PRESIDENTS COLUMN

Our AGM and conference is less than one month away.  The committee has formed a fantastic group of speakers and I encourage you to make the effort to attend.  Please register early (do it now).  I would personally like to thank all our sponsors.  Without sponsors our conferences would cost members almost double what we currently charge.  I would especially like to thank Te Uru Rakau | NZ Forest Service, for their Totara and Women in Forestry Sponsorship and Centreport for their sponsorship of the Awards dinner.  

Prior to the AGM we have a number of CPD sessions.  These sessions are a fantastic way for members to keep up to date, as well as attain CPD points to help become registered (something all members should aim for). CPD topics include Forest Fire Protection; Arbitration and Mediation - dispute resolution; and a Leadership development course (aimed at our younger members).  I would encourage members to register for these sessions.  I would also like to thank Rayonier | Matariki for their sponsorship of the CPD sessions.  

Make sure you register for the Future Foresters Quiz night on Sunday.  This is always a fun night and is a great way to meet the future of our industry.  I would like to acknowledge and thank IFS Growth for their support of this night.  Make sure you come along and enjoy some fun and networking. 

You will all soon receive a notice for the AGM, along with relevant reports.  Please make an effort to attend if you can, and if you can not, but have a question you would like to ask council, please ensure you get these questions to Raewyn well before the meeting and we will attend to them at the meeting.  Also if you are an apology please send this to Raewyn as well so we can acknowledge at the AGM. admin@nzif.org.nz

You will be receiving a request to vote on a Fellow nomination.  Please make the effort to vote.  Being nominated for a Fellow is recognition of achieving eminence in the profession.  To become a Fellow requires members to actively recognise the nominee’s eminence.  It requires at least 100 members to vote and 80% must be in favour.  The rules were changed in 2014 to make it harder to achieve becoming a Fellow, moving from 50% approval to 80%.  However often the largest hurdle is getting 100 members to cast a vote.  So please, don’t put off making a vote.  When you receive your request to vote, please take the time to read the documentation (even if you do not know the individual) and vote either way accordingly.  

Finally I have received a request from the Canadian Institute of Forestry for speakers from NZ for their annual conference, which will be held online this year.  There are three topics they are looking for speakers on and they are:

Advancing Indigenous perspectives and participation in the New Zealand forest sector,
Addressing Invasive plant and animal species,
Fast-growing trees - Silviculture and Wood Engineering considerations.
If anyone would like to contribute to the CIF conference on the above please let me know ASAP and I will put you in contact with the organising committee.  If no one volunteers, don’t be surprise if I shoulder tap you.  

I hope you all have a great fortnight.  Remember; register for the conference and CPD, vote for the Fellow nomination, let Raewyn admin@nzif.org.nz know if you have questions for the AGM or will be an apology.

Thanks

James

NZIF 2021 CONFERENCE

27th to 29th June 2021
Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park
High Street
Masterton 

We are excited to be presenting a varied and inspiring lineup for our next conference to be held in Masterton in the mighty Wairarapa.  We all know how passionate our sector work force is about what we do, and we are seeking to showcase some of this pride with our lineup of speakers and CPD sessions. 

Read more

REGISTRATION CLOSES 10TH JUNE!

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CPD session Arbitration and Mediation

Dispute Resolution Options

Presenter -   Ranald Gordon

Topics:

·       The place of the courts

·       The importance of the courts

·       Dispute resolution options and the differences

§  Mediation

§  Conciliation

§  Expert Determination

§  Arbitration

·       The Factors affecting the choice of resolution

·       Selecting a dispute practitioner

Presenter - Baden Vertongen

Topics

·       Tikanga and Mediation

·       Why this is becoming increasing relevant

·       What might a mediation that incorporates tikanga look like

·       Options to consider for parties to a tikanga based mediation

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Future Foresters Quiz night spaces are filling up quick!

Don't delay registering for the NZIF conference or you risk missing out on an epic evening at the Future Foresters quiz night!

Kicking off on Sunday night is the annual all-inclusive Future Foresters Quiz Night to be held as part of the NZIF conference (27th July, 7.00pm-late).

This event provides an inviting and social atmosphere for facilitating important networking connections between the young and the not-so-young. This is a perfect opportunity to meet the next generation of foresters and see what the Future Foresters are about.

Mouth watering food and social lubricating drinks provided. #futureforesters

Sign up today!

