Trustees
The Trustees represent the interests of Regional Councils, particularly in the areas of land management and river management, and the interests of the New Zealand primary production sectors (mainly pastoral and horticultural).
The New Zealand Poplar and Willow Research Trust is hosted by Massey University and its breeding programme is based at Palmerston North.
Daniel Harrison - Chair (National Regional Councils River Managers Representative)
Daniel represents the NZ regional councils’ River Managers’ Forum on the Trust. He has been the Director of Operations at Taranaki Regional Council since 2020 overseeing environmental services (biosecurity and biodiversity), land management, river control and flood protection. Before this he was the Rivers Manager from 2015. Prior to that, Daniel worked at Environment Canterbury for 10 years: a couple of years in the planning sphere and eight years managing river control and drainage schemes in Mid-Canterbury. Daniel has been the NZPWRT national Regional Councils’ River Managers group representative since 2018, and represents TRC on the NZ regional council Biomanagers’ Special Interest Group as well as the River Managers’ Forum.
Telephone: 027-403 6966
Email:
Peter Kemp (Massey University)
Peter is Emeritus Professor of Pasture Science and until recently was head of the School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University. He supervises postgraduate research on silvopastoral systems based on poplar and willow.
Email:
Grant Cooper (National Regional Councils Land Managers Representative)
As Land and Partnerships Manager at Horizons Regional Council, Grant has been involved in selecting and planting poplar and willow material for erosion control since the mid-1980s. His earliest involvement was with the Otago Catchment Board’s soil survey for the ORC’s new nursery site at Balclutha. In his time with Horizons, he has experienced pole planting throughout the region for assisting landowners to establish farm nurseries, siting and planting poles, inspecting and monitoring growth rates and trials. Horizons is extending its own poplar and willow nurseries, increasing production and the varieties of clones available for planting.
Telephone: 021-227 7093
Email:
Stan Braaksma
After a lifetime of Land Management services to the Greater Wellington Region, retirement beckoned for Stan, although he maintains strong links with past clients and the farming industry. His experience covers a broad spectrum, of land and riparian issues over most of NZ, and has extended into the management of tree species, for protection, production, erosion control and longevity. Poplars and willows have been a crucial tool in minimising erosion on hill country; Stan has long been associated with selecting for improved clonal performance and putting the “right tree in the right place”. As team leader to Akura Nursery, he was part of refining management to produce healthy, well graded pole material.
Telephone: 027-217 5165
Email:
Chris Bristol
Coming from a family farm near Whanganui, Chris is an experienced senior manager within the agribusiness and farming sectors. Her professional career has included corporate marketing, brand and communication roles, and she now works as a consultant with the likes of AsureQuality and Whanganui’s economic development agency through her business, North & Grange marketing and project management. She is a member of the Whanganui Federated Farmers executive.
Telephone: 027-278 8841
Email:
Tim Forde
Tim farms in Central Hawke’s Bay with his wife Cathie. Prior to that he farmed in the Wairarapa and Crownthorpe, Hawke’s Bay. From early on Tim has had a passion for poplar – developing a poplar nursery (rooted stock), planting and milling poplars. He works the farm as a 3-tier farming operation. He is a member of the HB Farm Forestry Association and an Executive on the National Body, and Poplar Action Group. Some of the poplar that he mills goes into making polo mallets, furniture, toys, truck decking, posts, battens and general timber. They were finalist in the 2022 East Coast NZ Ballance Farm Environment Awards in 2022. You can check out the following link Tim and Cathie Forde of Forde Ltd. They won the Massey University Innovation and the Bayleys People in Primary Sector Awards.
Telephone: 06-858 4222
Email: