The Monfort Trimble Foundation [MTF] is looking for a new board member who appreciates trees, walking, the environment and is prepared to get “stuck in”.
Robin Dunlop, the foundation’s current chair, describes the board as “very much a doing board”.
“We’re a pretty enthusiastic crowd,” he said. “If there is a bit of planting to do, you know, we just get out there and go for it.”
The foundation is a charitable trust. Its purpose is to implement the wishes of Dr Montfort Trimble, a Masterton county solicitor born in 1862, described by contemporaries as well-read in Italian and a noted Māori scholar.
When he died in 1940, he left money to promote public afforestation.
Today, the foundation owns Trimble Forest, a 127-hectare pine forest north of Masterton and a larger block of mixed pine and native trees known as Rewanui Forest on the Masterton Castlepoint Rd.
The new board member will help increase public use of Rewanui Forest for tramping, cross-country events, horseriding and other events that help people appreciate the natural environment.
“We’re keen to promote the use of [Rewanui Forest] by the public,” Dunlop said. “We’ve got some walking tracks, but we want to do more.”
A new shelter will soon be installed near the entrance of Rewanui Forest, thanks to a grant from Masterton Trust House Foundation.
Other plans for Rewanui Forest include fencing off and planting out an area for native species and developing a wetland area.
Expressions of interest about the board position should be sent to [email protected] by October 20.