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Woman in Forestry Breakfast

Presenter Heather Miller, Te Uru Rakau Manager Forest Land Use and Advice

Heather has been with Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service for 6 years, starting as an forest advisor within afforestation grant schemes such as the Erosion Control Funding Programme, Afforestation Grant Scheme and the 1 Billion Trees Fund. She has a BsC(Tech) in Earth Sciences and a background in beef farming, community relations and emergency response work. She’s also a qualified drone pilot, has planted many a tree and once imported a bulldozer from Ireland.

Presenter Susan Kilsby, ANZ Bank’s Agriculture Economist

Susan became ANZ Bank’s Agriculture Economist in late 2018. She previously headed up NZX’s team of analysts providing leading intelligence on a range of agricultural sectors.

Susan and ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner are the contributors to the quarterly ANZ Agri Focus report on the status of New Zealand’s primary sectors, including forestry. Susan is often commenting in the media about the primary sector outlook.

At our Women in Forestry Breakfast, Susan will share her insights into the opportunities for women to lead change, future trends to watch for, and her tips for fostering pride and passion in forestry.

Susan has the best of both worlds – she works in Wellington city and lives with her family on a farm in Martinborough.

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Update from the Conference Committee

The weather has been dry in our part of the country but now the rain is falling.  We are hoping for some good weather for our two field trips we have planned for the Conference.  Organised by JNL and Forest Enterprises Ltd, there are two choices for you, a town based or forest based trip.  New technology has seen the advance of machines into many areas of logging and in the Wairarapa there is always a logging crew wanting to show off their latest operation. 

Networking is a big part of our conference and this year we have 50 agricultural students from the local secondary school to welcome to our group.  It is important for these teenagers to mingle with the Future Foresters and university students who are also attending to get a young person perspective on our sector, and learn about the opportunities available to them.  It is never easy for teenagers to mingle with an unknown crowd, but I’m sure our members will make them welcome.  We will make sure they don’t eat all your morning tea!

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NZIF Conference Programme   

Sunday 27th June 2021

10am - 11am - Registration Opens

11am - 1pm - CPD workshop - Forest Fire protection - How can we stay ahead. Presenter Murray Dudfield.
As a forestry professional what are the key elements and knowledge which then empowers us to contribute to the efficient and effective management of fire in the forest and rural landscape.
New Zealand is not shielded from periods of extreme wildfires normally associated with Australia or North America.  The 2017 Port Hills and 2019 Pigeon Valley forest fires are an example of what has occurred in recent years. The annual average direct financial impact of unwanted forest and rural fires on the New Zealand's economy is estimated at $67 million, with indirect costs estimated to be at least 2-3 times this.
In the management of fire in the forest and rural landscape the frequent challenges for agencies and individuals responsible for making decisions relating to forest and rural land use, and uncontrolled vegetation fires, lies in testing the effectiveness of such decisions. Decisions need to take account of the uncertainties and risks, and opportunities that may be the consequences of these decisions.
    “…the ability to deal with a crisis situation is largely dependent on the structures that have been developed before chaos arrives. The event can in some ways be considered as an abrupt and brutal audit: at a moment’s notice, everything that was left unprepared becomes a complex problem, and every weakness comes rushing to the forefront.”      Preventing Chaos in a Crisis, Lagadec, p. 54
The management of fire in the forest and rural landscape is both an art and a science. Topics to be covered in this NZ Institute of Forestry CPD session includes fire legislation, funding of fire services, fire research, fire weather monitoring, exposure, capability and liability.

1pm - 2pm - Light lunch

2pm - 4pm - CPD workshop - Arbitration and Mediation -

A representative of the Arbitration and Mediation Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ) will take us through:

• Different types of resolution procedures.
• Costs associated with those procedures.
• Importance of dispute resolution clauses in contracts for services
• Achieving the best outcome at least cost

CPD opportunities offered by AMINZ

11am - 4pm CPD Workshop - Leadership Development Course, limited to 12pp, Presenter Matt Williams from The Learning Wave
A practical workshop gives participants real tools to:
Better understand their responsibility as a leader’s to influence participation and good results (individual/team and organisational
Engage other/team members to shift from their attitude towards a ‘professional who is proud of their work performance’
Understanding of their/others capability – current mix of skill and attitude (Capability Compass)
Positively challenge the ‘old boss’ attitudes and help set the tone
Adapt their leadership response to get better work and safety outcomes  

4.30pm - 5.30pm - NZIF 93rd Annual General Meeting
5.30pm - 6.30pm - After AGM drinks
7pm - 10.30pm - Future Forester Quiz night Venue: Gateway Motor Inn

