Our People
Meet the people behind the Piako Waihou Catchment Trust, who are working together to restore the health of this area. Each person brings their own expertise, lived experience and commitment to improving waterways and community wellbeing.
Together, we’re building strong connections, sharing knowledge and driving practical action across the catchment.
Trustees + Team
Johan van Ras
Trustee - Chairperson
Johan is the Managing Director of Waiorongomai Valley Farm Ltd and an Environment Specialist at Dairy NZ. Johan and his family have committed to restoring unproductive areas of their farm to wetland, creating habitat for native species to thrive. Johan is driven to share his journey to encourage others to take action towards environmental sustainability.
Te Aroha Drummond
Trustee - Secretary
Ngaati Mahuta ki te Hauauru
Passionate about restoring balance to the whenua, with a strong focus on mana kākano, biodiversity, and reinstating mana to our taonga. Te Aroha brings practical skills with a kaitiakitanga-driven approach to every project. Guided by hononga tangata – connecting whānau to the whenua – dedicated to protecting and enhancing natural ecosystems across the Waikato.
Jude Tisdall
Trustee
A former vet, Jude is passionate about restoring our native forests, in particular lowland kahikatea forest fragments. Jude has many years of hands-on experience in weed control, native planting, eco-sourcing seed, and pest control. Well-known for sharing her expertise and supporting landowners on the next best step for their restoration journey.
Ella Provis
Trustee
Ella is an Agricultural Scientist and Sustainable Dairying Advisor with Fonterra. Ella walks alongside farmers, supporting them with the restrictions around animal welfare and environmental issues. Ella's approach seeks to ensure farmers can be profitable, and happy, helping New Zealand's agricultural sector thrive alongside meeting environmental and animal welfare targets.
Nardene Berry
Trustee
Nardene is the Waikato Regional Coordinator and North Island Team Leader for the NZ Landcare Trust, a job she loves and feels privileged to have. She runs events and works with catchment and environmental groups to support their goals to improve the environment. Nardene is also a volunteer with the Te Pahū landcare group.
Adrienne Wilcock
Trustee
Adrienne Wilcock is a local dairy farmer who has previously worked alongside DairyNZ on farmer engagement initiatives to improve water quality in the local catchment.
She brings governance knowledge and experience to the Piako Waihou Catchment Trust, having chaired the Agrecovery Foundation and served as a Matamata Ward District Councillor and Mayor of Matamata-Piako District Council.
Adrienne has been actively involved in community organisations encompassing health, sport and education, and was recently appointed to the Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone Board.
Matt Vare
Catchment Lead
In his role as Catchment Lead Matt leads the strategic development and coordination of catchment-wide environmental planning and stakeholder collaboration, shaping a long-term catchment plan that delivers tangible environmental and community outcomes. He drives cross-sector alignment, funding acquisition, and builds capacity to support enduring, locally adapted solutions throughout the Piako Waihou catchment.
Contact Matt:
matthew.vare@pwct.org.nz
Roz Nancekivell
Community Activator
In her role as Community Activator, Roz works to support the communities to connect, collaborate, and lead collective restoration and sustainability projects across the Piako Waihou catchment.
Contact Roz:
roslyn.nancekivell@pwct.org.nz
Hāpori | Community
We make up a wide variety of locals from Matamata, Piako and the Hauraki Plains who are working together to restore the health of the Piako Waihou Catchment.
Each person brings their own expertise, lived experience and commitment to improving waterways and community wellbeing. Together, we’re building strong connections, sharing knowledge and driving practical action across the catchment. If you would like to join us, and support this mahi (work), please visit our Get Involved page.
