TREADING LIGHTLY

When we first purchased the property (over 38 years ago), the land consisted of two paddocks of dry grass with a few areas of kanuka in the steep gullies. 

Since then, we have planted over 35,000 trees and shrubs. The majority of these are eco-sourced (Banks Peninsula stock) natives.  

Our native trees include the spectacular yellow flowering kowhai, snow-like flowering kanuka,  hebe strictissima (a white flowering shrub native to Banks Peninsula) and a range of deciduous trees including lowland ribbon wood and New Zealand fuchsia or kotukutuku.

We also have 6ha of macrocarpa growing on some shady southerly facing gullies. Macrocarpa is one of the most naturally durable introduced softwoods grown in New Zealand and is resistant to insect and borer attack in its sawn form. It needs no chemical treatment.  

We continue to plants areas of the farm every year. 

Our Approach

In order to tread lightly we are committed to improving the sustainability outcomes (environmental, social, cultural and economic) of our activities by; 

  • Offset our carbon emissions through native planting on our farm on Banks Peninsula 

  • Consider and mitigate environmental social and cultural impacts of all aspects of our work 

  • Work to exceed the requirements of applicable legislation 

  • Value the communities we work amongst and their support 

  • Use our resources efficiently 

  • Adopt new technologies that reduce both inputs and outputs

  • Encourage our suppliers and stakeholders to take a personal commitment towards these issues. 

Our Actions

  1. We proactively seek to be environmentally responsible in our actions. 

  2. We work in partnership with the communities and stakeholders we work with to promote sustainability in all our activities. 

  3. We choose to support causes that contribute to the understanding and protection of Banks Peninsula and Aotearoa’s biodiversity. 

  4. Our use of carbon fuels (primarily vehicle travel) is monitored on an annual basis and carbon emissions calculated and offset through planting native eco-sourced plants. 

  5. We use technology to limit the amount of paper we use. All paper used is from Forest Stewardship Council licensed sources. 

  6. We work closely with all our suppliers and partners to help them reduce the environmental impact of their activities and lower their waste streams. 

  7. We seek an on-going reduction in our resource use and regularly benchmark our environmental impacts. We support initiatives such as Green Globe International and were instrumental in introducing this programme to the New Zealand tourism industry in 2000. 

Our Outcomes

Our property contains over 3.5ha of regenerating native forest which is protected in perpetuity through a Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust covenant - https://www.bpct.org.nz/  

Our property contains 3.7ha of indigenous forest registered under the NZ Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme. This forest is available for the purchasing of carbon credits to offset carbon emissions by other business - https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/ets/