Trustees
Founding Trustees (2001)
Founding Trustees (2001)
Mary has lived in Tauranga in the beautiful Bay of Plenty since 1944 and has six adult children and 13 grandchildren.
Her current chairing roles include, Envirohub Bay of Plenty, the Welcome Bay Community Centre and she also serves on the Bay of Plenty Community Response Forum and the Technical Implementation Group SmartGrowth.
Recently Mary was appointed as a District Licensing Commissioner under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. Her previous roles include Board Member of Philanthropy New Zealand, Chair BayTrust, Deputy Chair Tauranga Art Gallery Trust and Chair of the PrimeHealth Trust for Community Development.
Mary served as an elected member of the Tauranga City Council for 21 years, including six years as Deputy Mayor. During that time she developed strong connections with local iwi and she values and respect Maori perspectives.
Mary has a deep interest in the sustainability of our environment and in the development of local strong resilient communities.
BOP Regional Councillor
Anne graduated from Massey University with a BHortSc in 1977. Worked for RST Environmental Solutions Ltd, a bioengineering company specialising in erosion control, overseas as a Research Assistant with UNDP on a project growing exotic species in desert areas, and in China as a volunteer for WWF and for Roots and Shoots, a Jane Goodall initiative that teaches youth about the environment and humanitarian values. Presently administrator for Friends of Galapagos NZ, an organisation focused on conservation of the Galapagos Islands.
Mark was educated at Waikato University and Hamilton Teachers College. He started his working life
as a teacher, including three years spent as an outdoor education specialist at Tauranga
Intermediate School. During this time, he was instrumental in establishing Ngamuwahine Outdoor
Education Centre. Taking children into the outdoors and the bush led to a lifelong interest and
passion for our native flora.
In 1977 with his wife Esme and four small children, they moved onto a small lifestyle property at
Oropi, 12km south of Tauranga. Soon after they started a small native plant nursery that grew to
become Naturally Native New Zealand Plants Ltd, one of the countries larger nurseries.
In 2000 he was awarded life membership of the New Zealand Nursery & Garden Industry
Association, and in 2011 he was awarded the Loder Cup for the promotion and conservation of our
native plants.
Mark retired in 2013 and in 2016, was elected as a Councillor on the Western Bay of Plenty District
Council.
He has been involved in several environmental organisations. He is immediate past chair of the Dune
Restoration Trust of NZ, Founding Chair of the Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust, and he is past Chair of the
Rotary Centennial Trust for the restoration of the Kopurererua Valley wetland in Tauranga. Other
environmental organisations he has been a trustee of include Tane Tree trust and Trees for Survival.
His hobbies include sailing, and gardening.
Max Mason and his family arrived in Tauranga twenty years ago from Scotland. Max was born in Zimbabwe, and studied and worked in the UK.
He was initially employed by Tauranga District Council, spend two years in International Education, and was CEO of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce for over five years.
In 2013 he was appointed Village Manager of Bob Owens Retirement Village which has 550 residents and 200 staff. Max says this gave him a deep insight into the needs of the retirement community and experience in leading a large organisation.
In 2015 he took six months off to thru-hike the 3,500km Appalachian Trail through 14 eastern US states which he says was the hardest, but most fulfilling endeavour he has ever undertaken.
Spending six months in the wilderness re-connected him to nature and he has joined Envirohub BOP as a trustee, to support sustainability in the Bay of Plenty.
