Our People

Eiren is a conservation scientist with a long-standing involvement in hoiho conservation, beginning through volunteering during hoiho breeding seasons in 2012 as a University student. She has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Otago and has worked across biomedical and conservation research, including kauri dieback and, more recently, hoiho ecology and health. Her hoiho research has focused on diet, gut microbiomes and the factors that may contribute to differences in health and resilience across populations. She joined the Trust’s Board in 2023 and is currently Co-Chair, with a particular interest in ensuring conservation decisions are supported by strong scientific evidence.

Tim Mepham- Bio I have been a Trustee of the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust since 2013. I joined the Trust after being involved in several corporate planting days, I was inspired by the purpose of the Trust and enthusiasm of the rangers and staff. I am a qualified accountant and have been the trust treasurer since joining. I also have governance experience having been involved in various roles with several organisations in and around Dunedin including Presbyterian Support Otago, City Forests Ltd and more recently as an elected councillor on the Otago Regional Council. I am currently helping out as the Co-Chair to the Trust.

Janelle Wierenga Dr. Wierenga practiced as a clinical veterinarian for more than 20 years and transitioned to public health and infectious diseases, completing an MPH and a PhD. Since 2021, Dr. Wierenga has been a researcher in the Geoghegan Lab, investigating infectious diseases in hoiho chicks. Dr. Wierenga currently works in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago, focusing on wildlife pathogen discovery, and serves as Head of Wildlife Management at The Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance.

Euan is a retired conservation biologist. He holds Honours degrees in the humanities and in the social and biological sciences. During his 42-year career, he specialised in the management of extinction risks in critically threatened terrestrial and marine bird populations. He acquired much of his experience from hands-on interventions on New Zealand’s remote oceanic islands. He was apprenticed into the extinction business through career-long connection with the Chatham Island robin rescue, a project he led in its later stages and serves today as an advisor. He has first-hand practice in eradicating pests from island sanctuaries, in restoring island ecosystems and in the complex companion disciplines of island biosecurity. Euan is the author of the inaugural yellow-eyed penguin recovery plans whose initiatives to socialise penguin conservation were unusual for the time but are still in play today. In many forums, he has interpreted lessons from the Trust’s trailblazing work, to consolidate New Zealand’s historic shift to community-led species conservation. Euan lives in Christchurch, which, he insists, is not his natural habitat.

Hoani is an ecologist and conservationist with many years of experience supporting the community to achieve successful environmental outcomes. He is active member of the Otago Conservation community, with a diverse skillset and responsibilities, such as the Chair of the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Trust, and a founding trustee for Wild Dunedin Festival and Predator Free Dunedin

**Lala Frazer QSM, MNZM** Lala has been involved in environmental organisations since 1980, as a founding member of Save The Otago (STOP) Peninsula Inc Soc and later the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. As part of these organisations, plus for a few years as a trustee of the Otago Peninsula Trust, she has been involved not only in a governance role, but also gained practical experience with a range of conservation projects in different habitats relating to the management of local flora and fauna, as well as policy and planning input at a local and national level.

David has worked in conservation for many years, including co-ordinating a wilding tree control programme for Forest & Bird (1996-2006), followed by 19 years as a ranger and then Field Manager with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust (2003-2022).