Friday Offcuts – 10 March 2023
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! The clean-up post cyclone Gabrielle continues – and will do for many months ahead. For those who were fortunate enough not to experience the destruction first-hand, members of Scion's Digital and Geospatial Intelligence Team have used high resolution aerial imagery to enable you to zoom in on some of the hardest hit areas. A before and after slider on the link supplied in this week’s lead story provides an unprecedented insight and a much better appreciation on the devastation and clean that's being faced by impacted communities right now.As well as forest companies, harvesting crews and transport operators still not being able to work, the fall out for forestry operations continues. A short documentary on slash titled “Why it floods wood on NZ's East Coast” got more than its fair share of airtime this week. With the two- month Ministerial inquiry on land use practices already underway, the use of slash traps (engineered, high- tensile steel wire nets placed in waterways) to mitigate damage from woody debris, including forestry slash, has also come under the spotlight. Whether these traps could have reduced the impact of downstream damage following the heavy rains is being debated. Local councils suggest that they’re really “just a safety net at the bottom of a cliff” and potentially, could do more downstream damage if unable to hold the debris. Forest companies see them though as useful tools, along with other land management practices, that can be used. Improving the regulatory environment for Councils to consent the use of slash traps has also been mooted this week by National's forestry spokesperson. Adding to the devastation from rain, silt and debris, the winds that came with the cyclone also caused huge damage to some established forests. We’ve built in some drone footage this week that shows the true extent of the damage that was dished out by the winds. An estimated 6,000ha of Radiata pine (this area equates to around 2.5 million tonnes of logs) was affected around Turangi and Taupo. As pointed out by Forest360 this week in their latest log market update, the clock is ticking now for salvaging these wind thrown stands. International Women’s Day was celebrated on Wednesday. The theme for 2023 was DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality. We’ve covered recently in a number of stories how women in forestry increasingly are embracing the opportunities available within industry. A story we ran last month showed that in a Gender and Diversity survey of 21 forestry companies, there had been a 20 per cent increase in female employees compared to two years ago. This year at New Zealand’s School of Forestry, 42 women are enrolled. It’s a record. There’s also a raft of initiatives underway to get more women to look at forestry as their future career choice. Details on the first ever Woman’s Development Conference running in New Zealand later this month can be found on wahineinforestry.co.nz. FSC Australia & NZ is also showcasing some of the exceptional women working in our industry through their #WomenInResponsibleForestry campaign. Finally, Kenworth, which began making logging trucks back in 1923, are celebrating this year their 100th anniversary. Kenworth was first among the truck original equipment manufacturers to offer a diesel engine as standard equipment in 1933. From diesel to battery-powered electric trucks (their sales of medium-and heavy-duty battery-electric trucks tripled in just 90 days) and hydrogen-powered fuel cells – the company’s still innovating, still there and still wowing customers. That's it for this week.
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New aerial imagery - before and after Cyclone GabrielleCyclone Gabrielle left a trail of destruction in its wake as it swept through the Hawkes Bay area, and now with the power and accessibility of satellite imagery we have the ability to see it with our own eyes.Members of the Scion Digital and Geospatial Intelligence Team led by Grant Pearse have used high resolution aerial imagery to zoom in on some of the hardest hit areas. To illustrate the scale of the disaster they have embedded a before and after slider providing an unprecedented insight into the devastation for those who didn’t experience it first-hand. This imagery, made available by LINZ, is captured 10 cm pixel resolution making detail much more visible than satellite imagery. Click to view. Looking at the aerial imagery, it is clear to see that some of the worst affected areas are those closest to the coast or on hill country. Red spots on the map highlight some examples. Zoom out to find these and zoom in to compare before and after. The use of high-resolution imagery and satellite technology to assess natural disasters is a relatively new development, but it is one that is proving to be incredibly valuable. By providing us with a spatial understanding of the damage caused by storms like Cyclone Gabrielle, we are better equipped to respond to these disasters and provide support to those affected. It could be used to direct emergency efforts more effectively, identify industry loss and recovery efforts and support insurance claims as a start point. This work was possible due to the efforts from the team who are currently working on the Smart Forest Project which aims to create a digital twin of the productive forest estate in New Zealand at national scale. To learn more about this initiative, how to get involved and explore the prototype click here. This