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Executive
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Our Structure
Branches
Forest & Bird has more than 50 branches that organise local activities, including conservation projects, walks, trips, and guest speakers. Each branch is run by a committee that is elected annually by its members.
Council
Each branch has one representative on our national Council. Each year, these representatives elect the national Executive board.
Executive
Each year the Council elects a president, deputy president, treasurer and up to 10 other Executive members. The Executive meets at least four times a year and oversees Forest & Bird’s direction in accordance with the organisation’s policy and the wishes of the Council.
Staff
Forest & Bird employs about 25 staff with scientific, resource management, administrative, communications and advocacy skills, based in our National Office in Wellington and regional offices in Auckland, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Meet our Executive
Barry Wards, President (Upper Hutt branch)
Molecular bacteriologist-turned-Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry adviser, Dr Barry Wards has been an active member of Forest & Bird for more than 20 years, and has served on the Executive since 2004. Barry is a strong believer in community-based projects that inspire people to take responsibility for their natural environment. His interests include environmental sustainability and terrestrial and marine biodiversity. Barry can often be found in his garden tending to a selection of weeds, natives and exotics, or tramping throughout the North Island.
Craig Potton, Deputy President, (Nelson-Tasman branch)
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Craig Potton
Craig is a noted landscape and nature photographer and conservationist, and the founder of independent publishing house Craig Potton Publishing. He has been actively involved in conservation work for more than 20 years and is particularly interested in seeing Forest & Bird pursuing national campaigns, including high country protection, controlling and eliminating pests and weeds, protecting the marine environment, and combating global warming.
Graham Bellamy – Treasurer (Upper Hutt branch)
Graham is an accountant for an animal health company and has been a member of Forest & Bird for about 30 years. He became a more active member after going along with his colleagues to do community work at a Forest & Bird project, and says his subsequent involvement in projects such as Hull’s Creek restoration has opened new horizons in his life. He’s now a passionate advocate for the environment and the importance of preserving it for the enjoyment of future generations.
Mark Fort (Eastern Bay of Plenty branch)
Mark is a registered craftsman plumber and orchardist with a passion for conservation. Mark is driven by a his enthusiasm for protecting nature against inappropriate development. He believes district and regional councils need to act more positively to provide protection for natural land and seascapes from unsustainable development. He’s also learning to play the clarinet.
Anne Fenn (Central Auckland branch)
Anne has chaired the Central Auckland branch since 2004 and is a self-employed environmental advocate and consultant. She has a degree in marine zoology and served on Auckland Conservation Board for nine years. Her vision for Forest & Bird is for it to remain the pre-eminent conservation organisation in New Zealand, and to increase its membership, particularly among young people and families.
Alan Hemmings (Overseas Branches)
Alan is based in Canberra but makes frequent visits to New Zealand, where he teaches at Canterbury University. He has been a member of Forest & Bird since 1985 and his main involvement in environmental advocacy has been through his work on protecting the Antarctic environment. He sees climate change, oceans management and control of invasive species as the top conservation priorities New Zealand is facing.
Joan Leckie (Horowhenua branch)
Bee-keeper, tramper and birder Joan Leckie had the urge for a good bush walk with like-minded environmentalists more than three decades ago, and unwittingly joined a group that would see her challenge big businesses and local authorities to take greater environmental responsibility. Joan was the driving force in gaining Ramsar Convention status for Manawatu Estuary, and succeeded in getting dairy company Fonterra to clean up its discharges to the Manawatu River.
Jon Wenham (Waikato branch)
Hot-air balloonist, sailor and bird enthusiast, Jon Wenham was gifted a Forest & Bird life membership by his nature-loving father 30 years ago. After a several years overseas working as a tropical horticulturalist & aerial photographer, Jon returned to Waikato with a great gusto to restore its natural heritage, and has since been active in branch activities. Jon lives on a quarter-acre block with his partner and son, as well as several pukeko, moreporks and eels.
Janet Ledingham (Dunedin branch)
Janet has retired after 45 years working as a cardiovascular researcher in the Otago Medical School. She has had a long-term interest in the botany, ecology and landscape of the high country and conservation issues. Other interests include alpine plants, lichens, tramping, photography, and doing voluntary work on conservation projects.
Andrew Cutler (Wellington branch) -
Andrew Cutler
When Andrew Cutler joined Forest & Bird he didn’t expect to be labelled a member of the ‘eco-Taliban’ or chased by an angry fisherman around the Island Bay foreshore. But that’s what happened during the campaign for the Taputeranga Marine Reserve. He’s also been labelled ‘anti-cat’ for running a study on cat-predation in urban areas. Between the battles, Cutler has worked hard to protect bush-remnants and bird corridors, by making submissions to the the City and Regional councils. And given his background in public sector communications in central, local & regional politics he's well placed to negotiate the bureaucracy. Since the mid-1990s, he has been involved in a number of projects such as the Karori Bird Sanctuary & the Wellington Branch’s Greening Wellington project, which aims to join up Wellington's green spots. One green spot he's hoping to grow in the next few years is in his backyard - a place where he can often be found on the weekends battling weeds, poisoning possums and planting natives.