SWC, NZIF, NZFFA Forest Industry Dinner Meeting

5:30 PM
-
10:00 PM

Rosebank Lodge, Balclutha

The Southern Wood Council (SWC), in conjunction with the local branch of the NZ Institute of Forestry and the Mid Otago and South Otago Branches of the NZ Farm Forestry Association have planned an evening’s networking – along with more good food and some excellent company.

Registrations to the dinner can be made directly on line at: https://www.southernwoodcouncil.co.nz/regional/


Date:            Wednesday 6 July 2022

Venue:         Rosebank Lodge, Balclutha

When:           5.30pm – Drinks, 6.30pm – Dinner, 7.15pm - After-Dinner Presentation


It’s time to gather as an industry again. It’s been two long two years of lockdowns and meeting and travel restrictions that has kept us in-doors. It’s finally time to get together again and have a catch up.

The Southern Wood Council (SWC), in conjunction with the local branch of the NZ Institute of Forestry and the Mid Otago and South Otago Branches of the NZ Farm Forestry Association have planned an evening’s networking – along with more good food and some excellent company. 


These dinner meetings used to be a regular occasion but sort of fell off the radar. The message from forestry and wood products companies across Otago and Southland is that they’ve been sorely missed in recent years. The idea is to get together anybody involved in or associated with forestry and wood products in the lower South Island. You have to admit, increasingly, evenings like this to meet up and to network are rare. 

The after-dinner presentations that we’ve lined up are going to appeal to all of you who have a yearning for or are working in the outdoors. This time, we’ve lined up two after dinner guest speakers. 


Manging Fire in the Rural Landscape

The average direct impact of rural fire on New Zealand’s economy is estimated to be around $67 million per year. Add to this the indirect costs which are estimated to be at least two to three times this amount. As foresters and rural land owners you’ll know, that aside from the impact that climate change has brought to the issue, extreme fire events are already here. New Zealand is not immune to the extreme fire behaviour that is normally associated with Australia, North America or the Mediterranean. 


Step in the Rural Fire Research Group from Scion. They’re based in Christchurch. They’re an international team of fire science experts that have been brought together. Their job is to undertake practical research and to work with land owners and fire authorities to help identify, mitigate and adapt to the threat of extreme fires. 

Hugh Wallace, Rural Fire Scientist, Rural Fire Research Group, Scion will present to the dinner meeting.  Included in his talk will be details of a “Learning to Burn” online training course that’s going to be used to introduce and upskill landowners on safely using fire as a land management tool. Details from a report on public fire related injuries and fatalities being used to further develop best-practices for safe fire use will be outlined along with information on a real-time smoke modelling tool that can be used to determine where smoke from large fires may go, as well as how intense the smoke might be. An extension of this tool is a limited-access fire growth tool used by fire suppression crews to predict fire spread.

Plenty here – and it’s certainly aligned to any rural land or forest owner. 


NZ Game Animal Council

And as an added bonus, we’ll hear from the Chairperson of the NZ Game Animal Council (GAC), Grant Dodson (yes, wearing a few hats at the meeting). The GAC is a statutory body established under the Game Animal Council Act 2013.

It represents the interests of the hunting sector across NZ. Since its inception, it’s been involved in a raft of initiatives to help improve the management of the country’s hunting resources and conservation efforts. Grant will be outlining some of the wins for the Council and some of the key issues that are being tackled on behalf of NZ hunters. 


So, what do you need to do?

Mark the date into your diary. Get the notice around the office, forestry contacts or your work colleagues and ensure you get a car load or two of you coming through. Rarely, as you know, do these opportunities come up so make the most of it. 

Dinner registrations need to be received BEFORE mid-day Monday 4 July 2022. 

Note: Catering can’t be made available to those who turn up on the night who haven’t pre-registered. 

 

Registrations to the dinner can be made directly on line at: https://www.southernwoodcouncil.co.nz/regional/

Any further information, then get in contact with Brent Apthorp (brent.apthorp@southernwoodcouncil.co.nz or Tel: 021 117 5177)