FuturEcology & EmGuard ™ August 2022 Update

Newsletters

Aug 16

Hello from the team at FuturEcology & EmGuard ™

The Festival for the Future

By Emma Fryer

This is Aotearoa’s biggest summit on leadership and innovation for impact. It is said to be one of the most inspirational conferences you’ll ever attend and having just attended the 2022 festival, I can say this is no word of a lie.

Over the three days it was a privilege to listen to such a range of speakers all making huge impacts in their respective fields. The most common theme was that they too had once sat in the audience feeling inspired and a little overwhelmed by the amazing work people are doing. It was a brilliant reminder that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things if they believe in what they are doing.

Transitioning out of uni and into supply chain management in the peak of the pandemic has certainly been no small task. While still being passionate about what I do, I think subconsciously I slipped into survival mode as I think many people can relate to.

The Festival came at the perfect time and was a catalyst event in helping me stop making excuses, dig deep and really hone in on what drives my passion and where I want to take that.

The Global Citizenship workshop from a te ao Māori perspective, was one of my highlights of the event as it helped to remind me of the connection and responsibility we have to and with the land.

It was a reminder of how important the Wakapuaka River is to me as I grew up building rafts in that river and swimming between friends’ houses and in 15 short years, swimming there is longer encouraged. My vision is that we can help to rebuild and strengthen the health of not only our local awa but also streams, rivers and wetlands all around the country.

My gorgeous niece is 6 months old and my vision is to be able to share the joy with her of rafting down the Wakapuaka River on tubes and her being able to do the same with her children one day.

Here at FuturEcology, we don’t just sell a plant guard. We are selling a restoration methodology that we believe in and see as an important part in the continued process of improving the quality and outcomes of restoration projects.

Introducing Desiah

We welcome our new team member, Desiah Neho.

Desiah first joined FuturEcology in 2021, in his first year out of school as a casual planting assistant.

During his time at Nelson College, he studied Environmental Science at Whenua Iti which has helped him expand his passion and drive for the environment.

Read more about Desiah and our other team members here.

Kākā chicks in Abel Tasman National Park

by Dan Arnold

Earlier in the year, Dan Arnold was involved with Project Janszoon in the reintroduction of Kākā to the Abel Tasman National Park.

Kākā are large, forest-dwelling parrots that are indigenous to New Zealand. Kākā are a recovering species after being reduced in range and abundance due to forest clearance and predation by introduced mammals.

Kākā obtain all their food from trees including the seeds, fruit and invertebrate creatures, and are very skilled fliers capable of weaving through trunks and branches (New Zealand Birds Online, 2013).

These photos show some the eight chicks from the first breeding season after their introduction in 2019 when 24 birds were released into Bark Bay. Dan and John (from DoC) are shown fitting a transmitter to one of the chicks.

*Dan and John fitting a transmitter to one of the chicks.*

Timelapse video of a Kākā nest near Torrent Bay

Click here to read some of the background of the breeding success.

Click here to see another video about the initial Kākā release in 2019.

Emguard update

A slight teaser last week with some nice weather and the feeling that spring was in the air, but this week we have rain and flood warnings so are battening down the hatches again.

We are seeing lots of enquiries about EmGuards as people get inspired with their spring projects. We are slowly but surely catching up with the backlog of orders as the new machine in the factory gets up to speed and so we are very pleased to see pallets of guards arriving at the workshop and going out the same day.

We can supply up to around 500 generally within a few days of your order but for any larger quantities please allow a couple of weeks.

We have had some lovely photos from customers and it is so inspiring for us to see the fantastic projects happening around the country. Please keep those photos coming.

Last months Federated Farmers Giveaway of EmGuards was won by Phil Holland of Carterton and we wish him great success with his planting project.

Meeting with Hon Stuart Nash

By Alvin Bartley

FuturEcology was included in a local meeting with the Hon Stuart Nash last week to discuss challenges, opportunities and successes that businesses have been facing post covid in the Nelson Region.

Stuart Nash is the Minister of Economic and Regional Development, Forestry, Small Businesses and Tourism so it was a great chance to talk about some of the successes FuturEcology has been having with native restoration projects, the implications of low estimated carbon capture of indigenous forest and the research needed to quantify carbon capture of native forests as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

We also expressed our interest to establish Conservation as a business category to provide recognition for the industry and to capture information for all the businesses in New Zealand who are doing great work restoring and enhancing our unique biodiversity.

It was a great meeting and it has fuelled our passion for what we do.

Weed of the month

By Meg Harry

Selaginella Kraussiana - African club Moss

Originating in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Macronesia. African Club Moss (ACM) is commonly found across the Tasman Region and various parts of the North Island. It is identified by its irregular branches, with small leaves which grow in rows.

This delicate ground cover species disperses with ease and is known for the speed at which it grows in mild damp conditions. It is commonly spread along walkways on the base of shoes where people walk through it. African club moss is problematic as it forms a dense ground cover which inhibits native seedlings from germinating, which is critical for the longevity of native forests.

If you spot African Club Moss, it is important to mark out the extent of the infestation so that people don’t walk through it, to minimise the chance of it spreading. It is most effectively treated with pure bleach in a pump sprayer. Target zones should be treated 2-3 times per year to see effective decrease in the spread of this invasive species. If mechanical removal is used, ensure that the material is bagged and returned to landfill, not composted.

Interesting Snippets

What we’ve been watching:

Our Flag Means Death.

This is a hilarious pirate series based on a true story and set in 1717 with actors Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi playing a notorious pirate and wanna-be pirate.

A very ridiculous and funny series. You can watch the series on streaming platform Neon. See the trailer here.

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh bread?

With this wet and cold winter dragging on, soup and casseroles have been in high demand and what better accompaniment than fresh focaccia.

This recipe is very simple, reasonably quick and always well received. The great thing about focaccia bread is the element of creativity you can have with the seasoning. Download a copy of the recipe here.