work has the potential to be foundational for Cyclone Gabrielle analysis and future planning and knowledge as the AI model could be redeployed to answer some of the critical questions around forest loss, slash volume, erosion and more. Acknowledgements: Model development: Grant Pearse and Sam Davidson Dataset creation/curation and GIS team: Melanie Palmer, Ben Steer, Samuel Wong, Elizaveta Graevskaya, Nicolò Camarretta, Atman Dhruva, and Angus Loader. With thanks to Land Information New Zealand for imagery and technical advice. Scion Project Owner and Sponsor: Claire Stewart - New Value Digital Forests Drone footage shows forestry windthrow from cycloneGreat swathes of forestry in the central North Island of New Zealand have been obliterated by Cyclone Gabrielle, with drone footage showing the scale of destruction.The Lake Taupō Forest Trust is counting the cost, with around 6,000ha of radiata at Rangipo wrecked in the powerful winds. It looks after around 80,000ha across the region, with up to 60% of the wood used domestically by the building industry. "It’s incredibly hard to comprehend – these trees are wiped out," said 1News' Sam Kelway, who visited the area to see the scale of the damage. The trust can't put a figure on the overall destruction and cost at this stage as it's still assessing the damage. Most of the damage occurred in the southern half of the forest and mainly in older stands. "This will have significant implications on the Trust’s business for some years to come," it said in a statement. Matua Shane owns the only freehold section in the Tongariro National Park and lives very close to the forest. He couldn't actually hear the trees falling because the wind was so loud. "I’ve lived at the forest for 20 years I’ve never seen it like this," he said. "I don’t know why but my first thoughts were of Hiroshima and what those people woke up and their city was gone and we woke up and our forest - this has been here for 33 years it’s been growing and in three hours it’s destroyed." Source: 1news.co.nz March 2023 NZ log market update
Opinion Piece, Marcus Musson, Director, Forest360You don’t have to look too far to find a negative report on our industry when it comes to the effects of the recent biblical rain events on the mobilization of woody debris. The media will never let the truth get in the way of a good story and politicians will jump on any chance to get voters on side – even if they have very little idea about the subject they are pontificating about. While the damage to the communities on the coast is devastating and we all empathise with everyone involved, pointing the finger squarely at forestry as the sole source of ‘slash’ is like referring to all utes in NZ as a ‘Hilux’s’ – part of the fleet, but there’s plenty of other brands in the mix. But that’s a story for another time. The recent cyclones have obviously given the country a real hiding, and, as our teams operate in the rural environment, there are plenty of harvesting crews around the traps that are unable to operate due to road damage. This has seen a significant drop in the deliveries to the ports of Napier, Gisborne and Marsden with many exporters in those regions being caught with cargo-less vessels, which is less than ideal when you charter these on a daily hire basis. To complicate matters, Gabrielle also laid flat around 6,000ha of forests in the Turangi/Taupo regions. Aerial photos show the destruction which looks like God’s big mitt has been swept across the land and the trees broken off as if they were spaghetti sticks. This area equates to around 2.5 million tonnes of logs and the time clock is ticking for the salvage of this volume as it gets pretty iffy past the 4 month mark once the trees have been blown over. In this case, where the trees have been primarily snapped off rather than blown over with the roots on, the timeframe can be even shorter; as, once the bugs get under the bark, they are not suitable for any market other than pulp and firewood. The net effect of this windthrow is that there will be crews mobilised from around the regions to deal with this wind damage which will see a blip in the supply volumes from NZ. Whether this will be enough to offset the supply reduction from the other cyclone effected areas is yet to be seen as it’s likely there’ll be a lag of at least 4 weeks in this volume hitting the ports on mass. The harvesting contractor workforce has been struggling with increased costs and erosion of working capital over the past few years with covid lockdowns, severe market fluctuations and endless winters. The inability for some to return to work post-cyclone will, unfortunately, be the end for a reasonable number. This will undoubtedly reduce our harvest level going forward, especially in the Hawkes Bay and East Coast regions. To top it off: there were at least 40 log trucks drowned in the Hawkes Bay during the flood and around 25 of those have been written off (to date). This takes around 3,600 tonnes per day of cartage out of the system in the region, which is difficult to replace. More >> Source: Forest360 
SnapSTAT - Australian softwood sawn imports In 2022, Australia’s sawn softwood imports lifted to 989,129m3, an increase of 48.4% over 2021. This was slightly down from the year-end peak, which was reached in November and was associated with an easing of prices which for all products averaged AUDFob732/m3 a sharp decline of 15.5%. As the chart shows, annual imports have begun to soften, with further decline expected over coming months, based on recent monthly import volumes.
