Ian F. Spellerberg

A very long time ago, the owner of a school tuck shop frequently referred to Ian Spellerberg as 'the little professor'. The fact that Ian happened to have his own 'nature museum' and loved old things, probably contributed to that term of endearment. Nature and social history have long been the main interests for Ian. Many hours have been spent on recording the natural world around him. Pocket money was spent on 'treasures' from local junk shops. Even now, being seen in public as a Victorian gentleman in top hat and frock coat is one of his favorite past times.

Ian Spellerberg is Emeritus Professor of Nature Conservation at Lincoln University, New Zealand. Prior to Lincoln University, Ian was Director of the Environmental Sciences Program at the University of Southampton, England. He has also worked in Germany, Australia and Antarctica. When he was a research student in Antarctica, an incident prompted him to be both a scientist and an environmental activist. Angry about helicopters landing near penguin colonies, he stood firm on helicopter landing pads and prevented helicopters from landing. Severe reprimands followed but so also did a welcome change in policy for helicopter flight paths. Ever since those days, he has published material in a wide variety of media including newspapers, magazines, scientific journals, books and encyclopedias.

Books have always filled his life. When newly married, Ian and is wife had few personal possessions apart from many books and records. But it was his time in Antarctica and the outpourings from the 1972 Stockholm Earth Summit that prompted Ian's popular book, Monitoring Ecological Change (1991, 2005). Reading and re-reading the exploits of Darwin and Wallace directed Ian towards biogeography. The book An Introduction to Applied Biogeography (1999) found favor in the U.K. as well as many other countries including South Korea. In New Zealand, Ian was contracted to review the ecological effects of new roads. The book Ecological Effects of New Roads (2002) remains relevant as many more roads lead to even more roads. Moving from one university to another has many benefits. For Ian it was an opportunity to advance interdisciplinary teaching and research. A common factor has been 'design' (including design for protected areas, road design, urban design and product design). Subsequently he edited three books about conservation of native plants in New Zealand (two of which were edited with one of his students). Following retirement another three books followed. This time the common themes is conservation and design of some commonly used items from the 19th Century. Conservation of nature and social history go hand in hand.