Peter Howard McKenzie (10 September 1952 – 15 April 2012) was a New Zealand
conservationist and founder of the
Ngā Manu Nature Reserve
Ngā Manu Nature Reserve is a nature and wildlife reserve in Waikanae, New Zealand, on the Kāpiti Coast of the North Island. In addition to offering a sanctuary for native birds and other animals, the reserve preserves the largest remnant ...
in
Waikanae, New Zealand.
Biography
Born in Wellington in 1952, McKenzie was the son of
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
Sir Roy McKenzie and grandson of the founder of the McKenzie's retail chain
Sir John McKenzie.
He was educated at
Nelson College from 1966 to 1969,
[''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition] where his interest in native plants was encouraged through spending time at the school's outdoor education centre, Mataki Lodge, near Murchison.
In 1974 McKenzie formed Ngā Manu Trust and in 1978 the trust first leased and later bought the current site of Ngā Manu Nature Reserve in Waikanae.
In the mid 1970s McKenzie was instrumental in
kiwi captive breeding programmes and he was involved with the
tuatara recovery programme for over 20 years.
In 2009, after three years of work, McKenzie captured footage of a
puriri moth hatching from its
chrysalis
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
. They are probably the first pictures of a
ghost moth emerging.
McKenzie was diagnosed with cancer in late 2010 and he died in 2012.
References
External links
*
1952 births
2012 deaths
Scientists from Wellington City
People educated at Nelson College
New Zealand conservationists
New Zealand naturalists
Deaths from cancer in New Zealand
{{NewZealand-bio-stub