Courtney Hamblin
People across the forest industry are facing some of the toughest challenges in the past decade with weather, markets and regulations all challenging the best of our foresters. Source: Timberbiz
One way for people to make positive change in the face of adversity is to network with others and gain inspiration from sharing success stories that can lead to motivating others in similar roles and circumstances.
On 25-26 June the 3rd Annual Environmental Forestry Conference will do just that bringing practical foresters together with local regulators and national policy makers to debate and bring constructive change for production forestry and environment with a focus on practical actions and measurable out-comes.
A speaker from Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) will be attending, Courtney Hamblin is an experienced pest management specialist. In her role as Adaptive Management Director, she works with teams on the ground.
Ms Hamblin’s presentation on the Predator Free New Zealand by 2050 (PFNZ) mission which seeks to eliminate predators from the main-land of Aotearoa – a challenge beyond any scale attempted anywhere in the world.
She will highlight developments that are enabling predator elimination at scale, as well as the potential of this work to uplift the carbon sequestration of our native rainforests.
Another key role in supporting sustainability is fostering native species in production forests while carrying our harvesting and other commercial operations.
Meanwhile a lesser-known falcon population has also been studied to monitor health and development in South Island forests. Hence Graham Parker a specialist from Parker Conservation South will speak on how the New Zealand falcon/kārearea interacts with plantation forestry operations throughout New Zealand. Sometimes, the results of these interactions are negative for this threatened bird species.
FSC forestry companies are required to mitigate their impact on New Zealand falcons. However, there is a shortage of data to guide improved mitigation practices for falcon – forestry interactions. Mr Parker and his team have worked with seven forestry companies in Otago to better quantify the falcon population, the nature of interactions, and provide updated management recommendations for use in FSC, and beyond.
To see the speaker lineup and to register visit: www.innovatek.co.nz/event/environmental-forestry-2024/#Programme
