Science New Zealand awards
Members of the LCDB team at the Science NZ Awards
Science New Zealand represents the country’s seven Crown Research Institutes, and the annual Awards recognise research excellence at each CRI. In the 2020 ceremony, held at Parliament in December, Bruce Warburton won a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in wildlife ecology over more than 40 years. Rachelle Binny won an Early Career Researcher award for the application of mathematics to the study and control of vertebrate pests. The Land Cover Database (LCDB) Team – comprising Peter Newsome, David Pairman, James Shepherd, John Dymond, Michelle Barnes, Anne Sutherland and Stella Belliss, supported by wider research and delivery teams including Jan Schindler, Ben Jolly, James Barringer, David Medyckyj-Scott, Andrew Manderson, Robbie Price, and research contractors Michael Speth, Mike Cochrane, Andrew Cowie, and Heather North – took a Team Award for the creation and delivery of the LCDB. The team acknowledges the significant contribution of Deb Burgess at MfE for her work in ensuring that the LCDB meets government and other stakeholder needs.
Ronny Groenteman
Ronny Groenteman
Ronny Groenteman has been elected as Vice President of the International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC-Global) for 2020 to 2024. IOBC-Global is an umbrella organisation that brings together globally leading researchers and practitioners in the different disciplines of biological control, with much potential for future collaborations.
Nathan Odgers
Nathan Odgers
Nathan Odgers has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Citizen Science Association of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Association is a recent initiative (~12 months old) so is currently in a formative and developmental stage. The Association aims to encourage the development and practice of citizen science in Aotearoa. Nathan’s involvement will help shape the direction and development of the Association.
Colin Meurk
Colin Meurk
Colin Meurk was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to ecological restoration in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List. Colin’s wide-ranging academic interests in landscape ecology and conservation span many decades, and he has served on many environmental committees and advised numerous restoration projects. Colin co-developed the landscape model that drives many catchment-scale restoration plans in New Zealand cities and districts, and was also the founding Chair of iNaturalist New Zealand, Mātaki Taiao, the largest citizen bioscience platform in the country.