"When we started Restore the Meadows, we didn't have a proven way to bring seagrass meadows back at scale. Today, we're developing and testing promising seed-based approaches that are already showing signs of success. This progress only exists because people chose to fund the science before the outcome was certain. Philanthropic support gives us the freedom to take that risk. Every donation goes straight into work that's helping seagrass meadows recover, and into scaling that recovery across Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastlines."

• Dr Dana Clark, Restoration Ecology Team Leader and Co-Leader, Restore the Meadows

Cawthron Institute was established in 1921 by the last will and testament of Nelson philanthropist Thomas Cawthron who had a vision – that science could contribute to the growth of a young New Zealand.

Following his death in 1915, Cawthron bequeathed the equivalent of over $100 million in today’s New Zealand dollars – the largest single bequest in New Zealand at the time – to establish and maintain a technical school, institute and museum; the forerunners of today’s Cawthron Institute.

Cawthron Institute was officially opened in Nelson in April 1921 following the establishment of the Cawthron Institute Trust Board.

Today, Cawthron operates as a ‘for-purpose’ organisation, governed by the Cawthron Institute Trust Board and a Board of Directors, to ensure our science continues to build on our legacy of impact.