FuturEcology & EmGuard ™ January 2023 update.
It’s mid-January and the new year is already racing by.
We hope you all had time to relax, eat good food, enjoy good company and had some time to reflect and gather strength for the coming year.
Without a doubt 2022 was a challenging year. In fact, I found a bottle of gin that summed up the year but the label is not family friendly enough to print here 😊. We certainly enjoyed a glass or two of it over the break.
We have another busy year in front of us with some interesting and exciting projects, including removing birch trees from wetlands in the St Arnaud area plus some very large restoration projects. All exciting stuff.
If you know of anyone looking for opportunities in this field, please have them get in touch. We have a couple of vacancies as mentioned below.
Wishing you all the best for the coming year.
By Jan Fryer
Here’s to continuous improvement in 2023.
By Emma Fryer
The business world is a dynamic place with the only constant being change. Here at FuturEcology, we so enjoy innovating with a focus on continuous improvement. Whether it be small changes to make processes more efficient or exploring new ventures.
2022 was an immensely challenging year for businesses all over New Zealand and we are hoping that the worst of the COVID related challenges are behind us. However, we are grateful for the lessons we learnt, the people we met and our wonderful customers for their patience and sticking by us.
With an eye for continuous improvement, we have taken measures to ensure we don’t run into the same supply challenges of 2022. The factory is busy stock building EmGuards for us and we have a container of bamboo stakes on the way. Although we will hopefully have plenty of stock on hand throughout the season, we would love to hear from you with your 2023 indicative numbers so we can ensure best price and delivery options.
Like every New Year, we are feeling optimistic and inspired about the opportunities instore for 2023. We have some very exciting projects in the pipeline which we can’t wait to share. Watch this space!!
Opportunities with FuturEcology
With FuturEcology on a steady growth trajectory, we have openings for positions in both Nelson and Marlborough.
To find out about current job vacancies, contact us.
Does size matter?
Why we use 900mm bamboo canes with our EmGuards.
by Jan Fryer
If you are like me, you have been out enjoying time in the garden over the summer period, but bending over weeding plants or lifting, digging and weedeating can wreak havoc with your back. The very nature of our work at FuturEcology makes all of us vulnerable to back pain at some point, so we are very conscious of doing what we can to avoid it. Lifting bags of heavy EmGuards to get them to the freighters is also a time when we are very much reminded to be careful.
According to various studies, over 1 million workers suffer back pain every year and it can account for 1 out of every 5 workplace injuries.
Your back is very much like a lever. Your waist acts as the fulcrum on a 10:1 ratio so depending on where you place that pressure, what weight you are lifting as well as your own weight to height ratio, you can be putting an incredible strain on your poor back.
Repetitive work, twisting, heavy or awkward loads, reaching over your head, lots of standing or working in awkward and uncomfortable positions can damage your back.
At FuturEcology we often find ourselves in some difficult working environments and are constantly aware of potential harm and working to mitigate this.
We had discussions recently about bamboo canes that we use on the EmGuards as we were ordering stocks for this year.
Some people have said “why don’t we use 600mm canes as they are cheaper and don’t stick up out of the guard”. We did some experimenting with shorter canes. However, based on our experience as contractors and putting out over 60,000 guards with stakes this past year, the 900mm canes are much more back friendly. You are not bent over nearly so far and a day of bending over canes will certainly remind you of the best position to be in.
The other advantage of taller canes is that when you head out to the site for the first maintenance round in summer and have had a wet spring like we have, it is often very difficult to see the plants in the long grass. A tall cane can be a big help in locating plants, especially if you have painted the end of the cane.
Bamboo canes are a key part of our planting methodology as we use them to mark out the plant spacing on a site before we even begin the planting. It makes for a much more efficient and effective planting and helps to ensure you get a randomness in the spacings as you would find in nature.
We have a great stock of canes on hand for the coming planting season and have kept the price the same as last year so you can make them a key part of your planting plans this year. Last year, canes were a bit like hen’s teeth earlier in the season.
Emma using 600mm canes.
Emma using the 900mm canes.
Weed of the Month
Himalayan Honeysuckle Leycesteria Formosa
by Jan Fryer
You may have noticed an attractive looking plant with drooping spikes of white funnel shaped flowers on the end of a deep purple/red bract and heart shaped leaves( 4-14 x 2-8cm) at this time of year.
