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Southern North Island wood council News
Taranaki Manawatu Whanganui Tararua wairarapa wellington 17 December 2018

Welcome

Hi everyone and welcome to our second newsletter in the new format for this year.

Well this has been quite a year for our Industry. There has been amazing exposure in the media, (some great, and some not so great), but I think we can all agree the spotlight is on us.

Having started this new role in May, I have immensely enjoyed reconnecting with the Forest Sector, (after 7 years of working in agriculture), and I am reminded of the sincere dedication you all have to worker safety and the real passion we all have for our Industry.

There has been a focus on our activities in the careers and promotion space and this is really starting to pay off with the engagement I am now getting from our councils, mayors, MP's and Ministers, local schools and tertiary education providers.

I think SNI Wood Council has substantially raised it's profile and we can welcome new members China Forestry Group, Taranaki Pine, and C3, along with the rejoining of Farman Turkington Forestry. We look forward to working with our new members in the coming year. Woodnet, through their parent company FOMS, are now also considered members of SNIWC, (welcome guys!)

Hopefully you have been following some of our activities on the new Facebook page, (you can also view this news feed on the front page of our new website), where we have been getting views from around the world.

We are the largest (geographically speaking) Wood Council in New Zealand, and due to this we will be employing two regional coordinators next year based in Palmerston North and New Plymouth. Their roles will be to facilitate communication between schools and community groups, and our members in these regions, to help organise a range of local activities. I have many of events planned for next year in these areas, and hope that all our members will benefit from an increased Wood Council presence.

Have a great break over the Xmas period, and I look forward to catching up with you all next year.

Erica Kinder
CEO
Southern North Island Wood Council

Forest Intern Programme
October 2018

We had the pleasure of hosting two year 9 Students from Makoura College in Masterton for a week of their school holidays. Aalyiah and Ngahuia were winners of an Instagram photo competition and were our paid "Forest Interns". They visited 6 different workplaces over the course of the week and met many of our workers. During their week they took photos and video's and have made several promotional videos of their experience. They were provided with steel capped boots, all safety PPE, and given inductions for each workplace. Highlights of our week was visiting C3 in Wellington and viewing log ship loading, riding in a McCarthy's log truck for a day, and riding quad bikes with Guy Farman.

We were all exhausted by the end of the week, had many laughs, and they have now presented their video's back at Makoura College in Masterton. There is likely to be a line up for this programme next year with many students very keen on holiday work.

Next year, we are hoping to roll this programme out across the whole SNI Wood Council patch, so if you would like to be involved in hosting students for a day in your work place, then please get in touch.

Please click the link below the photo to view their video of day one in the forest with Guy Farman from Farman Turkington Forestry.

A big thanks to our hosts for the week:

Farman Turkington Forestry, Woodnet, JNL, McCarthy Transport, C3 in Wellington, Forest Enterprises.

Video Link

Click to watch video

Forest
Interns
Oct 2018

View more video click here

Training Awards
Friday 10 May 2019

We are now gearing up for our Training Awards next year, so if you would like to think about nominations of either staff, or staff from another business, then please have a look at the details on our website. We are hoping for few more nominations from the Taranaki, Manawatu and Tararua regions this year, to push the Masterton guys off their pedestal.

There are a range of prizes and cash vouchers for winners, so it would be well worth putting forward names for nominations.

We are getting new requests for sponsorships this year, so if you are interested in sponsoring one of our awards, or a general sponsorship of this evening, then please get in touch. This is our major event of the year with over 200 people attending last year from our Industry, we are looking forward to seeing you all there and celebrating the training and the effort you have put in over the year.

NEW: Southern North Island Wood Council Scholarship.

SNIWC will be offering a student scholarship, the recipient will be announced at our Training Awards. This is will be a $2000 per annum cash scholarship for a student planning on attending forestry training at either Toi Ohohomai in Rotorua, or School of Forestry at Canterbury University. More details to follow in the new year.

