Miss Clark is set to visit on January 6 and will assess predator control methods as part of the trust's ‘‘Bring Back The Birdsong'' programme.
Trustee Amanda Hasselman said:
‘‘The trustees are delighted that [she] has agreed to become patron. Hopefully, she'll get real pleasure from knowing she will be making a difference back home.''
Miss Clark (65) was the trustees' first choice for patron and they had not been expecting that she would say yes.
‘‘She made [it] really clear when she was prime minister that she really loved the environment. We were utterly delighted that she agreed to do it.''
During her visit to the Routeburn, Miss Clark would be shown stoat trap lines used to improve the populations of endangered rock wren, and would tramp into the North Branch to check for mohua and whio.
A barbecue would be held at Glenorchy after the Routeburn trip so trustees could meet Miss Clark and discuss what her role as patron would be.
‘‘We want to talk about [it] with her and see if she will have a hands-on role. I'm sure she will be pretty open to being more than a figurehead.''
Bring Back the Birdsong is the trust's key objective. The trust aims to reverse the declining native bird population in the Routeburn and Dart valleys and their tributaries.
