Trustees are responsible for managing the bush reserve and meet several times each year.
- Chair: Chris Livesey
- Treasurer: Mark Wilcox
Former trustees
Colin Ryder
Colin took on the challenge of buying and fencing Long Gully Bush in the late 1990s and remained a trustee and treasurer until his death in March 2021. Colin managed to source funding to keep the fence maintained and sustain predator control in the reserve. His support was hugely valuable and instrumental in ensuring the reserve is thiving today. We honour his contribution and miss his fun, connections and tireless work for conservation. Kua hinga te tōtara o Te Waonui a Tāne.
Read an obituary (PDF, 838.69 kB) written for Forest & Bird magazine by WNHT trustee Tim Park.
Barbara Mitcalfe
Barbara was a foundation trustee of Long Gully Bush. She was a co-compiler of the area’s first plant list and contributed to the site’s management plan. She was also a foundation member of Zealandia and served as a volunteer for more than 20 years.
Barbara was a passionate educator and dedicated advocate for the environment throughout her teaching career. She also carried out contract botanical work for the Department of Conservation, Wellington and Hutt City Councils and Greater Wellington Regional Council, and was involved in many voluntary projects. Her work included revegetating road reserves, establishing and monitoring riparian planting trials on the banks of the Hutt River and advocating for the five native forest areas in Wellington Botanic Garden to be given more publicity and interpretation.
She was prolific botanical author, providing contributions to books and the Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin. Her love of the outdoors was lifelong and irrepressible, and led her to explore many parts of New Zealand’s backcountry. Barbara died on 7 January 2017, aged 88.