64 | FORESTRY Wise on Wood Recognition for hardworking team Kim Newth The Wise on Wood team. In the Northland forestry sector, Nigel and Michelle Harrison are respected, multi-skilled logging operators who take pride in looking after the needs of forest owners. Working with wood runs deep in the Harrison family. Nigel’s father John was a logger too and the couple worked with him and Nigel’s brother Michael before starting their own ground-based harvesting business in late 2015. Today, Wise on Wood employs a hardworking team of 11, including Nigel and Michelle and their two sons. The couple’s accomplishments are reflected in their success at the Northland Forestry Awards. Both have won the Northland Forestry Skilled Professional of the Year title, Nigel in 2016 and Michelle in 2019. Wise on Wood is also a proud sponsor of Northland’s Outstanding Environmental Management Award. “From our point of view, fostering a culture of strong environmental performance in our industry is hugely important and that’s why we decided to sponsor this award,” says Michelle. Wise on Wood spends some six to eight months a year logging commercial pine for the China Forestry Group in Waitangi Forest, overlooking the Bay of Islands. This works out well for the couple and their family, who live in Kerikeri not far from the forest area. “China Forestry Group, along with local iwi, are focussed on local employment and keeping jobs here,” says Nigel. “They look after us well. Most ground crews struggle to find work in winter but by using existing infrastructure and working in an environmentally responsible way, we were able to reach an agreement with China Forestry Group that allows us to log in winter.” Logging local woodlots throughout the region keeps the crews busy through summer. Waitangi Forest is a sustainably managed forest under the auspices of the Forest Stewardship Council. Only so much can be logged every year and the forest is proactively managed for renewal. “After we harvested this year, the silviculture guys were right there planting behind us – it’s all done in rotation,” Michelle observes. Before harvesting, specially trained dogs check for kiwi in the area. Michelle says if any are found they are fitted with transmitters to ensure the crew knows where they are and can work around them. Logged sites are also managed appropriately to protect water quality and soils, in line with environmental requirements. Much of the logged timber is earmarked for sale into the domestic market and processed at local sawmills, further underlining the integrity of the operation. The couple’s oldest son Harry, 18, is following in his father’s footsteps, having started his apprenticeship after finishing school. He has worked full-time in the family business ever since. Nigel and Michelle are proud at how well he’s doing in the job, noting that he has already completed his Level 4 manual tree falling unit standard. Their other son Nick’s passion is for farming but he has also been working full-time in the bush recently and enjoys being on the chainsaw. Nigel and Michelle say forestry offers a great career path for young people and they currently employ four apprentices. “It’s a good start for school leavers,” says Nigel. “You can earn good money in forestry and it’s not the hard game of blood, sweat and tears that it used to be when everything was cut by hand. Today, it is fully mechanized and they spend most of their time sitting in an air-conditioned cab!” Having spent many years focussed solely on the health and safety side of their business, Michelle can vouch for the advances that have been made in this area too. “[And] with Nigel and I both being assessors, we work together to ensure our guys are multi-skilled. “We’re a very vocal crew - we’re always on the radio discussing things and that helps our guys learn as well.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=