This is an old favourite of ours, having spent many hours on steep slopes, weedeating it off and pasting stumps. I have also pulled endless seedlings out of the garden, particularly under trees that birds sit in.
Why is it a weed?
It forms juicy, dark brownish-purple berries that are very attractive to birds and are also dispersed by water. It colonises light wells, verges, slips and bare areas and quickly forms dense thickets, rapidly overtaking native species. It is semi-deciduous, with many stems growing to over 2m high.
The stems are round, hairless and hollow; green when young but becoming woody as they mature. Seedlings look grey-green when they appear, with the leaves opposite each other on the stems.
It tolerates moderate to deep shade, frost, mechanical damage, damp conditions and most soils.
There are a range of options to treat it.
Keep an eye open for seedlings popping up and pull these out as soon as you see them.
Dig out all year round and allow to rot in situ.
Cut down and paint the stump with Cut”N”Paste (Glyphosate).
Spray(spring/summer) with 1% glyphosate with pulse additive.
Stumps will resprout, so frequent follow-up is required to ensure eradication.
Information from Weedbusters.
Farewelling Ben
By Emma Fryer
The New Year always feels exciting. New possibilities, new opportunities and a chance to review and rethink with a focus on development, both in our work and our personal lives.
For Ben, the opportunity has arisen to further his leadership journey and he has accepted a role with Kūmānu Environmental as a Team Leader.
Ben has brought a lot to the team at FuturEcology over the last three years. We so appreciated his commitment to restoration, his energy and his quiet sense of humour.
While we are sad to see him go, we wish Ben the very best with his next endeavours. It has a been a pleasure working with him.
Winepress - December 2022
FuturEcology has been working with Patriarch Vineyards for the last 4 years to develop a large wetland on their vineyard in the Wairau Valley.
They have entered the Cawthron Environment Awards with the project and below is a link to a great article in the WinePress Magazine about the project. You can see the article on page 22.
Their comment to us is that “You should be very proud of what you guys have achieved there!” Beau Neill – Business Manager.
So nice to receive such positive feedback and a big thank you to Bridget for her hard work supervising and making their vision a reality on that project.
See the WInepress online magazine here.
Interesting Snippets
Books we have read.
I hope you all got some lovely books or magazines to read over the Christmas/New Year period.
I am reading the third story by Raynor Win – Landlines about their 1000 mile journey through the Scottish Highlands to the South West Salt Path.
Her husband Moth’s illness is progressing so they set out on one more journey. A very challenging one through the wilderness areas of Scotland back to Cornwall.
Her usual style of wonderful observation and a powerful account of the land and the people that make it.
A lovely quote from the book - “The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot “. – Werner Herzog
By Jan Fryer
Rākau o te tau / Tree of the year NZ Aotearoa
Did you know New Zealand has an interactive celebration of the special trees that are a part of our lives and communities. Rākau o te tau was inspired by the ‘European tree of the year’ and exists to share the stories and heritage that connects us to our trees.
2022 saw the Pōhutukawa Tangi Te Korowhiti in Kawhia, Waikato as the winner. Check out the 2022 nominations here Rākau o te tau / Tree of the year NZ Aotearoa
By Emma Fryer
Lemonade
This is one of Jan’s favourite recipes from an old Household Lore book dating back to the gold rush days. Such a refreshing summer drink with a splash of soda water, ice, lemon slices and mint.
3 lemons
4 cups boiling water
3 cups sugar
½ oz tartaric acid
½ oz citric acid
1 oz epsom salts
My variation
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
Grate or peel the lemon skins into a bowl and squeeze in the juice.
Add sugar, salts and other things, then pour 4 cups boiling water and leave until cold.
Strain and then bottle.
Dilute to taste.
Note: The epsom salts are optional, but if you do use them, make sure it is medicinal grade epsom salts.
Emma has just found her EmGuard folder from last year and she discovered she had used it for a whole year with 2020 written on it.
It feels a bit like time during the Covid years has just disappeared. The news media would have us believe we are in for a rough year, but from our perspective attitude is everything.
So here’s to a positive year with much “saving of the planet” in front of us.
