Carole Long says it has been rewarding for her to be involved in the conservation work, which has resulted in her receiving the Queen Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

'And also the people that you meet, and the teams that you work with, it continues to be very rewarding.”

In order to remain involved, Carole has had to hand over being secretary of the Bayswater retirement village's residents' committee.

'I'm too busy. I've dodged for years but I have finally has to accept being chairman of the Te Puke branch this year.

'And I do education talks for Otanewaianuku Kiwi Trust, I do the minutes for the frog sanctuary, to the community group that runs the Otawa Frog Sanctuary.”

The habitat of the rare Hochstetter's frogs near Te Puke was officially classed as a conservation sanctuary in 2016, allowing the small native frogs living in the 400 hectare area near a former Te Puke quarry a better chance at survival.

The endangered frogs were discovered there in 1992 by a Forest and Bird volunteer.

Carole grew up with the ethic of National Parks and scenic reserves. Her father was in the then Lands and Survey Department.

'Then when I left school, I worked in Internal Affairs and worked for the Wildlife Service, and this all followed through.

'It was my husband's idea to join Forest and Bird, so we could go for bush walks. That's been amazing and it's taught me such a lot. It's given me such a lot of pleasure. But it also gives you challenges when you go out and see what needs to be done.

'That's Forest and Brid's motto, ‘Giving Nature a Voice'.

'I think what I learned in Forest and Bird helped me get a job with the Department of Conservation, because I knew the difference between a tui and a sparrow. That helps.”

Carole's citation states she has worked as a Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Volunteer since 1979.

She worked across all levels of Forest and Bird including two five year terms on the organisation's executive board and council.

Carole established forest and Brid's Te Puke section and oversaw its development into a recognised branch, later serving on its branch committee.

Carole is a founding member of the Otanewaianuku Kiwi Trust and is the Trust's longest serving member.

She continues to host fundraising events through her retirement village in Mount Maunganui, including bus trips and presentations on local flora and fauna.

Carole helped establish the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park and has been involved in protecting dotterel nesting sites at Maketu and Matakana Island and has volunteered for the Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Group.