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Transformed landscapes and summer goodies No images? Click here  Kia ora koutou, What a year it has been. There is still a lot to do for some of us, and for contractors, the busy summer season will be just getting underway. I will not keep you from getting to your break, but I do want to share a congratulations with all our partners in wilding control: The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme was recognised in the 2025 MPI Excellence Awards for achievements and efforts through the year in the category of Protection - Whakangungu. I'm very proud and appreciative of my team here at Biosecurity New Zealand who totally deserve this endorsement, and we quickly recognise that it is shared with all our partners. The citation noted that The Programme... "...has delivered outstanding economic and environmental outcomes and is recognised as a benchmark for complex, multi-partner initiatives... to improve wilding conifer management, contributing to an expanding body of good practice guidance for contractors and land managers..." and so on! So, all that needs to be said from me is... Thank you for an amazing year. We have all earned a break! Have a safe, healthy and happy summer. Sherman Smith, Know someone who would like this? Hit the share buttons at the bottom. In Memoriam: Dr Kelvin Lloyd, ConservationistWe acknowledge the passing of Dr Kelvin Lloyd, a celebrated ecologist and conservationist and valued part of Wildlands consultancy for many years.  Kelvin will be remembered for his instrumental role in the early work in 2016 developing the initial prioritisation for the National Programme, working with Operational Advisory Group (and updating this in 2018). There are some fitting tributes on Forest & Bird's Facebook Health and SafetySafety around dead trees - new guide now online Did you hear the one about the fell-er working under a dead tree? Thankfully there has been no such incident yet, but here's why we developed this guidance.  Prepare crews for fire risk seasonWhen it's hot and dry, sparks will fly. Make sure your crews are trained and equipped to avoid being the one to start an accidental fire this summer... Land transformedGood luck finding a (wild) Christmas tree on Flock HillThe transformation of Flock Hill in Canterbury, part of the Craigieburn Management Unit for the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, is a success story for landscape-scale wilding conifer control. Today, sheep are once again grazing areas that had become dense wilding conifer stands. Wilding conifer control operations through the National Programme started on the station in 2016. Heavy stands of wilding Pinus contorta or Lodgepole pine were impeding the farming operations and rapidly spreading further into the surrounding high country.   Top photo, 2016: Wildings and more wildings Bottom photo, 2025: Grass and tussock Ferintosh operation update: Behold, grass!Another landscape transformation - for the better - continues at Ferintosh. What looked like a haunted forest is starting to resemble a paddock. Guess haw many organisations involved? The website has more info (thanks Zolve Environmental) and great before / during / after photos. Or head straight to the epic video. DOC's special projects enhancing landscapes and community assetsThe Department of Conservation is a key partner in the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, with people from various parts of DOC involved in many aspects of both the national coordination of the Programme and in regional wilding conifer control projects. These projects are often in special places there are strong historic or cultural considerations as well as biodiversity to protect. In February 2025, when the Minister of Conservation committed $3.5 million of International Visitor Levy funding towards wilding conifer control to be completed by June, $150,000 of this was allocated to a DOC project on Rangitoto Island, where contractors found and removed over a thousand wilding pines:  Wildings, seen here rising above the native bush, were identified, photographed and mapped using drone footage. Photos courtesy of Island Solutions Ltd. Free stuff for you to give awayGet kitted out for summer engagementWe can supply prizes and handouts to use at your community events, volunteer days or online engagement - caps, snoods, note pads, temporary tattoos, ID Guides, planting guides, any of the education resources online at no cost. Email wilding.pines@mpi.govt.nz Kids (and adults) love these tattoos:   Bored kids? Meet short videosHandy simple explainers for social media, or even at family gatherings   Important fire safety tips for any outdoor work on hot or dry days    Perceptions ResearchIn the October update we mentioned some research that Tom Carlin had shared at the October Conference on perceptions of the wilding conifer problem. The research engaged professionals with awareness of wilding conifers, seeking to find out:
A brief summary from Tom and his presentation are now available online Have a good break and stay safe!Looking for that thing from a newsletter that other time? Past issues online  |
