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July 3, 2008
July 2008 PEI Institute of Agrologists and Friends of the Farm,
PEI Institute of Agrologists and Friends of the Farm,
in association with Beaconsfield Historic House,
will host talk by
Landcare Research botanist Dr. Warwick Harris
"THE PLANTS AND PEOPLE OF THE CHATHAM ISLANDS
NEW ZEALAND"
on
Thursday, July 10th. 7:30pm
in
Beaconsfield's Carriage House,
located at the corner of West and Kent Streets, Charlottetown
THE PLANTS AND PEOPLE OF THE CHATHAM ISLANDS NEW
ZEALAND
The four islands of the Chatham Islands lie around latitude 44° S
in the Pacific Ocean 870 km east of mainland New Zealand. They
have an area of 966 km2, a mild and equable climate, but very
strong and almost constant winds that have a marked influence
on the vegetation. With long geographical isolation the islands
developed a distinctive flora and fauna which now includes 45
endemic and 29 threatened vascular plant species. Around 1400
AD Polynesian people were the first to populate the islands and in
isolation they developed a distinctive culture adapted to the
natural resources of the Chatham Islands. These people, the
Moriori, lived in isolation until the first European visit to the
islands in 1791 when about 2000 people lived there. After
occupation of the islands in 1835 by Maori from mainland New
Zealand the Moriori population declined rapidly and the last full
blooded Moriori died in 1933. Warwick Harris is currently
involved in a project designed to assist descendants of Moriori in
sustainable use of the plant resources of the Chatham Island. He
will talk about the distinctive plant species and communities of the
island, Moriori ethnobotany, and investigations to develop
economic uses of the plants of the islands.
Bio for Dr. Warwick Harris
Born in New Zealand, Warwick Harris began his botanical
research in the 1960s with a study of the taxonomy and ecology of
Rumex acetosella and later studied other grassland weed species.
He worked for twenty years for Grasslands Division of the New
Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR)
located at Palmerston North. There he specialised in the
competitive interactions and defoliation responses of pasture
species, especially ryegrasses (Lolium) and clovers (Trifolium),
that provide the bulk of the forage for New Zealand’s milk, meat
and wool based economy. During this period he also undertook
grassland research in Australia and Wales and currently has
grassland research involvements in China. In 1982 he became
Director of Botany Division DSIR at Lincoln, New Zealand’s centre
of research on the taxonomy and ecology of New Zealand native
plants and location of the country’s largest herbarium. There he
began studies of the genetic variation of the widespread native
woody species manuka (Leptospermum) and kanuka (Kunzea) and
development of economic uses of these species for essential oil
production and as ornamental plants. This work extended to
Australian and hybrids of species within these genera and has
been used to select new ornamental cultivars. He worked with
INRA at Angers, France in 1989 specifically to test the cold
tolerance of plants to the climates of Western Europe. With the
disestablishment of Botany Division and DSIR in 1990 Warwick
moved on to studies of Cordyline (t«, cabbage tree) and Phormium
(harakeke, New Zealand flax) with Landcare Research. This work
was applied both to the conservation of the genetic diversity of
these plants and support of their tradition of use by Mori. He
continues research and selection of ornamental plants from his
home in Akaroa (a French Colony from 1840–43) and is engaged
in a project designed to assist descendants of Moriori in their
traditional and economic uses of the plant resources of the
Chatham Islands.
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Posted by kier at July 3, 2008 12:24 AM