FORESTRY IN WAIRARAPA

Mystery Creek Fieldays Welcomes the Forestry Hub

For the second year the combined Forestry Hub has been a great success for the forest sector at the national Fieldays. Thousands of visitors came through the hub over the 4 days, completing forestry quizzes, visiting with the 20 businesses that participated, and taking home free books, wooden toys, or venison sausages o˜ the Red Stag BBQ.

A new part of the Hub activities this year were speaking sessions held with many listening to a debate between Beef + Lamb NZ CEO Sam McIvor and Forest Owners Association Promotions Manager, Don Caron on the merits of carbon farming and the ETS. Another crowd favourite was the Farm Forestry debate “Exotic vs Indigenous plantings”, with a panel discussion of farm foresters providing hilarious views on both sides. The ÿ nal answer seemed to be you can have both. Native seedlings were part of the giveaways to visitors, and these were much appreciated with many New Zealanders looking to incorporate native trees into both urban and rural environments.

The Hub has proven to be a useful outlet to provide the correct information to members of the public around the beneÿ ts of commercial forestry for our economy and uses of wood in our everyday lives. Many people did not believe you needed pine trees at all, until it was pointed out that they live in a wooden house and use wood every day in their packaging, toilet paper and fencing. Sometimes, you can’t see the wood for the trees!

Discover Forestry is a new forest education provider that launched at Fieldays and provides careers information and hands on forestry school experiences for students across New Zealand. Funded by industry and linked by the eight Wood Councils, this new organisation will be expanding their team in the coming year and linking local companies with schools and students to provide inspiration for the next generation of foresters.