron of the QEII National Trust.