Clare and Terry Gavin, Murchison, Nelson branch July 2014
Claire and Terry Gavin have a specialty timber farm forestry property near Murchison. Species established include cypresses C ovensii and C macrocarpa; also poplar, and redwoods are grown on stoney…
Bevan Walker, Nelson branch July 2014
Nelson Branch member Bevan Walker shows the house he built from local specialty timbers, his 50 hectares of pine and 20 hectares of other species where he is into his…
Brent and Caralyn Morrison, Rai Valley, Nelson branch July 2014
Dairy farmers Brent and Caralyn Morrison on their 270 ha dairy farm which includes 50ha forestry and 40 ha native bush. Riparian zones and gullies fenced and planted; species include…
Otira - award winning property (Access: unrestricted)
November 2018
The last part of the final field day of the 2018 conference was to Claire and Terry Gavin’s 53-hectare property Otira. Many of you will have read the article about…
Golden Downs forest Douglas-fir trial (Access: unrestricted)
November 2018
The following half dozen pages are the remaining the articles on the field days from the NZFFA Nelson conference earlier this year. The conference field days are very important, educational…
Appleton’s special arboretum Pig Valley (Access: unrestricted)
August 2018
The second field trip of the conference was to Appleton’s special arboretum strangely named Pig Valley – 150 hectares of trees and farmland. At the first stop overlooking part of…
Tunnel Creek - A high pruner’s paradise (Access: unrestricted)
August 2018
Our visit to Bevan Walker’s property was the first field visit of the 2018 conference. After a short circular walk through some redwoods to clear the lungs after the bus…
Tree identification expertise now based in Nelson (Access: unrestricted)
Chris Ecroyd, February 2012
Chris Ecroyd has recently moved to Richmond after 37 years working at the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (Scion) in Rotorua as a botanist specialising in tree identification, especially pines…
A profile of Tunnel Creek evergreens (Access: unrestricted)
Bevan Walker, February 2012
About 27 km south of Richmond is the Spooners Range, over which the main road goes to Christchurch. Under this is the old tunnel of the now defunct railway that…
Nelson farm forestry field day (Access: unrestricted)
Roger May, February 2012
On a beautiful spring morning about 15 members of Nelson farm forestry met at the Appleton family property at Motupiko, 45 minutes drive south of Nelson, to look at the…
Development of a forestry block overlooking the Motueka Valley (Access: unrestricted)
Tracy and Belinda Palmer, February 2012
We took possession of 45 hectares of land in July 2009. The property consists of approximately 22 hectares of pasture, 10 hectares of untended radiata pine which had been planted…
Tasman District overview (Access: unrestricted)
Nelson branch, February 2012
A glance at the Tasman District Council and Nelson City Council websites shows that Tasman District is a large area. It covers 9,786 square kilometres and is bounded to the…
The house of a hundred timbers (Access: unrestricted)
Nora Flight, February 2011
Walking through our house with Bevan is like walking through a three dimensional story book. I realised as I researched for this article that every piece of wood triggers a…
Trees beside the mighty Buller (Access: unrestricted)
Vivienne McLean, February 2010
Claire and Terry Gavin in front of a stand of poplar Eridano – the larger ones were planted in 2002 Terry and Claire Gavin might live and work in Nelson…
Emissions Trading Scheme fee review a relief for cost-struck foresters Thursday, February 29, 2024
The New Zealand Forest Owners Association says the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fees is a relief for foresters facing excessive costs and loss of climate change action. …
Planting trees on pasture can have a positive impact on soil health Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Rather than damaging soil in New Zealand, planting trees on pasture restores soil to be similar to its original condition. A recent news story highlighting changes in soils from converting…
Forest plantation soils have benefits too Tuesday, December 19, 2023
The Forest Owners Association (FOA) says the fact that soils under plantation forests are similar to soils under native trees, does not make them damaged, as a recent Newshub report has claimed.…
Wilding Conifers - A legacy issue that needs continued, collaborative management Sunday, October 29, 2023
Forest owners welcome the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s (PCE) acknowledgement that the presence of wilding conifers across New Zealand is largely a legacy issue, but caution against placing costs…
Stock take of the commercially viable alternatives to Pinus radiata Tuesday, October 03, 2023
Scion has published a “Stock Take of the Commercially Viable Alternatives to Pinus Radiata” for MPI, which reviews alternative species, their expected growth rates, climatic range, resilience to pests or…
SNA regulations 'confusing ecological naivety' Thursday, July 06, 2023
Forest Owners say the just released National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB) is a classic bureaucratic formula of confusing ecological naivety which will not help rare species and likely…
Forest Owners hail ‘Biosecurity Hero’ Monday, May 22, 2023
The Forest Owners Association and Scion want more people to report suspicious imported wood products which might be infested with introduced wood and forest pests. FOA Biosecurity Manager, Brendan Gould,…
Tairawhiti land use inquiry not addressing wider issues Sunday, May 14, 2023
The Forest Owners Association says the Ministerial Inquiry into landuse in Tarawhiti has a core of practical recommendations, but has not addressed some more difficult and fundamental issues. President, Grant…
Opportunities from Trees Workshops - NZ Wide Wednesday, April 19, 2023
The NZ Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) is running 18 extension workshops in May and June with a target audience of landowners, or people with access to land, who are potential tree…
Forest Owners back more trees for Tairawhiti Sunday, April 16, 2023
The Forest Owners Association has told the Ministerial Inquiry into land use in Tairāwhiti, that the region’s future has to include more trees for land stability. But it appreciates forest…
Small scale woodlot owners have their say in Tairawhiti Land use Inquiry Sunday, April 02, 2023
he outgoing President of the Farm Forestry Association says it has been vital for farm foresters to directly address the Ministerial Inquiry into forestry and other land use in Tairāwhiti.…
Future forests need to be multifunctional to meet climate change in Tairawhiti Thursday, March 16, 2023
The Farm Forestry Association says the just convened Ministerial Inquiry, into land-use across Tairāwhiti, needs to look closely at the tree options for shoring up vulnerable farm and former forest land in…
Forest Owners want genetic technology approved Thursday, February 16, 2023
The Forest Owners Organisation says New Zealand needs to concentrate on the safety of genetic technology on a case-by-case basis rather than persisting with blanket bans. The FOA wants approval…
Fieldays Forestry Hub to demonstrate that forestry is a solution Monday, November 28, 2022
A range of solutions to farmers’ current problems will be on display in the Fieldays Forestry Hub near Hamilton between 30 November and 3 December, says Farm Forestry Association president,…