President - Paddy Mackie
NIHGT were delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Paddy Mackie as our President in March 2019
Paddy was a Research & Development engineer in the family business of James Mackie & Sons. Outside his commitment to Mackies were his twin interests of ornithology and horticulture. These were fulfilled when on building a house on the barren point of Mahee Island he planted a shelter belt of trees, dug a duck pond and established a ringing station for migratory waders and waterfowl.
Over the years an impressive and expansive woodland garden was coaxed into existence, thousands of waterfowl were ringed and with his concern for the conservation issues of Strangford Lough, The Castle Espie Conservation Centre near Comber was opened in 1982.
In 2004 he received an MBE for services to conservation in Northern Ireland and in 2021 was awarded the A.J. Waley Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society in recognition of his contribution to the cultivation of rhododendrons.