Part of this scholarship will be offering the winner work with our Wood Council members in the holidays.

Please click the link below to visit our website where you can download the nomination and sponsorship options.

click here to view website

Share the Road Program

Mangaroa School Upper Hutt

McCarthy Transport and PF Olsens organised a great morning at Mangaroa School in the Upper Hutt. The kids were all given with their own vest to keep and assembled in the hall for a presentation by Paul Teddy, (McCarthy Masterton) on how look out for and be aware of log trucks passing their school.

Richard Cook from PF Olsens also talked to the students about "Forests in New Zealand" and "Why we cut down trees".

There was great excitement viewing the logs and the truck, where groups of students were walked around to show them "the blind spots".

The best question of the morning, and there were plenty, "Why do we cut down all the trees, and kill all the birds and animals." Some food for thought there, it is very hard to explain an entire industry in 4 min (that's the attention span of 7 year old) Kids this age do not differentiate between a pine tree and any other tree, and to them, what happens world wide is as valid as what is happening up the road.

Toko School Taranaki

An equally excited group of students viewed a log truck supplied by GJ Sole. Already there is some clear messages that students have been writing about at school.

A big thanks to our newest members China Forest Group, along with GJ Sole, McCarthy's Transport, and PF Olsens for organising this and supplying vests for all the kids.

Any ideas here for future presentations at primary schools, (ages 5 to 10) will be welcome. This is the only engagement we have with primary schools currently and I feel this is a great opportunity to link safety with information on our industry. All of which will flow home to parents. We will be doing many more of these across our patch next year and targeting schools next to forests or busy roads.

Our message is working

Share the road
Mangaroa School

Kids Learning log truck Safety

JNL Safety Slogan Competition

At the start of the year families of JNL forestry workers were invited on a forestry visit to see what their father/brother/husbands did for a living. Part of the follow up to that visit was running a kids safety slogan competition of which the children of the forestry workers composed a safety slogan. This was used on the forest stands in the gap signage boards and placed at the main forest gates throughout the forests. The winner of the kid’s safety slogan competition was Max Setu with the safety slogan.

NO SAFETY KNOW PAIN
KNOWSAFETYNO PAIN.

Max, whose father Fono Setu works for T E Silviculture, won a family visit to Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre. Runners up’s were Sophie and Charlotte Cusack and Blake and Jessica Campbell, of which the respected families won family movie passes.

The family visited the Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre last weekend where the whole family enjoyed their day out.

Good on JNL for this initiative, and involving the families of their staff in their safety campaigns.

Careers Activities Update

We have been working hard to establish relationships with schools and other education stakeholders in our region and this has worked well in the Wairarapa. Next year SNIWC will be employing a Regional Coordinator based in Palmerston North and another one based in New Plymouth to assist with extending these activities. Below is a snapshot of what we have been up to and look forward to expanding on this next year.

Forestry Presentations at Rathkeale and Makoura Colleges

Guy Farman (an old boy of Rathkeale College) and I did a 20 minute presentation to the senior school on our journey into forestry, as well as the options available at tertiary level. Interest from the boys here centred around engineering opportunities, and the girls on the environmental aspects of forestry. I will be hoping for help to do more of these presentations at key colleges in our region next year and the Future Foresters along with our members will be key in engaging with students here.

Makoura College in Masterton was a different approach for us. Richard Stringfellow from Toi Ohohomai brought his Machine Simulator to the college for a whole day. We set up in an empty classroom, and the entire school rotated through over day with students taking turns on the simulator while I gave a "Forest Industry" talk, and answered questions.

Many students returned in their lunch hour for another turn. And we had 2 local contractors turn up to look at the simulator. I can see a real future for this approach. We had one on one with students, and a better engagement when they could approach us themselves.

