Forest Talk

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha|University of Canterbury (UC)  researchers are using drones and satellite remote sensing to track the health of eucalyptus trees from above and protect the future of New Zealand’s plantation forests. 

PhD candidate, Shiva Pariyar, is breaking new ground with remote sensing research that could help reduce economic and environmental losses caused by pest damage in non-native eucalyptus species. 

“We know that in Ne..... more

The New Zealand Forest Service had ’Training Schools' for many skills - hunters, timber cruisers, timber graders, woodsmen and forest rangers. 

For over 30 years, boys leaving school were invited to learn the ‘Skilled Crafts of forestry’ and they attended a number of Woodsman Schools throughout the country.

The work was hard, the pay low, the food often terrible, but they thrived on learning new skills, which included everything from plant..... more

The first thing we notice about Conan Hemsworth’s Weiler H457 harvester is the staunch, oversized, heavy-duty undercarriage with a discreet zero tail cab and a long 9.91 metre reach, says Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman. Built for thinnings, that undercarriage is going to be a broad and stable base in amongst the spot mounds. 

Tim continues: “And Conan has spread his logging career across a broad base as well, starting in Wales manually harvestin..... more

Gisborne District Council was on the ground last month at Porangahau Station in Te Karaka, sharing practical insights and supporting landowners at Beef + Lamb NZ and Te Uru Rākau’s ‘Planting for Profit Field Day’.

The event brought together farmers, land managers, and forestry advisors for a farm tour and a series of workshops focused on land management.

Sessions covered practical topics such as carbon forestry 101, how to navigate the Emission..... more

The first reading of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme—Forestry Conversions) Amendment Bill received strong support in Parliament late last month.

“This Bill is about protecting our most valuable land that grows food for export and sustains rural communities,” says Forestry Minister, Todd McClay.

“For too long, ETS incentives have driven the wrong outcomes for our rural sector.

“Once farms are planted in trees as a res..... more

Scion programmes aimed at Increasing water flow in New Zealand, as well as wildfire knowledge and preparedness, have received a second round of government funding for collaborative research with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Some $2.35 million from the government’s Catalyst fund will enable Scion to undertake three-year research programmes into observing water flows through forests and investigating wildfire and drought ri..... more