Wairarapa and Forest and Bird have farewelled well-known lower North Island field officer and conservationist Aalbert Rebergen, who has left Masterton for his native Netherlands for family reasons.
Mr Rebergen, a former Department of Conservation (DoC) ranger and biodiversity programme manager, was synonymous with the protection of native birds, plants, animals and waterways across the Wairarapa and North Island region.
Forest & Bird's North Island conservation manager Mark Bellingham said he first met the enthusiastic bird lover in 1988. He remembers Rebergen coming over from the Netherlands to work on bird projects with wildlife scientist Jim Mills on the long term study of the native red-billed gull.
"That work Aalbert and Jim did produce significant results as they identified a direct link between the surface temperature in the sea and gull breeding success," Mr Bellingham said. "They didn't realise it was a major global warming study at the time but it turned out that way."
In recent years Aalbert Rebergen focused on freshwater issues in the lower North Island, especially the water quality and river flows of Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay rivers and their role as river bird habitat.