Monday 28th June 2021

8am - 8.45am Registration Opens

8.45am - 8.50am Iwi Welcome

8.50am - 8.55am Conference Welcome by Conference Chair - Erica Kinder

8.55am - 9.15am Kieran McAnulty - Local MP for Wairarapa

9.15am - 10.15am Forest Learning in Australia, Presenter Beth Welden (via Zoom)

10.15am - 10.45am Supporting and cultivation the young crop, Presenter Dave Saathof

10.45am - 11.15am Morning Tea

11.15am - 11.45am What every NZer needs to know about climate change, its impacts and what we can do about it, Presenter Professor Tim Naish

11.45am - 12.30pm Review of Climate Change Commission Submissions, Presenter Professor Nicola Shadbolt

12pm - 1.15pm Lunch

1.15pm - 1.45pm Carbon Farming and small woodlots, Presenter Kevin Reardon

1.45pm - 2.15pm Forest Investments, Presenter Bert Hughes

2.15pm - 3pm An Update of the Forest Advisors and Log Trader Amendment Act, Presenter Kay Shapland

3pm - 3.30pm Afternoon Tea

3.30pm - 4pm History and Timber Properties of the Carterton Event Centre - A Wairarapa Timber story, Presenter Paul Jordan

4pm - 5pm Future of Te Uru Rākau, Presenter Henry Weston 

5pm - 5.10pm Closing for the day, Erica Kinder

5.15pm 6.15pm After Conference Cocktail Party

6.30pm Buses will be provided to/from the Conference Dinner which is being held at the Carterton Event Center.  Booking your Bus seat is essential when registering for the Dinner. 

7pm - 10.30pm Conference Dinner and Awards, Carterton Event Centre, After dinner speaker, Hon Stuart Nash TBC

10.30pm - Bus back to Solway Hotel, Masterton

Tuesday 29th June 2021

7am - 8.30am Women in Forestry Breakfast, (Women Only) Presenter Heather Miller, Manager Forest Land Use and Advice & Presenter Susan Kilsby, ANZ Bank’s Agriculture Economist

8.40am - 8.45am Welcome to Conference

8.45am to 9.45am Positioning the forest industry to be a major player in regenerating natural capital, growing regional economies and transitioning to new zero emissions, Presenter Warren Parker

9.45am - 10.15am Forestry Myth Busting, Presenter Tim Payn

10.15am - 10.30am Closing of the Conference, Erica Kinder

10.30am - 11am Morning Tea

11.15am - 4pm Field Trip -Town Tour – Log Distribution & Timber Processing

The Town Tour does not need to take you far to see industry best practice in motion.
To showcase the region’s timber processing capability, Juken NZ Ltd (JNL) is opening its doors for a tour of their Masterton sawmill for the production of high value engineered timber products.
Adjacent to JNL, the tour will continue through the Waingawa rail yard, where C3 operates the log marshalling and transit hub on behalf of partners CentrePort and KiwiRail. $8m was spent in 2020 upgrading this essential infrastructure and doubling its capacity.
Around the corner from the hub, specialist log cartage company McCarthy Transport will take a tour of their expanded Pakihi Yard and talk about its significant investments and changes.
Thanks to JNL, C3, McCarthy Transport, Forest Enterprises and LDL.

11.15am - 4pm Field Trip: Forest Tour – Farm Forestry & Advanced Logging Systems

The Forest Tour heads out to Tinui to an operational harvest setting and to Rewanui Forest Park.
Mechanised harvesting practices are key to improved safety and productivity outcomes. JNL’s logging operation will demonstrate a Logchamp swing yarder with grapple system and tethered felling machine in action.
Along the way is Rewanui Forest Park, a 334ha property near Masterton on the Castlepoint road. It has areas of native bush, open grassland, and sites suitable for growing both native and exotic trees. Rewanui is a trial site for native and exotic timber trees.
Thanks to JNL, Havard Logging, the Montfort Trimble Foundation and the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association.

Accomodation 

Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park Wairarapa

Group booking reference number #70947

Conference Rate $140.00 per room per night

Best way to book accommodation would be –

Email reservations@solway.co.nz or phone the hotel direct on 0800SOLWAY (0800765929)

Please state the booking reference number #70947 or that they are attending the NZIF Conference.

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MEMBERS VOICE

In response to the item by Bridget Robson:

Scion has done some work on exposing forestry myths, and much of this was reported in the May 2019 issue of the Tree Grower

See https://www.scionresearch.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/66136/TreeGrowerScionArticleMay2019.pdf 

or the Scion website https://www.scionresearch.com/about-us/news-and-events/news/2019/forestry-myths-busted 

These items have defensible references and they are good for cutting down stupid assertions.