Source: Industry Edge via FWPA The slash traps debate - solution or even more damage?
In New Zealand, could slash traps help curb the flow of woody debris that has battered and cloaked the east coast of the North Island during recent storm events? Forest managers say yes but Gisborne District Council (GDC) says the traps could make the devastating effects of the debris even worse. Some forest managers say research and trials they have conducted show debris or slash traps are a viable solution. Eastland Wood Council also recommends them as one of six sound practices in its Good Practice Guideline for Catchment Management. But GDC says the force of slash mobilising off the East Coast’s steep slopes is so significant it would take massively engineered structures to contain it. The force would be accelerated and potentially do more damage downstream if it suddenly burst out of a slash trap that could not hold it. Aratu Forests Limited is one of five companies successfully prosecuted by GDC for contributing to slash waste that devastated parts of the region during storm events in 2018. The company says it has since spent four years and NZ$100,000 investigating the viability of slash traps for its forests that were involved. It believes several strategically placed slash traps made from modern, engineered, high-tensile steel wire nets could reduce the impact of woody debris movement during future severe weather events. But it was unable to convince GDC the proposed traps would not impact fish passage or be at risk of failure, so it withdrew its application to focus its resources on other slash management options. GDC said it had previously granted consent for some small slash traps but was concerned the traps proposed by Aratu could risk overtopping, formation of a debris dam, or trap failure during a storm event. Due to those concerns, GDC wanted to publicly notify the application. Debris traps are widely used in the US and Europe. They can be large concrete and rock structures involving complex engineering or rudimentary designs simply constructed from iron fence posts and thick wire rope. They either trap debris that comes down a waterway or direct it onto a “safe zone”, where it can be stored or transported away. They have been used in New Zealand forests for some time, albeit the technology is constantly evolving. In 2020, the district council commissioned a report into international best practice for debris traps. GDC chief of strategy and science Joanna Noble said while slash traps sounded good on paper, the council’s view was that they were really just a safety net at the bottom of a cliff. GDC considered prevention — including measures such as significantly reduced harvesting areas, removal of all debris from forests during harvesting, cessation of cut-to-waste practices — was better than the suggested cure. Ms Noble said that until recently, clear-felling had occurred over large areas (hundreds or thousands of hectares) simultaneously in the Gisborne region. This practice was high risk and these risks were exacerbated by the region’s steep topography, highly erodible soils and vulnerability to regular severe storms. While debris traps were used in Europe, large-scale clear-felling practices were normally avoided there, Ms Noble said. The traps Aratu wanted to instal are similar to one being trialled by Rayonier Matariki Forests in an 850ha catchment area in part of its Willowflat forest, about an hour and a half south of Wairoa. A ‘valuable tool’ if used strategically Rayonier Matariki national environmental manager Andy Fleming said the company installed debris traps over water courses in several of its forests nationally but the Willowflat trial debris barrier was more highly engineered than others. The slopes in Willowflat were similarly steep to those on the East Coast, albeit not as long and a different geology. The Willowflat trap cost the company about NZ$150,000 and was designed to hold 3000 cubic metres of debris in a catchment area considered one of the forest’s most vulnerable. Made from interwoven steel mesh, the trap was modelled on the rockfall barriers used to safeguard roadside cliffs in Kaikoura after landslides associated with the 2016 earthquake, Mr Fleming said. The mesh is supported top and bottom by wire rope and held secure at each side with fixings mechanically drilled eight metres into the stream banks. Mr Fleming believed slash traps were a valuable tool for managing forestry waste. If deployed strategically they would have helped curb the amount of slash in debris that had inundated properties and beaches on the East Coast in recent years. But he noted slash traps were not designed to mitigate poor forestry practice. They were installed to help mitigate the effect of land failures and were deployed along with other land management tools. The traps needed to be regularly cleared. As a condition of the consent for the Willowflat one, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council requires the company to inspect it after rain events involving more than 50 millimetres in 24 hours. After Cyclone Gabrielle, Rayonier Matariki had not been able to access Willowflat forest by road. Mr Fleming said he had flown over it but had not been able to assess from that height how the slash trap had performed. More >> Source: gisborneherald Why it floods wood on NZ's East CoastOther articles and coverage this week includes; Scapegoating the forestry sector isn't going to solve the problem. Why we should use all that unwanted wood. Forestry company helping locals with clean-up operations Cyclone Gabrielle lessons could