John Greenwood

Fellow ranger Bruce Postill, who moved to Hamilton in 1987 to work with John in the new Department of Conservation, said that in the 1970s John had had to work on his own, without staff or a workshop, making his first wooden routed signs at home in his garage.

During his time as ranger John was a driving force in the Waikato. He helped establish the Karangahake, Hapuakohe, Hakarimata, and Karamu walkways, as well as  the Farm Parks in the Coromandel Peninsula. He also saw the Whangamarino and Koputai wetlands gain international status as Wetlands of International Importance (especially as waterfowl habitat) under Unesco's Ramsar Convention. Somewhere amongst all of this he completed a Diploma in Parks and Recreation through block courses at Canterbury University.