Shannel Courtney is a plant ecologist who has worked in plant conservation for 40 years, most of that time based in Nelson with DOC as one of the national Technical Advisors for Flora and Ecosystems. In 2008 he was awarded the Loder Cup for NZ Plant Conservation; in 2024 a Lifetime Achievement award by the NZ Plant Conservation Network; in 2025 he received the King's Service Medal for services to conservation and music and, as well, the Allen Mere by the Botanical Society for outstanding contributions to botany in NZ.

In this presentation he will provide an overview of the number of threatened and at-risk plants in Mohua Golden Bay and their threat status, covering a selection of species by geography and habitat type, highlighting the distribution, ecology, agents of decline and recovery management.

He will also briefly introduce work that he has been involved in with iwi regarding manawhenua involvement in formally naming currently undescribed plants endemic to Te Tauihu.

Supported with funding from TDC Community Fund