be far reachingA review of Nelson City Council’s commercial pine plantations will consider the outcome of a ministerial inquiry into forestry slash in the North Island. The NZ Government has ordered the inquiry into land use and the impact of forestry slash and sediment in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa – exactly two weeks after Nelson City Council approved a taskforce to consider the future of the council’s forestry blocks.Mayor Nick Smith said the “Right Tree Right Place Taskforce”, chaired by former parliamentary commissioner for the environment, Dr Morgan Williams, would focus on what the council wanted to plant in its 600ha of forests, rather than the council’s role as regulator of the 80,000ha of commercial forestry in the Nelson region. ”[But] there still will be learnings for us from the ministerial inquiry, in improving the rules around forestry and managing forestry slash.” The Government ordered the two-month ministerial inquiry after slash filled beaches and riverbanks in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Forestry Minister Stuart Nash said current forestry practices had clearly caused more damage. “There is a lot of wood ending up on our beaches, taking out our bridges, and it's not acceptable,” he said. The inquiry panel was due to make recommendations to improve land use in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa in Hawke’s Bay, including changes needed to practices and regulation at central and local government levels. That could include consideration of forestry practices, Resource Management Act plans and “National Direction”, for example, the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry and the Tairāwhiti and Wairoa District Resource Management Plans. The inquiry was a response to a petition signed by more than 10,000 people in Tairāwhiti for land use to be better managed. Tasman District Council received a 3500 signature petition in 2018 for stronger controls on the forestry industry after ex-cyclone Gita hit the region. Last year, slash and recently-harvested forestry land were blamed for damage to some properties in Nelson, during an “atmospheric river” of rain. National’s candidate in Tukituki, Hawke’s Bay, Catherine Wedd questioned why other parts of Hawke’s Bay were not included in the ministerial inquiry, when slash and wooden debris “played a significant role” in the damage in the region during Cyclone Gabrielle. Asked if the Nelson region should have its own ministerial inquiry, Nick Smith said the Nelson region did not have the extremely erosion-prone land that Tairāwhiti did, even in the granite country surrounding the Abel Tasman National Park. Smith said he was “quite surprised by how short the timetable” was for the inquiry, but the timing would allow the Nelson taskforce to take into account “any of the learnings from Cyclone Gabrielle and the ministerial inquiry”. The taskforce was due to report back later this year, in time for any changes to be consulted on through the council’s long term plan. More >> Source: Stuff Kenworth celebrates century of truck making
From logging truck beginnings to battery-electric trucks and fuel cell pilotsKenworth, which began as a maker of logging trucks in 1923, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Kenworth Truck Co. will spend the next 12 months celebrating its 100th anniversary — from its beginnings as a logging truck company that made diesel engines standard to a line-up that includes battery-powered electric trucks and could offer hydrogen-powered fuel cells. The Paccar Inc. brand — Kenworth became part of Paccar in 1946 — has produced more than 1.3 million trucks in the U.S. and Canada with the KW badge on the grill. Harry W. Kent and Edgar K. Worthington incorporated the Gersix Motor Co. as Kenworth in 1923. The K in Kent and the W in Worthington formed the Kenworth bug that has evolved over the decades. The small Seattle-based manufacturer produced 78 six-cylinder, gasoline-powered trucks in its first year. Since then, Kenworth has produced Class 5 to Class 8 models and super heavy-duty trucks, including the C500 6×6 with its gross combination weight rating of 1 million pounds. The list is short of truck manufacturers to reach the century mark: • Gottlieb Daimler built the first truck in 1896, converting a horse-drawn cart. • Autocar, known for its severe-duty and refuse trucks, came along a year later in Pittsburgh. It did not focus on trucks until exiting the car business in 1911. • Mack Trucks was founded in 1900 by Jack and Gus Mack in Brooklyn, New York. • Navistar, originally International Harvester, was born in 1902 in Chicago. • Engine maker Cummins Inc. was founded in 1919 in Columbus, Indiana. Kenworth was first among truck OEMs to offer a diesel engine as standard equipment in 1933. They grew in commercial popularity after World War II when the government snapped up every diesel it could find for the war effort. More >> Photo: Kenworth Source: freightwaves .jpg){kind=spacer}
New Leadership Team at Forestry Australia
