11th September 2024 Newsletter
VICE PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Dear Members
It was good to see all of those who attended the conference in Nelson last week. We had a strong turnout of members and it was good to see plenty of valuable networking and socialising occurring between conference sessions. Following on from the highly rated field trips, the conference sessions delivered interesting presentations from a range of excellent speakers. The reoccurring focus on the opportunities arising from within the sector was refreshing and highlights an exciting future for all.
Forestry Minister Hon Todd McClay spoke to the conference and announced his plan to revise settings within the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry. These included removing the afforestation clause which allows councils to impose different planting rules on production forests from those stated in the NES-CF. We would like to acknowledge our appreciation of the Minister's attendance and thank him for not only delivering his speech but also for staying and answering members' questions as well.
The Thursday session concluded with the awards dinner with the NZIF Foundation announcing their scholarship winners - Congratulations to all recipients.
At the awards dinner, the Future Foresters unveiled their new Frestra Young Forester of the Year award. Congratulations to Sarah de Gouw for being a well-deserving first recipient of this award!
Chris Ensor was awarded the highly esteemed Prince of Wales Award for Sustainable Forestry award. Special
mention was made that both William Prince of Wales, and His Royal Highness King Charles, had approved the award and noted the impressive calibre of the recipient. Chris's humble and touching acceptance speech spoke volumes about how deserving he is of this acknowledgement.
The Forester of the Year award was awarded to John Hura for his leadership role in the salvage of the approximately 6,500 hectares of plantation forest that was damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle. A new tradition was established with the 2023 recipient Te Kapunga Dewes handing the award from past to present recipient. A special moment for all in the room and undoubtedly a tradition we will see continue into the future.
The Kirk Horn Award recognises outstanding contributions to forestry in New Zealand and is awarded e
very second year. This year the recipient of the Kirk Horn award was Bill Liley. Accompanied by one of his foliage family, Bill's speech was a highlight and his subtle comedic inclusions were appreciated by all in the room!
The AGM on Friday morning was well attended and all feedback from members was greatly appreciated. The institute has been through a fairly volatile time in respect to the (now repealed) Registered Forestry Advisors Scheme. The volunteer time and effort spent keeping NZIF well positioned was acknowledged by all in the room. Going forward the institute has a range of decisions to make about what member services are prioritised. Any and all feedback is appreciated as we continue to seek direction from members on how to shape the Institute's future.
Finally, please mark in your calendars the 26th to the 28th of June 2025 for the next NZIF conference being held in Napier. More details to come...
Thanks
Adrian Loo
VP NZIF
INTERNATIONAL YOUNG PROFESSIONAL FORESTER EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
We are excited to launch this great opportunity to our members.
For more detailed information go to International Young Professional Forester Exchange Programme page.
Closing date: 30 September 2024
WEBINAR UPDATE
The revamped CPD programme with monthly webinars has been very
successful and welcomed by members over
the last 12 months.
Given the tight financial position of the Institute and the importance of covering the costs of providing the CPD programme, the Council has decided to increase the cost of the 1 hour webinars to $20.00 for Members and $40.00 for non-members.
Members have provided feedback in the members survey that they value the webinars and consider that the fees should be increased.
This increase will apply from the next webinar on Thursday 26th September which will be presented by Bruce Ross on:
Utilising AI to enhance productivity, at every level, for forestry professionals.
This practical training will equip you for enhanced decision-making and operational efficiency, with AI, particularly if you are a
- Senior company executive
- Forest manager
- Operations / District Manager
Regardless of your current level of AI literacy or AI platform—be it Co-Pilot, OpenAI's GPT, or Gemini—you’ll gain the essential skills necessary to elevate your effectiveness in every one of your role deliverables.
This will be followed on October 15th with a presentation by Allen Jones from Scion on the potential of short rotation forestry crops to meet a growing demand for biomass for energy and higher value bio products.
NZIF FOUNDATION UPDATE
NZIF Foundation Awards
At the 2024 NZIF Awards the Chavasse Travel Award, four student awards and the NZIF Conference student poster awards were offered this year.
- Chavasse Travel Award: This is awarded to Wiremu Ruru to support his participation in a biosecurity study tour to Spain and France. ($3500)
- Undergraduate Scholarship: This year the award goes to Cassandra Hetherington, a 4th year B.Eng. student at the University of Canterbury. ($2000)
- Frank Hutchinson Postgraduate Scholarship: James Power, an M.For.Sci. candidate at the University of Canterbury will receive this year’s scholarship. His project is to investigate the stabilisation of soils disturbed by harvesting in steep terrain immediately and up to three years post-harvest. ($2000).
- Mary Sutherland Scholarship: Awarded to Jacob Emmens, a 2nd year Diploma in Forest Management student at Toi Ohomai ($2,000)
- Otago Southland Scholarship: Awarded to Blake Singleton a 4th Year B.For.Sci. Hons student at the University of Canterbury ($2000)
- Student Poster Awards: 1st place Caylee Brown and Heather Harper ($800), equal second place Chloe Small and Jack Munro ($350 each)
2024 Student Awards and Posters
Scan the new Foundation barcode and donate taking only a few minutes.
