My Account
At the end of last year, plant enthusiast Maureen Young of Warkworth received an individual award from the NZ Plant Conservation Network, recognising her outstanding contribution to native plant conservation. The citation describes her as a skilled botanist and one of the most important advocates for native plant conservation in Auckland. In terms of Auckland plant conservation, as stated on her nomination form, she is a legend. Local Matters editor Jannette Thompson was surprised, therefore, to learn that one thing Maureen does not support is tree planting.
What is your concern about tree planting?
I like what nature does on her own. I think it’s better to concentrate on keeping out the animal and plant pests, and let areas regenerate naturally. I know there are probably arguments for replanting with natives in some cases but generally, nature does it best. I am particularly opposed to planting natives in areas where the species do not occur naturally.
I understand you’ve recently returned from the Chatham Islands?
I frequently run field trips on behalf of the Auckland Botanical Society and the trip in January was my second visit to the Chathams. It’s a fascinating place where the plants have adapted to survive their isolation. There’s not a lot of diversity with only about 12 tree species in total. There were 22 of us on the trip, including several of NZ’s leading botanists. I pre-warned our tour guide that we were likely to be a very slow group on any walk, as a lot of time is spent “botanising” – closely examining plants and taking copious notes.
Where does your fascination with flora come from?
Renowned botanist Lucy Moore was probably my mentor. Her nephew and I were playmates and when she returned to Warkworth after her retirement she certainly opened my eyes to how interesting the study of plants could be. Neither of my parents were particularly interested in plants. We had a garden but everyone did in those days. As part of my school biology studies, I did a project on the thread fern (Blechnum filiforme) which grew in the Windy Ridge area where we were living. It has three distinct life forms and its appearance adapts depending on where it’s growing. After doing the project I was hooked and ferns are still a personal favourite.
Where did you spend your childhood?
I was conceived just prior to the war so my earliest memories are of the American soldiers in Warkworth. We lived in Pulham Road and Mum used to do washing for the Americans. I’d sit on their knees as they waited for the ironing to be done. Mum paid for our first washing machine with money she made from doing their laundry. It was a time of walking barefooted to school, ration books and clothes made out of flour bags. My mother made one of my most colourful dresses out of a man’s woollen scarf. Dad (Harry Best) fought in Eygpt and Italy, and later worked at the Warkworth Post office for 22 years.
Did you ever consider becoming a botanist?
I was among the first students to attend the Warkworth District High School, in Hill Street, and did sixth form but never thought of going to university. It was never even mentioned as a possibility. Only the boys who were going to be Methodist Ministers thought about university. I still get upset when I think about it, even after all these years. So, instead, I became an occupational therapist and when I got tired of working in psychiatric hospitals, I re-trained as a primary school teacher. My husband died when I was 39 so it was fortunate that I was able to work the same hours as my three children were doing at school. I returned to Warkworth 27 years ago and have taught at a number of local schools including Tauhoa, Mangawhai and Wellsford. About 1980, I started an Herbarium, a collection of dried plant species, at the Warkworth Museum. I’m trying to collect an example of every native plant in the area from Wairewa to the Brynderwyns, coast to coast. So far, there are more than 1000 specimens in the collection. The bush is a dynamic environment and it’s important that we attempt to catalogue what’s here now. I’m pleased the collection includes one of the rarest plants in the district, the Danhatchia australis, a little pinkie-brown orchid that grows mainly under taraire. It has no chlorophyll and is above ground for only about two months of the year.
Botany obviously keeps you busy?
I’ve often wondered what people do who don’t botanise. It takes me to many interesting places all over NZ but mainly in Northland. I was on Rangitoto Island about 20 times last year as part of research for the three chapters I’ve written on the island’s flora. They will be included in a book being published soon by the Botanical Society. I’ve been a field assistant on many trips, helping with research work and vegetation surveys. I also spent 10 days in Borneo, about 14 years ago, one of the richest botanical places in the world. A large number of species there occur nowhere else. We travelled in long boats into the jungle and climbed Mt Kinabalu. We are so lucky in Warkworth to have so many patches of bush just a few minutes drive away.
Are we getting better at protecting native flora?
Although bush covenanting is becoming more popular, I sometimes feel depressed about the chances some plants have of surviving. At Mangawhai, for instance, a lot of clearing is occurring in areas thought of as scrub or rubbish country. But, these are the places where you often find native orchids. It’s good to feel you can play a small role in conserving some of these rare plants. There’s a small tree that grows in Logues Bush, at Tomarata, which is nationally threatened and we’ve found about 13 seedlings growing along the creek edge. However, without management, the Wandering Jew is likely to smother them. We’ve alerted DOC and hopefully, they will come up with a plan to ensure it doesn’t become extinct in that area.
Do you have other interests?
I’m a SeniorNet tutor, a member of the Warkworth Genealogy Group and a keen embroider (mostly of botanical subjects). I’ve learned not to push my interest in plants too much outside the botanical circles I mix in – when I see people’s eyes glaze over I know it’s time to change the subject. A friend, who is 77 and doing a thesis on a North Cape orchid, and I share a desire to do two things before we die – we want to see the amazing Welwitchsia which grows in Namibia, and the titan arum (Amorphophallus) of Sumatra, one of the world’s rarest flowers. Who knows – it’s a nice dream anyway.