The Board of Forestry Australia has announced that Dr Michelle Freeman has been elected President and Jim Wilson has been elected Vice President of the professional association for forest scientists, professionals, managers and growers. Retiring President, Bob Gordon applauded the move stating he was delighted to see Michelle and Jim join with the organisation’s CEO Jacquie Martin, to form a diverse leadership team, as part of the Board transition and renewal process. “It is heartening to see Michelle accept the nomination to take the leadership of the team, particularly on the eve of International Woman’s Day,” Mr Gordon said. “Michelle has been on the Board for a number of years and has already made a very significant contribution to Forestry Australia and I look forward to her leadership,” Mr Gordon said. Michelle is a forester with a passion for native forest management and has a double degree in Forestry and Science (Ecology), and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. Her PhD was in partnership with CSIRO Darwin looking at savanna fire and tree dynamics of northern Australia, as part of the Tiwi Carbon Study. Michelle is a Registered Forestry Professional and has worked in timber harvesting operations, planning and regulation and is currently Principal Consultant and Director of Hollow-wood Enterprises. Michelle was on the Board of the IFA from 2012 – 2014, and chaired the Future Foresters Initiative from 2015 – 2017. From 2014 – 2017 she was an Independent Council Member on the Federal Governments’ Forest Industry Advisory Council, a past Board member of FSC Australia/NZ, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Michelle is joined by Vice President, Jim Wilson who has a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) Australian National University 2003 and is the Plantation Operations and Services Manager at Forico, Tasmania. He is a Registered Forestry Professional and graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Australian Rural Leadership Program. Jim’s career has been focused in the private sector and he has invested his recent years working with Forico, as well as providing significant service at sector level in advocacy and leadership. Jim is also an active farm forester with both plantation and native forest in Tasmania. Bob Gordon will remain on the Board during this transition period. Source: Forestry Australia New MD for Rayonier Matariki Forests
Effective 1 May 2023, Alistair Brown (Photo) is being appointed Managing Director of Rayonier Matariki Forests. Alistair will lead New Zealand forestry operations overseeing forest resources, harvesting, domestic and export log marketing, contractor management, health and safety programmes, environmental compliance, and community and government relations. Alistair joined Rayonier in 2002 and has held various leadership roles within finance, most recently serving as Finance Director.Alistair will replace current Managing Director, Brendan Slui. Brendan will be transitioning to a new role managing Rayonier's global forestry operations in the USA and New Zealand, accountable for land management, timber marketing and log export operations. Brendan joined Rayonier in 1999 and has worked both in the USA and New Zealand during his tenure. Brendan will continue to focus primarily on New Zealand operations until he relocates to the USA later this year, at which time he will assume responsibilities as Senior Vice President, Forest Resources for Rayonier Operating Company LLC, based in Florida, USA. SCA test-drives centipede forest machineSCA has been test-driving the Centipede concept machine, which Komatsu and eight Swedish forestry companies are jointly developing. The machine is seen as the sustainable forest machine of the future and combines lower soil compaction, increased productivity and better work environment.The work to develop the Centipede machine is one of forestry's most important development projects where the issue of sustainability is central. The machine is intended to be able to meet the climate of the future and the challenges arising from increasingly shorter periods of frozen grounds. “The machine is gentler on the environment and the driver, while at the same time we get a more efficient flow of timber and can access wet areas even during the bare ground season, without causing ground damage”, says Magnus Bergman, head of technology and digitalization at SCA Skog and chairman of the project's steering group. During autumn 2022, Skogforsk carried out a number of different test runs on different types of land. And in December, the machine went on tour with the participating companies to further be tested in different environments. SCA was the first to test drive it. “We have tested the Centipede in more practical field trials to see how it performs when driven in more operational conditions. During our test period, there was both severe cold and thawing weather, a winter weather that was both icy and with "clumpy" snow, i.e. crammed snow. We also compared the Centipede with a regular forwarder to see if the Centipede produces less ground impact as intended. And our tests looked very promising”, says Magnus. During the time that the machine was driven on SCA land in the Sollefteå district, the two drivers were able to forward approx. 2,230 m3 of wood. Behind the Centipede project is SCA, Södra, Sveaskog, Holmen, Norra Skog, Mellanskog, Stora Enso and BillerudKorsnäs, as well as the forest machinery manufacturer Komatsu Forest. The project was established 2019. Source: SCA  Deere & Co donates US$50,000 to NZ Red Cross
