Award acknowledges conservation work

Otago Daily Times

08-07-2025

The work of Dunedin ecologist, botanist, science educator and farmer Kelvin Lloyd has been recognised.
Dr Lloyd received an Old Blue Award at the Forest & Bird annual meeting recently.
Dr Lloyd said the award was appreciated and followed a long history of ecology and conservation work in his professional and personal life.
Dr Lloyd and his wife Beatrice Lee and their two teenage sons run sheep and beef on their 88ha farm near Waitati.
About 300 ewes and up to a dozen cattle were taken through winter and fed baleage.
More cattle were purchased in spring.
An aim on the farm was to sell 200 prime lambs each year, he said.
The 88ha farm includes 45ha pasture, 30ha native bush and 11ha of native regeneration and gorse in the Emissions Trading Scheme and a small amount of forestry.
He and his family live on a 6ha lifestyle block in Waitati, where he restored a wetland, filling it with harakeke flax and fencing it off.
Livestock was shifted between the farm and lifestyle block.
Ewe hoggets were currently on the lifestyle block.
Dr Lloyd said the clients he had worked for included non-governmental organisations, such as Forest & Bird and farmers and other developers.
"Credibility is the rock of my professional work. I strive to get better outcomes for biodiversity in all my work."
Dr Lloyd said his conservation work started with trips to the Catlins with botanist Sir Alan Mark to plant trees and being part of the Dunedin branch's project to tackle wilding pines across Otago.
A keen tramper, he was also a member of the national executive of Federated Mountain Clubs for five years and a member the of Otago Natural History Trust for 15 years during the period the trust's Orokonui Ecosanctuary proposal was developed and became a reality.
Forest & Bird Canterbury and West Coast regional conservation manager Nicky Snoyink said Dr Lloyd was a former Dunedin branch chairman of Forest & Bird and had been a vital expert witness for the conservation organisation in the Environment Court.
Dr Lloyd had also given up large amounts of time volunteering for other conservation-related organisations.
"For several decades, Dr Lloyd has played an immense role in New Zealand conservation.
"Kelvin's expertise and knowledge of New Zealand's native botany, especially rare species, is a major asset to the country."
Beginning work with Wildland Consultants in 2004, he quickly became a valuable source of expert evidence.
Among the successful outcomes he was involved with was prioritising wilding conifer control sites for the Ministry of Primary Industries, which led to $16 million being allocated for wilding pine control.
His expert evidence also contributed towards improving protection for wetlands on the West Coast.
Dr Lloyd's knowledge of wetlands and botany had been very valuable to Forest & Bird in the Environment Court and other forums.
His evidence was pivotal in the Environment Court's decision to turn down the proposal for a mine at Te Kuha on the West Coast.
He also provided evidence against the land swap for the Ruataniwha Dam in Hawke's Bay and Forest & Bird eventually won its case in the Supreme Court.
Dr Lloyd had always been generous in sharing his knowledge and treated others with kindness and respect, Ms Snoyink said.
His experience, enthusiasm, reliability and communication skills made him a standout among botanists in New Zealand, she said.
"As a science communicator, Kelvin has mastered the art of taking complex scientific information and making it accessible to everyone."
Other southerners to be given an Old Blue Award in the latest round were Mo Turnbull, of Hāwea, for his outstanding contribution to Forest & Bird's Central Otago Lakes branch and to conservation in the region, and Jane and Jim Young, of South Otago, for their outstanding service to Forest & Bird and to conservation in their region.