Devon is the NEXT Foundation’s representative on the board and is excited at this opportunity to bring back birdlife to Taranaki and across New Zealand through his involvement with many other environmental projects.
Over a 30-year career in the New Zealand forest industry Devon held a number of management positions including Chief Operating Officer of Carter Holt Harvey. He was also the Chairman of the NZ Forest Industries Council and a Director of the Forest Research Institute (Scion).
In 1990 Devon helped set up Project Crimson – a trust devoted to the protection of New Zealand’s pōhutukawa and rātā trees. His involvement in this and many other biodiversity projects saw him awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in the 2015 New Year’s Honours.
Devon is currently a trustee and Project Director for Project Janszoon, an ambitious 30-year project to transform the ecological heart of the Abel Tasman National Park. He is also the Chairman of Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP), on the advisory panel of the NEXT Foundation, a Member of the NZ Conservation Authority, Governance board member of the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, and a Trustee with Predator Free New Zealand.
In his spare time Devon is a devoted granddad and he is determined his six grandkids will get to grow up in a New Zealand which has made huge conservation gains – and he is doing his best to make that happen.