Dr Roger Grace Memorial Fund

60825909 321267421880577 4649982171631583232 n Dr Roger Grace 1945-2019

A memorial fund has been established and is administered by the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust.

A special committee is under establishment to decide on the use of these funds, made up of a Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust representative, a member of the Grace family and other environmental organisations Roger has worked with. Queries to be directed to Samara Nicholas - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The priorities of the memorial fund are below:

Long term crayfish monitoring at Tawharanui
Marine conservation establishment projects (no take and long term)
Memorial annual Whangateau Snorkel Day
Triennial award for early career recipients for contributions to New Zealand marine conservation and communication, to support and give credence to their future work

Please note that Mountains to Sea Conservation is a registered charity (CC23406) and has fully audited accounts. All donations are tax deductable. The funding received for the Dr Roger Grace Memorial Fund has a separate bank account. The special committee will decide on the use of these funds based on the priorities above.

If you would like to help us to continue to make waves for Roger, please donate here.

Fund update May 2020

Thank you so much to everyone that has donated or shared this memorial fund.
On the 3rd February 2020, we held our first meeting of the memorial fund and a special committee was formed.

Special committee
Shelley and Vanessa Grace - Roger’s daughters
Katrina Goddard - Consultant
Nick Shears - Auckland University
Samara Nicholas and Lorna Doogan - Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust
Vince Kerr and Sally Richardson are advisors to the special committee.

Funds to date
Currently $5782.43 in the separate bank account held by Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust

How are we spending the fund
To start with we have dedicated up to $1000 annually towards the Tawharanui crayfish survey, this is a key priority of the fund. The survey is being carried out by Professor Nick Shears and his team at the University of Auckland, however this year the survey work was delayed due to COVID 19 and bad weather. Nick and his team hope to complete the survey in early June.
Later in the year, we plan to promote a new project around creating a network of marine reserves and there will be a call for proposals for financial support. We are also working on the Triennial Award concept

Memorial Snorkel Day
On the 1st of December 2019 the Experiencing Marine Reserves programme held a special community snorkel day to celebrate one of Roger's favourite dive sites and to promote the Dr Roger Grace Memorial Fund. This ‘free’ snorkel day was made possible thanks to the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation, for 110 people (kids, whanau and community) to snorkel through the mangroves. All donations collected went towards this memorial fund, raising $360. Note: Continuing this event is also one of the priorities of the fund, but at this stage does not require any financial support.

We also had Patrick Smallhorn-West volunteering on the day, who had spent a summer with Roger when he was doing his undergraduate degree. Patrick has written a really moving piece about that time he spent with Roger.
https://www.emr.org.nz/index.php/news/200-memorial-snorkel-for-roger-grace

DHW7865 Edit Dean Wright

DHW7747 Edit Dean Wright DHW7630 Dean Wright

Images by Dean Wright from of 2012 habitat survey around Waewaetorea/Okahu Islands.

Dr Roger Grace Memorial Fund Web Poster

Dr_Roger_Grace_Memorial_Fund_Web_Poster_PDF.pdf11.19 MB

Stories and images

“A humble guy with immense talent” - Dave Moran
“This man was a true pioneer, generous to a fault, and always willing to teach and guide” - Paul Irving
“Your legacy is alive and well through the many you've touched and inspired. The future of our oceans the much better for your unrelenting passion!” - Peter Crabb

A must read by Roger Grace on why we need no take zones

Or watch Roger's talk on youtube Part 1 and Part 2

A lovely tribute to Roger and his photographs in The Guardian

If you would like to add your stories and images about Roger Grace please email Lorna on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can continue to add to his legacy.

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.emr.org.nz/roger-grace-fund#sigProIdaa87e26f31

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