Central Districts Field Days Embrace Forestry
The Southern North Island Wood Council this year coordinated the Forestry Hub at the Central Districts Field Days, held in Feilding in the Manawatu over 3 days in March.
This was supported with funding by the Forest Growers Levy Trust and Te Uru Rakau with prizes donated by local forestry companies. Juken New Zealand provided J-Frame picnic tables and Te Uru Rakau a large children’s pine constructed wooden cubby house that have been won by local primary school Mt Biggs Primary.
The cubby house was the centre piece of a children’s play area next to the Hub where 200 native trees made a forested area along with giant wooden jenga blocks, wooden log trucks and a path made from rounds of pine.
12 participants in the Forestry Hub included, John Turkington Ltd,
Forest Enterprises, Forme Consulting, Forest 360, Safe Tree, Te Uru Rakau, Farm Forestry Association,
Toi Ohomai, McCarthy Transport,
SNI Wood Council, Juken New Zealand and FOA.
Two marquees defined the hub with forestry information booths and machine driving simulators in the information tent along with the very popular “Tree ID” Quiz including native, deciduous and confer species that the public could identify to enter a competition for wooden prizes.
“Carbon and Land Use”, “Why Prune Your Woodlots?” were some of the sessions with many farmers attending and questions answered.
Over 27,000 people attended the event with more than 600 exhibitors. The Forestry Hub was located next to the Ag Pavilion and received much of the foot traffic from here. John Turkington Ltd provided two full sized branched pine trees that were ‘planted’ next to the hub for tree climbing, and there was a constant line up of children and adults who could use climbing equipment to try this out.
This is the first year such a hub has been achieved at the Field Days and it has been considered a huge success by forestry participants and people who visited the site over the 3 days. A constant stream of the public, rural sector and secondary schools were amazed the array of information and professionals who were willing to give their time. Members of our sector who visited, from contractors to CEO’s of our organizations were very pleased to see such mana given to our sector and to view our presence at this very public event.