For more than three decades, Mike Lusk was a driving force behind the care and protection of Te Mata Park, and a champion of Hawke’s Bay’s natural environment. His dedication, leadership, in-depth knowledge, and hands-on commitment have helped shape the Park into the thriving natural space it is today.

Mike has spent countless hours volunteering his time in the Park, planting, weeding, controlling pests, maintaining tracks, identifying and recording flora and fauna and supporting the Park team with his expertise and spade. He was instrumental in bringing the endemic native daphne Pinātoro (Pimelia mimosa) back from the brink of extinction.  Mike’s deep knowledge of the flora, fauna, geology and history of the Park made him an invaluable member of the Landscaping and Planting Committee for many years. He contributed greatly to the Trust’s ongoing native restoration strategy which saw over 64,000 native trees planted between 2020 and 2024.

Te Mata Park Trust is deeply grateful to Mike and his wife Ros for their unwavering support and dedication to Te Mata Park. Mike and Ros moved North in 2025 to be closer to family, but his volunteering legacy and mahi lives on not only in the landscape itself, but in the Friends of Te Mata Park group which continues his mahi.