Bruce Manley receives the 2020 award in recognition for the major impact he’s made from a lifetime’s work as a researcher and educator. This has culminated at the University of Canterbury where Professor Manley is the Head of the Forestry school. Highly respected by students and industry members alike, under his leadership, the forestry faculty has developed into a thriving hub of good practice and innovation, which bodes well for the future of the industry.”
Background on the Kirk Horn Flask
The Kirk Horn Flask is the most historically valuable award in all New Zealand science. It commemorates the recipient - Thomas Kirk - a man with no formal schooling but who became one of New Zealand's foremost botanical explorer/scientists and teacher at the Auckland Institute and Museum. It also commemorates the donor – Captain Campbell-Walker – a member of the Indian Forest Service who came to New Zealand in March 1876 as the first Conservator of Forests. And it symbolizes the start of Forestry in New Zealand, not tree-felling but forestry.
Thomas Kirk and Campbell-Walker travelled the length and breadth of the country together inspecting and studying the forests. At the end of his stay in 1877, Campbell-Walker commemorated his association with Kirk by presenting him with a silver-mounted flask suitably engraved. The Kirk Horn Flask was ultimately passed to the New Zealand Institute of Forestry for a two yearly award recognising outstanding contributions in the field of forestry in New Zealand. The awardee has temporary possession of this 143 year-old drinking horn plus a medal which they retain.