In an effort to help provide relief and recovery to Waratah Forestry Equipment’s home country following the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, Deere & Company recently announced a US$50,000 donation to the New Zealand Red Cross. Headquartered in Rotorua, New Zealand, Waratah has served the global forestry industry for 50 years. When crisis hits, Deere & Company is committed to investing in those working on the ground to help people find shelter, food and water. Deere & Company has a long-standing commitment to Red Cross organizations around the world, with a 105-year history of financial support helping communities affected by disaster. “We’re deeply saddened by the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and the impact it has had on the New Zealand community,” said Luke Chandler, managing director of John Deere Limited – Australia & New Zealand. “We share our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost loved ones, their homes and property during this difficult time. We’re proud to stand strong with our customers and their communities, and are grateful for, and pleased to support, the Red Cross as it assists with the North Island community’s recovery in the wake of this natural disaster.” Waratah is grateful for the generosity of Deere & Company and its support for the country. “Waratah proudly stands alongside all of the communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle throughout New Zealand,” said Paul Gamble, general manager, Waratah New Zealand. “The images and tales of devastation from regions so close to home have been heart breaking. We hope that this contribution can go a small way to help those impacted and look forward to continued support throughout the recovery.” Source: Waratah IRG timber durability research event for Australia
Australia will be hosting the International Research Group on Wood Protection (IRG) in Cairns, Queensland in May-June 2023. The IRG is the peak world body related to timber durability research and each conference brings together over 250 researchers from 30-40 countries to discuss new developments in the field. This will be the third time that IRG’s annual meeting is held in Australia, with the first two in Surfer’s Paradise (1983) and Brisbane (2003). The meeting will take place over 5 days and involve posters, oral presentations of written papers and keynotes from leading global researchers including Professor Phil Evans from the University of British Columbia. This will be an excellent chance to learn about the latest innovations in wood protection, and the organizing committee is looking forward to welcoming the world to our door. A pre-meeting field trip (or Terminatour) will visit test sites at the South Johnstone Research Station and the Mareeba area to see termite mounds of both Coptotermes and Mastotermes. Mastotermes darwiniensis or the Giant Northern Termite, is the single remaining species in the genus and it is only found in northern Australia. It is, by far, the most aggressive termite on the continent and appears to be moving southward. The meeting will welcome some 200 overseas participants to enjoy Cairns and its tropical environment. This year’s meeting is a wonderful and unique opportunity for the Australian and New Zealand timber and wood treatment industries to attend and learn about research and innovations in the wood durability and performance field. The topics covered in presentations will also provide the necessary information for educating specifiers, designers, and users of timber about effective protection and durable performance of all wood products, including the increasing use of EWPs. The IRG provides an excellent forum for identifying new treatment/protection technologies for the region. There will be many opportunities for informal discussions with like-minded people as well as scientists and technologists in the field. Information about the meeting and registration is available at irg-wp.com 
Master of Forestry Science Scholarship offeredThe Te Kura Ngahere | NZ School of Forestry is offering a 1-year Masters scholarship to complete a research project to forecast the workforce requirements for the forestry sector. Forest sector leaders have identified the need for a model that can forecast workforce requirements based on assumptions about the level of investment in new and existing forests, and wood processing plants. The model should also be able to forecast the impacts of new technologies on workforce requirements using scenario analysis.The skills that would be learnt in this research would include survey methods, data analysis and modelling skills to develop and implement a forecasting model. The successful applicant would have the opportunity to interact with other researchers working in this field and industry leaders at the regional level. Close cooperation and support are expected from regional wood council members and industry leaders. The project is funded by the Forest Growers Levy Trust, administered by the Training and Careers Committee of the Forest Owners Association. The scholarship will provide domestic tuition fees and student levy plus a tax-free stipend of $NZ 34,000 per year for one year of full-time study. The ideal applicant will have a Bachelors degree in Forestry Science or Forest Engineering or a Bachelors degree (preferably with Honours) majoring in economics or a related discipline. Applications should be sent via email to david.evison@canterbury.ac.nz by 31 March 2023 and should include: a full curriculum vitae, including university transcripts, the names and contact details for two referees, a statement of your research interests and the date when you could begin your Masters research. The University of Canterbury is located in Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand. The city’s central location in the South Island gives easy access to both coasts as well as the Southern Alps and a range of other unique environments. Contact: David Evison, Associate Professor Forest Economics, New Zealand School of Forestry, University of Canterbury for further information. Source: NZ School of Forestry Jobs
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