Forest Talk

Safetree CEO, Joe Akari

Joe Akari has been appointed as the new CEO/National Safety Director of FISC/Safetree. Mr Akari is a Kiwi with Samoan heritage and whakapapa. He began his working journey in forestry as a Ranger with the NZ Forest Service and with PF Olsen as a contractor. He went on to forge a successful senior executive career in HR at various organisations including the Rotorua Lakes Council, Bay of Plenty Health Board, Refining NZ and C..... more

The threat posed by COVID-19 to the primary sectors led to the formation of a new website, techenabledlearning.nz, providing technology-enabled learning resources and information to educators and providers in forestry, farming, horticulture and fishing, as well as other disciplines.

Developed from the experiences of teaching staff and learners in the food and fibre sector, the website is funded by the Tertiary Edu..... more

A partnership has been cemented with the signing of a Kawenata/Memorandum of Understanding between tangata whenua and Scion at Te Whare Nui o Tuteata in Rotorua recently.

Veronica Butterworth, a trustee representing the three hapū - Ngāti Hurungaterangi, Ngāti Taeotu and Ngāti Te Kahu (Ngā Hapū e Toru) signed the Kawenata with Scion board Chair Dr Helen Anderson.

Ngā Hapū e Toru are tangata whenua of the 114-hectare site where Scion is situated in the Te Pap..... more

After an immense amount of work by contractors, the last closed section of State Highway 6 between Blenheim and Nelson reopened to traffic last month.

The section over the Whangamoa Hill between Hira and Rai township was the worst damaged section of the highway.

Andrew James, System Manager Top of the South, says getting it open for road users required a massive effort: “Over the last five days, we’ve had over 70 people working in the section each day. The c..... more

The mountain men of logging is what first crossed Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman’s mind when the team arrived at NAB Contracting’s steep and "bluff riddled" Manawatu block, needing a four-wheel drive just to get to their container. Then he saw that the gun loader operator was a woman named Caitlyn Thomsen. Perhaps Mountain Wo/Men of logging?

“Best loader op I have ever had actually,” says NAB owner, Nick Bunn. “She doesn’t seem to crack under pressure like some of..... more

A new report titled Adapting and mitigating wildfire risk due to climate change: extending knowledge and best practice, predicts climate change will significantly increase wildfire risk in New Zealand. It has been released by Scion’s Rural Fire Research Team and Dr Nathanael Melia, Victoria University of Wellington’s adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the National Climate Change Research Institute and director of Climate Prescience.

Highly detailed climate model si..... more