About us

Battling against the wilding conifer infestation at Mid Dome in northern Southland became and remains my passion since I was elected as the local regional councillor in 2001. I went on to serve on the council for 15 years with the last 6 as Chairman. The Trust was formed in 2007 and I have had the privilege of being the Trust’s Chairman since then.

When the national Wilding Conifer Control Programme (WCCP) was set up in 2016, I became the WCCP Governance Group’s representative of all the Trusts and community groups involved in wilding control and eradication NZ-wide.

In 2018 I was appointed to the Fiordland Marine Guardians, and my other interests include walking, biking, tramping, caravanning, and yoga.

I am originally from a farming family near Tuatapere in western Southland where we had farmed for over 100 years. With having a love of the High Country and Back Country, I had the opportunity to buy Cattle Flat Station in 1993, where we have spent considerable time and money improving its productive capacity whilst retaining its wonderful natural features and biodiversity.

I was given the chance to become a Trustee in February 2011 and was delighted to be able to offer my services. As part of Cattle Flat Station is severally impacted by wilding conifers, I can also represent local landowners affected as well. With the funding received from central government between 2020 and 2024, I could see that control of the wildings could be possible, however with a drop in central funding and the recent invasion of Douglas fir wildings within the area, the battle is significantly harder.

Geoff is also a councilor for Environment Southland.

Michael is now retired following 20 years as Kaupapa Taiao Manager for Te Ao Mārama Incorporated the Ngai Tahu Ki Murihiku Environmental Consultancy. The key task as manager was to facilitate iwi input into the processes required by the Resource Management Act, Local Government Act, and other relevant legislation.

Around 40% of New Zealand’s indigenous flora and fauna has become extinct in the last 200 hundred years. Michael is proud to be part of the Trust’s project to address the wilding pine issue and protect and restore the natural values. This mahi is of national importance.

Michael is Kaiwhakahaere of Waihopai Runaka Inc, Director of Murihiku Holdings Ltd and Waihopai Rūnanga Holdings Ltd. He is also a representative of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (for Waihopai Rūnaka Inc.), member of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Audit and Risk Komiti and Rakiura Titi Islands Administering Body, as well as a trustee of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Charitable Trust, Venture Southland Trust, Mid-Dome Wilding Trees Trust and Whakamana te Waituna Trust, Tangata Tiaki of Customary Fisheries and Kaumatua of Southern Institute of Technology.

Richard Bowman was invited to become a Trustee in 2018 shortly after retiring from his position as Biosecurity Manager with Environment Southland. He previously had close involvement with the Trust since its inception in 2007 and with wilding tree issues at Mid Dome since 1997.

Richard brings a wealth of practical experience in wilding trees management as a Trustee and is determined to see that the ambitious goals the Trust has set and has strived for over the last decade will be successfully achieved.

He is also involved in national aspects of wilding tree management through the NZ Wilding Conifer Group which provides a key communication and advocacy function between regional community-based groups and the national agencies and funders

I have lived and farmed beneath the Mid Dome for most of my life and I have a strong attachment to this area. My wife and I farm a Longridge North running sheep and beef along with some forestry.

During the 1990s, wilding Contorta Pines really became a problem in the Mid Dome area, spreading from an original Forest Services planting.

We had a huge issue with the spreading trees on our hill country, but through a lot of hard work and  a variety of management tools, including a relationship with the SIT Environmental Studies programme, we now have them under control.

This has all happened with support of the Mid Dome Wilding Trees Charitable Trust.

Being asked to be a Trustee allow me to really help with eradicating Wilding Trees from this great Southland landscape.

Hello I’m Peter McDonald, together with my partner Kim we farm in the Caroline Valley in Dipton. I’ve had involvement in many conservation issues, having served on the Southland Conservation Board for six years.

As a landowner and a tree grower I have an appreciation of how sensitive our landscapes are to wilding species of pine. The difficulty of funding constraints doesn’t seem to recognise that wilding control is a problem you are either winning or losing.

Couple this with the high costs of working in remote areas using machines and techniques which are expensive to deploy. The time, however is now to push through these challenges so current and future generations can continue to enjoy these landscapes as they were designed to be.