Million-dollar machines were halted at a forestry skid site last month so Year 10 Campion College students could see what happens during a harvest.

It’s the first time in many years that Tairāwhiti students have been taken inside a commercial forest.  

Hosting the field trips was Erica Kinder, from the not-for-profit industry-funded programme Discover Forestry NZ. 

“A big part of the education programme was giving the teachers and students a good time and understanding how whole forest systems work,” she says.

“We want to show people what happens in a forest rather than keep it behind the closed gates of the past. It also shows them different career pathways available in the industry.

“Forestry is so important to our economy, it brings in 6.7 billion a year to New Zealand, which is seven times more than viticulture,” she adds.

Although this is the 17th field trip she has hosted this year around New Zealand, it was the first time ever in Tairāwhiti after being invited by Eastland Wood Council.

The initiative is backed by Tairāwhiti foresters and Turanga Ararau.

Buses took the Year 10 students to three stops along Waingake Road: a young forest for pruning experience, a stream for water testing and a logging site. The final stop was Knapdale Eco Lodge, an agroforestry block off Back Ormond Road.

To read more, get your copy of the February 2025 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 3 February. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).