4 Careers Expos Completed Across Lower North Island

Masterton, New Plymouth, Whanganui and Wellington were the 4 major careers expos completed during the year. These vary in length, with some only an evening, and the Wellington one the longest over 2 whole days. I printed our own banners, posters and pamphlets for SNIWC, as well as handing out all all other industry information I could find in a "Forestry Pack" that I made up in printed paper carry bags.

Richard Stringfellow set up his machine driving simulator and ran sessions at all of these expo's and a big thanks to him for his dedication and patience and to Toi Ohomai for leading us their staff and time.

I feel these days were a huge success. I gave out 500 pre made up packs and ran out of information at most of these day. Students were particularly interested in the courses available at Forestry School at Canterbury University, and the machine driving course at Toi Ohomai. Having a local forestry representative to help man the stalls next year would be helpful.

If you have any company brochures or material that you think would be useful to include in these packs for next year, please let me know.

Wellington Teachers Primary Industry Visit to JNL
Grow NZ

Grow NZ and Primary Industry Capability Alliance (PICA) organised a bus tour for teachers from Wellington to look at Primary Industry opportunities in the Wairarapa, and the JNL tour of the sawmill was part of this.

Some of the observations we've gleaned from the group were:

"The timber mill was very interesting in terms of how high tech their operations are and the huge shortage of both forestry workers and people in the timber mill."

"Juken are a very sustainable plant as they provide their own energy through burning their waste materials. They also have planted trees of which are watered with their waste water to reduce nitrate leeching from chemicals ."

Key Takeaway:

All forestry degree students are guaranteed a job at the end of and during their degree

We hope to work more with PICA next year on the Careers Expo's and with interacting in schools in Wellington.

Thanks To Desrae Ngatai from GrowNZ for organising this and we look forward to working this group next year.

Future Me Primary Industry Employer Panel

This was a day in Masterton where all local secondary schools sent along students to talk to local employers and engage in question and answer session around our workplaces. Thanks to Nick Cusack from Nixon Logging for participating in this and really entertaining the students. There was lots of laughs at Nicks answers to some of the questions.

Nick Cusack answers questions on employment

"Wood First"Policy

This is not a new initiative having being voted in by the Gisborne District Council in April, and in Rotorua about 3 years ago, but this is now gaining some traction in the Wairarapa with the four local councils, including Tararua, looking to find a common policy that fits well with our region.

The outline of this Policy is that Councils have to CONSIDER the use of sustainably, locally sourced wood in their buildings and local construction, and cost this out as a viable option. There are many broader objectives here:

1. Social - such as local jobs and promotion of our sector.
2. Environmental - such as carbon storage and moving towards a zero carbon economy. (One tone of concrete produces one tone of carbon) We are moving towards a carbon neutral economy by 2050.
3. Economic - as many of the timber products locally sourced can be cheaper and meet the new Earthquake Regulations for building that are coming into the regions now.
4. Attracting regional development funding for projects that fall within the scope of this policy.

Last week I met with our four Mayors, Lyn Paterson (Masterton), Viv Napier (South Wairarapa), John Booth (Carterton) and Tracey Collis (Tararua) to talk all things forestry. This meeting was organised my Kieran McAnulty, Labour MP for Wairarapa.

All of our local Mayors have shown they are very receptive to the implications such a policy could have for our region, and in maintaining key relationships with our Sector. I look forward to working with all the Councils across our patch and I see a future where "Wood First" will become a New Zealand wide initiative.

Watch this space for announcements by MPI and Minister Shane Jones around "Wood First" in March 2019.

From left, Lyn Patterson (Mayor of Masterton), Erica Kinder (SNIWC) John Booth, (Mayor of Carterton), Tracey Collis (Mayor of Tararua), Viv Napier (Mayor of South Wairarapa)

Meet the mayors

Health and Safety

A reminder of our SNIWC Drug and Alcohol Policy :

The SNIWC is committed to eliminating drugs and alcohol from all facets of the forest industry. The members of the SNIWC believe that eliminating these substances from the workplace will reduce the risk of harm and assist in the provision of a safe workplace for all participants.

