The theme for this meeting was all about Managing Slash, we kicked off with an overview of the legislation followed by an interactive session focussing on sharing how we are currently managing slash with regards to risk assessments, defining slash storage areas, documentation for contractors, during and post-harvest management. It was fair to say most of the time we were all aligned on where we were currently operating, which was very reassuring. We then had a guest speaker, Lloyd McGinty from Whirika who took us through the current bio energy space in NZ and locally and we learnt all about … Read More

The working group travelled far and wide, as far as from Timaru to attend our yearly meeting hosted by Environment Southland. We spent the morning learning about Wilding Pines, Dam safety Regulations and had a session on different sediment control options, when to use, benefits and disadvantages. We also had an update from both Regional Councils on compliance monitoring, which highlighted some key issues for the industry, including ensuring that the land prep operators’ knowledge around slash and waterways is up to the same standard as our harvesting contractors. Installing storm water controls onto stable ground is fundamental and we … Read More