Outdoor woman Jan Heine—a life dedicated to community and the environment
Jan Heine was a lover of the outdoors, a soil scientist, botanist, dedicated environmentalist, and legendary tramper and mountaineer. Her research scholarship is furthering her life’s work in environmental and earth sciences.
The Jan Heine Research Scholarship in Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology supports Master’s students in the Faculty of Science who are researching any aspect of biodiversity and restoration ecology.
Paul Bell-Butler received the Jan Heine Research Scholarship in Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology in 2023 for his Master’s fieldwork studying how mosses in Aotearoa New Zealand’s tussock grasslands might regulate the microclimate and impact plant growth.
He says the financial support means a great deal to him.
“While the money I’ve received is incredibly helpful in facilitating my work, the show of support this donation represents means a lot also.
It is very encouraging to know that my project is backed by others.”
Jan, who died in 2021, lived a life filled with conservation projects including botany, trapping, bird recovery projects on islands, and advocating for the protection of wilderness areas.
A hard worker who cared deeply for both people and the environment, Jan was a role model, mentor, and strong supporter for generations of women and many outdoor and environmental groups. Organisations that benefited from Jan’s work includethe Hutt Valley Conservation Society, East Harbour Environmental Association, Forest & Bird, Eastbourne Forest Rangers, Matiu Somes Charitable Trust, Red Cross, and Civil Defence.
While boarding at Nelson College for Girls, a young Jan spent hours searching for native orchids in the bush around Takaka, developing a lifelong love of wild areas. After obtaining a science degree from the University of Canterbury, she moved to Wellington where she worked as a scientist at the Soil Bureau. When she was made redundant in 1988, Jan published much of her mapping work at her own cost.
An adventurous tramper, in 1965 Jan was the first woman to complete the Schormann-to-Kaitoke tramp, a challenging 80-kilometre traverse of the Tararua ranges first achieved in 1963. She met husband glaciologist Arnold Heine ONZM at the Hutt Valley Tramping Club and their strong bond lasted for 53 years. When Arnold was in his 80s, the couple walked to Maungahuka, regarded as the hardest point to reach in the Tararuas.
Jan and Arnold were great supporters of the Antarctic Research Centre and Jan made several research trips to the ice to study penguin guano. The couple also completed a 250-day survey of the Kahurangi National Park where at one point they thought to have discovered a long-lost kākāpō population. Their interest in predator trapping and bird recovery projects led them to spend time on numerous islands including Kāpiti, Breaksea, Codfish and the Chatham islands.
Jan and Arnold lived in a house in Days Bay up 99 steps with sweeping views of the harbour. She loved the Northern Forest part of the Eastern Harbour park and was most proud of the success she and Arnold had in eliminating predators there. They serviced a trapline up a steep ridge behind their home until storms made it inaccessible. Initially they were with a group called Possum Busters and then helped set up the Mainland Island Restoration Operation or MIRO which, with support from Greater Wellington, has significantly reduced the number of possums, rodents, and mustelids in the forest over the last 25 years.
Terry Webb, Chair of MIRO recalls Jan’s determination and tenacity fondly.
“I came across Jan slowly making her way downstream while servicing her trapline when she was in her early eighties. She said, ‘Terry I’m getting too old for this, it’s taking me too long to get around.’ She was now taking five or six hours to complete a job that would take a younger person a couple of hours and was only considering stopping because she felt she was too slow.”
Jan never sought recognition for her work and was often in the shadow of her high-profile husband. While Arnold was President of Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC) and edited its bulletin, Jan did much of the work behind the scenes including layout and design, proofing, and editing. She was a resolute supporter of many organisations, her love for community and the environment nourished by her spiritual beliefs, including an interest in Tibetan Buddhism.
She edited the local church newsletter for over 20 years, helped with a school breakfast club, volunteered planting the dunes in Days Bay, and was involved with Riding for the Disabled and helping disabled skiers on Mt Ruapehu.
Jan was a Kiwibank local hero in 2018 and received a civic award for her many decades of care for the Eastbourne bush and beach environment. Nephew Martin Heine says “Jan’s extended family are delighted to see her research scholarship being used to support good environmental science.” Friends and neighbours Susan and Tony Brenton-Rule were not aware of Jan’s scholarship but were delighted to hear of it describing it as “very much Jan.”
Finn Gallagher is the 2024 recipient of the Jan Heine Research Scholarship in Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology. He aims to figure out some of the intricacies of how fish and invertebrate larvae settle on artificial reefs—integral to understanding how to enhance restoration efforts in coastal areas.
“Receiving the scholarship is a massive help for me this year and will support me in completing my research to a high standard.
I hope that at the end of my thesis year my research will add to the knowledge of how to successfully use artificial marine habitats in restoration efforts throughout the Wellington region and further afield.”
Thanks to Jan’s thoughtful gift, students will continue to advance knowledge that helps to restore the environments she loved.