Register Process:

The register is maintained a company independant of the SNI Wood Council. If an employee tests positive then the results can be passed on from their employer and the name entered on the register. The names will remain on the list for 24 months.

We now have Phil Butler maintaining our independent register and he is collating and reporting on monthly statistics from our companies. Both total tests done, negative and positive and reporting back to Managers.

Employers can check via their Drug and Alcohol Manager, whether potential new employees are on the register. Information required is employer, full name of potential employee and date of birth.

The Register Manager will respond within 24 hours with whether the person is on the register, and if so, when they tested positive.

If you wish to receive this data monthly, or feed your statistics into the database, please contact Phil Butler.

phil@ohcl.co.nz

Lower North Island Forest Industry Safety Committee formed with Worksafe.

Last week we had the first meeting of this group at the WorkSafe office in Palmerston North. There were 12 in attendance to talk about issues facing our contractors in compliance.

Some main points to come out of this discussion were the need for clear communication on the requirements for compliance from Worksafe. What "is" and "is not" acceptable in written and recorded documentation.

The coming months of December and January have been identified as a high risk time at our workplaces. Stress and fatigue leading up to Christmas put pressure on staff and employers. Remember to keep hydrated in the hot coming months and enjoy some down time over the holiday period.

Worksafe indicated that the issues around Hauler tip overs, that were identified in the latest Logger magazine, means they will be focussing on Hauler compliance, and all practices around machines on our logging sites in the coming months.

If anyone would like more information around this session, or wishes to join the group please contact:

Lynda West
Manager General Inspectorate Palmerston North WorkSafe
New Zealand Central Region Forestry Sector Group
Level 4, 65 Rangitikei St, PO Box 12 030, Palmerston North, 4440
P +64 6 9031269
M +64 27 656 2113
Lynda.west@worksafe.govt.nz

SAFE START TARANAKI

DATE: Monday 7th January, 2019
LOCATION: Stratford Rugby Club, 61 Orlando Street, Stratford, Taranaki.
TIME: 6.30 am
Taranaki Safe Start 2019 Monday 7th January 6:30am Stratford Rugby Club 61 Orlando St, Stratford

For information contact Cam Eyre - NZForestry
cam.e@nzforestry.co.nz
027 526 0606

Earlier in the year this hugely successful event was held, with approx 300 attending a large joint breakfast, with speakers and information on nutrition and health.

This event will be repeated in January next year thanks to the huge efforts of Cam Eyre and all Taranaki employers. Their dedication to safety and inclusion of all is commendable and I know all our Taranaki members will fully support this 2 hours at the start of a new year.

All contractors from logging and transport, including Stevedores, and scaling staff from the Port, are invited to this event and it really will take an industry wide effort to ensure workers are able to attend.

Minister Visit to Masterton

In November we were lucky to host a visit for Hon Minister Shane Jones in Masterton. We held a "Forest Leaders Networking Dinner" with local members of our organisation and toured the log loading operations of the trains and C3 scaling in Waingawa, Carterton.

The Minister, along with our local Labour MP, Kieran McAnulty, and NZ First MP of Masterton, Ron Mark, were very interested in learning about our sector challenges, along with our successes and we are all looking forward to closer working relationships with them next year.

Thanks to Kieran McAnulty for organising this visit and engaging with our employers.

Upcoming Activities

Safe Start Taranaki

Monday 7 January 2019
6.30am
Stratford Rugby Club.

SNI Wood Council Board Meeting

28 February 2019
10am
Ernslaw One Boardroom
Bulls

Any members welcome to attend.

International Day of Forests

Thursday 21 March 2019

Theme - Forests and Education
Various community based activities to be organised across the lower North Island in each region.

Full participation of all members to host students and/or teachers on this day.

SNI Training Awards

Friday 10 May 2019
Awapuni Racecourse
Palmerston North
6pm

www.sniwoodcouncil.co.nz

facebook.com/www.sniwoodcouncil.co.nz

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