FUTURE FORESTERS UPDATE
FRESTRA YOUNG FORESTER OF THE YEAR AWARD
At the awards dinner, the Future Foresters unveiled their new Frestra Young Forester of the Year award. Congratulations to Sarah de Gouw for being a well-deserving first recipient of this award!
2024 NZIF CONFERENCE REFLECTIONS
The NZIF 2024 Conference held in Nelson on the 4th - 6th September was a great success, with some feedback coming through that this was one of the better conferences some people have attended in their working career. To have feedback like that from some of our constituents is pretty special, as the broad spectrum of topics covered aspects of how our industry is exploring sustainable practices for a resilient future.
With the opportunity to do things a bit differently, we challenged the norm with the conference schedule. The whole conference was delivered over the working week and we also opened the conference with the field trips and the Future Foresters Quiz Night (thanks Jamila Milne and team!), the main conference day in the middle and leaving the CPD & AGM items for last. A survey will be going out, and the Organising Committee are particularly interested to hear your feedback on if this change in lineup was preferred or not. Warren Rance, this change in line up is not referring to the bomb squad... if you know, you know.
Whilst navigating through tougher economic times, it was fantastic to see a strong turn out, with over 200 people attending. Thank you to all who took time out of their busy schedules to attend and support the conference. Further to the tough economic topic, a big shout out to the businesses that got behind the conference, through sponsorship and exhibits. This funding is invaluable for making ticket sales relatively more affordable, so thank you for supporting the conference and allowing us the opportunity to display the positive developments occurring within our industry.
Thank you to those who displayed their workspaces to showcase the positive practices occurring in the Top of the South. Whilst we only see the tidy and well presented sites on the day, there is a large amount of time and money spent in preparing these sites to be safe and suitable for showcasing, so it was immensely appreciated that we had the privilege to come onto your worksites and have the ability to see the sustainable practices in play. A shout out to Josh Tansey and Sebastian Klinger for stepping up and taking one of the field trips when an opening came up.
To the presenters. Thank you for taking the time out of your own schedules and stepping up to present at the conference. It's no easy feat to get up and speak in front of large crowds, but I hope you enjoyed the opportunity to challenge the norm and provide a bit of perspective for our industry. Particular mention goes to the Forestry Minister, Hon Todd McClay who had some interesting announcements about some upcoming reforms to the NES-CF.
Thanks to the NZIF Council for the general support, especially on the main conference day which helped run things more seamlessly. Shout out to James Treadwell and Veronica Bennett who have been providing a lot of support and direction alongside the Organising Committee in the background.
To the Organising Committee, Alex Tolan; Craig McMiken; Dan Montgomery; Jessica Brown and Siobhan Allen, the conference feedback is a nod to a very successful team. Well done on being able to understand aspects of the industry and the relevant people to present to them, that have made for an interesting and engaging conference. Thank you for stepping up for our industry and volunteering your time and energy! Without great people like yourselves, events like these aren't possible and our industry is richer for having people like yourselves within it. Also, thank you to your respective workplaces, for allowing you to put in the time to meet and organise the conference.
Finally, to James Kerr and the 2025 NZIF Conference Organising Committee.
You're up.
Regards
Rhys Black, Chair - 2024 NZIF Conference
Sowing Tomorrow's Forests - Sustainable Practices for a Resilient Future
Photos from over the three days:
2024 Pre-dinner Drinks and Awards
IUFRO CONFERENCE 2025
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT
Global forestry leader, Marcos Wichert will be participating in the IUFRO Forest Establishment and Early Growth Dynamics Conference to be held in Rotorua, March 2024. Dr Wichert, a Brazilian forest engineer with 27 years of experience of forestry across the world, is currently Vice President of Plantation Forestry and Sustainability at Stora Enso. Most of his career has focused on forestry operations development and testing, and introducing new technologies across the silvicultural value chain of forestry companies in Brazil, China, Indonesia, and now Scandinavia. Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials and wooden construction, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. Stora Enso believes digitalisation, remote sensing technologies and artificial intelligence will enable them to take a step forward in the way they operate in forests, in the wood supply chain and in protecting biodiversity.
We would like to encourage our scientists and industry partners to take advantage of the opportunity of Marcos’s visit to New Zealand to find out more about how an internationally recognised company and leader in forestry, wood and packaging materials is embracing new technologies to enhance their business.
Come to our conference to hear more and have the opportunity to engage directly with a global leader. Link to website and keynote speakers here: Key-note speakers.
REGISTRATION BOARD UPDATE
From the Registrar 11 September 2024
RECENTLY ACCEPTED REGISTERED MEMBERS
- none
NOTICE OF 5 YEAR REGISTRATION REVIEW
The following Registered Members are required to submit their application for a periodic review of registration which must be accepted by the Board no later than 31 May 2025:
- Malte Coulmann
- Craig Fisher
- Andy Dick
- Bruce Manley
- Paul McCreedy
- Shane Perrett
- David Janett
- Carolyn Jackson
- Geoff Thorp
Any member of the NZIF has the right to object to an application. Any objection should be lodged with the Registrar registrar@nzif.org.nz within 20 working days of the first appearance of the notice in this newsletter, specifying the grounds for the objection.
Peter Gorman, Registrar
NZIF Registration Board
registrar@nzif.org.nz
+64 21 166 5938