Howard Moore

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Response to Bridget Robson

• Slash on beaches. NZ beaches have been piled high with driftwood since the end of the ice age and so long, special ecosystems have evolved to exploit the rich food resource in the wood. Visit any West Coast beach.
• pines poison soils by pugging the soil with their hooves, eating all the vegetation then wandering around shitting and pissing everywhere including in waterways.
• pines suck up groundwater. Unlike a centre pivot irrigator, pines have a 20 cm diameter tap root that goes down 200-300 metres that suck up as much water as a city uses, using a huge amount of electricity in the process.
• pines are biodiversity deserts apart from the rich and diverse populations of native flora and fauna that inhabit pine forests because of the availability of immense energy and nutrient resources. They are just not as pure a desert as the millions of hectares of tax-payer subsidised, nitrogen fertilizer invigorated, fast spreading,  ryegrass monoculture blanketing the greater part of our land.
• forestry is destroying communities. Name one.
• they are all exported as raw logs except for the huge volumes of pine processed in NZU. There is more value added from forest to port than farm to port.
• pines die if they are left too long and then they power native ecosystems with the vast amounts of energy and nutrients stored in the wood.

all the carbon sequestered is lost when they are chopped down except for that remaining in the soil, in long life wood products and the substitution by wood for emission intensive products such as aluminium, steel, cement, petro chemicals, coal and oil.

Owen Springford

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Myth busting

The following fact sheets aim to help with myth busting – which the FOA Environment Committee has been working with SCION to develop over several years.  We are adding more to the list – please contact Rachel Millar at FOA (Rachel.millar@foa.org.nz) with potential topics.

Fact sheet

Planted forests and carbon

Forest water dynamics

FSC Collective contribution

Wood in streams

Biodiversity in plantation forests

Response of stream ecosystem to debris flows

Fertiliser used in plantation forests

Blue green algae in NZ rivers

Debris flows

Water quality

Planted forest soils

Radiate pine pollen

Forest Ecosystem services

Heather Arnold

INSTITUTE UPDATE

NZIF 93rd AGM 27th June 2021, 4.30pm, Solway Park, Copthorn Hotel, Masterton

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 93rd Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry will be held at Solway Park, Copthorn Hotel, Masterton, on the 27th June 2021, starting at 4.30pm.

Agenda for 93rd AGM Read more

Draft minutes from 92nd AGM, Sept 2021  Read more

Budget for year ending March 2022 Read more

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NZ JOURNAL OF FORESTRY

Volume 66 - 1 is now online

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FORESTRY NEWS

Members of the Institute of Chartered Foresters have elected Sharon Durdant-Hollamby FICFor as the new President.

Sharon succeeds Alastair Sandels FICFor, who has completed two years in the role. Geraint Richards FICFor, Head Forester for the Duchy of Cornwall, succeeds Sharon in the role of Vice President. Sharon is the first Chartered Arboriculturist, and only the second female, to hold the position of President.

Qualifying as a Professional member of the Institute in 2009, Sharon was promoted to Fellow in 2014 and has significant experience in the sector. She is Managing Director of Sharon Hosegood Associates, an innovative arboricultural consultancy providing advice on managing trees on development sites, in the wider landscape and within the community. Sharon also hosts and produces Tree Lady Talks, a podcast series that covers all things trees, nature, outdoor spaces and well-being through conversations with fascinating people from all walks of life.

 Read more

FORESTRY EVENTS

NZIF Canterbury Local Section Meeting 1^st June 2021

Speaker:   Dr Yvette Dickinson

The title of Yvette’s presentation is, ‘The Triad of Forestry in the US’s Upper Midwest’

Presentation outline: Forestry in the Great Lakes region, the state of their industry, their overall approach to forest management, some of the issues they are facing, and some contrasts & similarities with forestry in NZ

Yvette is a former graduate of the School of Forestry, who worked in the indigenous forestry unit in MAF before moving to the United States for 12 years. She earned her PhD at Pennsylvania State University, and took up positions as professor of silviculture at Colorado State then Michigan Tech. She now works as a scientist at Scion Research in Rotorua and is currently an Erskine Fellow at the School of Forestry, University of Canterbury.

When:  Tuesday 1^st June – meet at 6pm for drinks and nibbles, talk starts at 7pm.

Where:  Room F1 at School of Forestry, Canterbury University

Please RSVP to Patrick Milne   patrick@cypress.co.nz