Greg Steward was presented with a carved hoe (paddle) as a parting gift.
Greg Steward has been celebrated for his resilience, endurance and passion for advancing New Zealand’s knowledge of indigenous forestry over nearly five decades. The Scion scientist, who is the first to admit he failed science and left school at 16, was farewelled by current and former colleagues at a special function to mark his retirement after 49 years in forestry. Source: Timberbiz
Mr Steward joined the New Zealand Forest Service as a trainee woodsman.
His colleagues paid tribute to his unrivalled expertise that saw him carve out an extraordinary research career that focused on managing kauri, tōtara and indigenous hardwoods in plantations.
The turnout reflected the standing in which Mr Steward is held as Scion’s and possibly New Zealand’s longest serving indigenous forestry researcher. His legacy will be built on through the work of other scientists who are now ‘picking up the baton’ and championing the value of indigenous trees for their economic potential and special timber qualities.
But despite entering retirement, his expertise won’t be lost after he has agreed to serve as an Emeritus scientist – a mentoring role that enables him to keep sharing his considerable knowledge.
“Through Greg’s research, we’ve been able to appreciate indigenous trees for reasons other than conservation; to make that difference is amazing,” said principal scientist Dr Brian Richardson. “It’s remarkable to see how that has benefited our organisation, New Zealand forestry and society.”
Scientist Dean Meason added that Steward’s passion for indigenous trees and for their timber was strongly evident.
“When you spent time with Greg, it was very clear that everyone looked to him for his knowledge. He was hugely admired by iwi and the community wherever he was. The findings of his research trials and papers will benefit us for years to come.”
During his career, Mr Steward authored and co-authored papers on indigenous tree species looking at their qualities, and timber production modelling, with specific emphasis on managing kauri, tōtara and indigenous hardwoods for production.
In 2020, his contributions were acknowledged with a Science New Zealand Individual Lifetime Achievement Award.
His thesis on the growth and yield of New Zealand kauri awarded him with a Master of Forestry Science (Hons) in 2011 and dispelled many myths around the growth potential of plantation kauri. His research showed that kauri stands aged 20 to 60 years were 20 times more productive than natural stands – work that blew the estimated kauri crop rotations of hundreds of years out of the water.
Projects he has both led, and been involved in, have strongly influenced the position that indigenous forestry is now moving towards, as demonstrated in the successful Tōtara Industry Pilot program in Northland.
Relating to that project, and as a parting gift from Scion, Steward was presented with a carved hoe (paddle) carved from tōtara by Grant Hamarama Smith Marunui (Ngāti Hurungaterangi, Ngāti Te Kahu, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Rangitāne) and Kawana Waititi (Te Whānau-a-Apanui).
Reflecting on his career, Mr Steward acknowledges the researchers who came before him who were generous in their support, allowing him to grow and take on new responsibilities.
“Almost everybody you come across adds to your store of knowledge, and it’s sometimes the people you least expect it from.
“The person I most want to acknowledge is Tony Beveridge who was a very kind and intelligent person – one of those old-fashioned gentlemen. He took me under his wing in my early days.
“He was very respected and knowledgeable about indigenous trees, having worked in Pureroa in the 1950s. But he was always interested in our observations as younger people in the forests as he knew that how we saw things would add to his observations.”
Mr Steward grew up in South Auckland and was first exposed to forestry when, at 16, he joined the Woodsman Training School in January 1975. One of 50 trainees in his intake, he learned about silviculture with the idea that after three years, he’d be qualified to supervise forestry silviculture gangs.
His first two years were spent living in a hostel at Kaingaroa and felling trees and cutting logs. He says the worst jobs were planting young trees in the middle of winter or working in the nursery with bare hands during frosty mornings when temperatures plummeted to as low as -4degC.
By contrast, his favourite job occurred during his group’s first summer together.
“About 30 of us were driven out by bus to the middle of Kaingaroa where there was about 200ha of dry cutover pine forest. We were given litres of diesel; boxes of matches and they told us to set fire to it all.
“We looked at each other and thought, ‘And we get paid!’ It was a teenage boy’s dream.”
He was one of four trainees who, in their third year, continued their training at what is now Scion. Exposed to different research areas, it was the Indigenous Silviculture research group that impressed Steward the most.
After completing his training, he joined the group and worked alongside indigenous forestry scientists in the field.
“We were doing everything from indigenous production forestry research through to identifying reserves and mapping forest types. A lot of logging and planting trials; it was very physical work and I’d never been so fit.”
Having spent so much time in New Zealand’s indigenous forests, studying rimu, mataī, kahikatea and kauri, Mr Steward has mentally mapped the landscape they grow in.
Even now, he can be shown a tree on a computer that has been assessed using LIDAR technology and, due to its shape or the way its trunk swells, he’ll know it’s exact location, he says.
“When I started we were talking in rotations from planting to harvest of about 250 years. We were trying to replicate the old forests because that’s what we thought we had to do.
“Then we started to do more intensive research. Now I would say relatively confidently that you can get down to 80 years, and with silviculture and breeding we can probably get down to 50 or 60 years to produce a harvestable tree and a useable product.
“We must unlock the economic potential of these indigenous species. In that way, people become more likely to invest.”
