Invited Speakers

Check back as more details will be added as speakers are confirmed.

Sandra Anderson

Ecologist, University of Auckland

2023 Ecology in Action Award Recipient

I am an ecologist at the University of Auckland, where I deliver field-based teaching for ecology courses and research support for ecology postgraduate students. My particular interest is in mutualistic interactions between birds and plants, and their role in maintaining native ecosystem biodiversity. My research looks at the importance of birds as pollinators and seed dispersers, and whether native bird declines - and the coincident naturalisation of a range of bird and insect species, as well as flowering and fruiting plants - have impacted native forest regeneration. The aim of my work is to better understand how these systems function, and to identify and predict vulnerability, to inform native biodiversity management.


Bruce Clarkson

Professor Bruce Clarkson ONZM is recognised as one of New Zealand’s foremost authorities on ecological restoration, making significant contributions to conservation through his ongoing research, education, protection, and restoration of native plants and ecosystems over a >40-year career.

Since 2016 he has led ‘People, Cities and Nature’, a research programme focusing on restoring damaged or depleted indigenous ecosystems in urban environments. His research has guided biodiversity and restoration projects including the Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park and Hamilton’s Nature in the City Programme, and he has contributed to many other North Island conservation and restoration projects.

He is Chair of the Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park Advisory Group, a trustee of the Rotokare (Taranaki) Sanctuary, and patron of the Aongatete Forest Restoration Trust and the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society. He is also a board member of the Australasian Chapter of the International Society of Restoration Ecology and was a member, by appointment of the Minister of Conservation, of the Interim Oversight Group for the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy and the Wildlife Act Review Strategic Oversight Group.


Teresa Eyre

Principal Ecologist, Queensland Herbarium and Biodiversity Sciences Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Australia

AERA Award Recipient

Teresa is an applied ecologist and leads a highly skilled team of zoologists, botanists and ecologists within the Queensland Government. Her prime motivation is to help accumulate and share scientific knowledge so that land managers and policy makers can make informed decisions regarding the sustainable management, including restoration and conservation opportunities, of biodiversity and threatened species. Teresa has published widely on Queensland’s wildlife and provides advice to all levels of government on biodiversity assessment, management, and recovery of threatened species. Her team are responsible for the development of protocols and frameworks for the assessment of Queensland’s fauna and vegetation condition for biodiversity. She has a particular passion for large, fluffy gliding mammals and slow-moving reptiles and loves mentoring next generation ecologists. Teresa completed her PhD a really long time ago but is still quite good at spotting glider foraging trees from fast moving vehicles. She was the recipient of the Ecological Society of Australia’s 2024 Australian Ecological Research Award.


Hervé Jactel

Principal Scientist at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (France)

As a forest ecologist, I have been interested in biodiversity and forest health for over thirty years. My research deals with the relationship between tree diversity and the functioning of forest ecosystems. As an entomologist by training, I have focused on the effect of the specific and functional diversity of tree species on the resistance of forests to attacks by native and exotic insect pests, and on the conservation of forest insect biodiversity. Working in the largest and oldest artificial forest in Europe, I am particularly interested in plantation forests. My main aim is to offer forest stakeholders innovative solutions for managing forest stands and landscapes in order to prevent or mitigate the impact of disturbances that are increasing as a result of climate change, so as to maintain their contribution to society.


Mike Joy

Mike is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University, after obtaining an PhD in ecology from Massey. He has spent the last two decades working at the interface of science and policy in NZ with a goal of strengthening connections between science, policy and management to address multiple environmental issues facing NZ. After noticing the decline in freshwater health in NZ, he became an outspoken advocate for environmental protection – a journey described in his new book “A Fight for Freshwater”. Mike has received a number of accolades for his work, including the 2009 NZES Ecology in Action award.


Simon Upton

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment

Simon Upton was sworn in as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for a five-year term on 16 October 2017. 

Mr Upton is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a Rhodes Scholar, with degrees in English literature, music and law from the University of Auckland, and an MLitt in political philosophy from Oxford University. He was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council in 1999. 

A Member of Parliament between 1981 and 2000, Mr Upton held a variety of ministerial portfolios including environment, research, biosecurity, health and state services between 1990 and 1999.

After leaving Parliament, Mr Upton moved to Paris to chair the Round Table on Sustainable Development at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2005, he returned to New Zealand to pursue a number of private sector roles while continuing to chair the Round Table. 

In April 2010 he returned to the OECD full time as Environment Director, a post he held for seven years until returning to take up the role of Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.


Sarah Wharekura

Te Hunga Tiaki Taiao – Environmental Officer, Te Arawa Lakes Trust

Sarah Wharekura (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Horohoro, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Whare) is a passionate advocate for freshwater conservation. With a degree in Earth Science, Biodiversity and Ecology from the University of Waikato, Sarah weaves together mātauranga māori and western science to protect the awa and roto of Te Arawa. Working with Te Arawa Lakes Trust, she focuses on monitoring water quality and taonga species populations, biosecurity and pest control, restoring wetlands and riparian zones and advocating for better management of freshwater resources. Sarah also works with iwi, hapū, marae, schools, landowners, stakeholder organisations and communities to engage locals in conservation and empower people with knowledge and resources. Her passion and dedication to the taiao contribute to preserving freshwater resources for future generations and ensuring the role of Te Arawa as kaitiaki is upheld.


Susan Wiser

Research Associate, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research

2023 Te Tohu Taiao Award Recipient

A major thrust of my research has been defining and classifying terrestrial ecosystems of Aotearoa, including naturally uncommon ones that may be threatened. I have explored how to best map ecosystems and how classifications frameworks can aid understanding of ecosystem properties such as carbon sequestration. Managing and sharing vegetation data to support synthetic research has been a key aspect. I’ve collaborated internationally to support management of these data and global data syntheses about plant biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Currently I have a strong interest in mentoring early-career vegetation scientists and illustrating how vegetation can enhance landscape resilience to climate change-induced disturbances.

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