42 | RURAL PEOPLE » Awapapa Station Trees and livestock secure Awapapa’s future Awapapa is an exceptional example of how farming can succeed without resorting to blanket forestry. Bernadette Cooney Awapapa Station, a 440-hectare property inland from Gisborne, shows how foresight can provide practical and effective long term agricultural sustainability, within one of the most geologically unstable regions in the world. A deliberate mosaic of trees and livestock within Awapapa undertaken by two generations of the Campbell family over 50 years, remarkably stood the test of Cyclone Gabrielle as it tore through the fragile soils of the East Coast hillsides. Findings from Earth Sciences New Zealand analysis of Cyclone Gabrielle, estimated more than 800,000 landslides were caused by the extreme weather event, believed to be one of the most extreme landslide triggering events ever recorded globally. “Scientific analysis shows Awapapa had about 70 percent less erosion compared to similar land in the district,” says Alex Campbell, who manages the station with his wife Megen. I know of one farm losing 10% of grazing area. Within 30% tree canopy the station runs around 500 beef bulls alongside trade lambs, stocked at roughly 10 su/ha regularly producing Gross Farm Income above the district average and occasionally within the top 10%. WAVE200784 CELEBRATING RURAL LEADERS WWW.AFFCO.CO.NZ | 0800 233 2669 Home of Larsawn Manufactured Products and so much more. On site we have an electric Mahoe Sawmill and Gisborne's only Timber Treatment Plant. Have us mill your logs, dry and treat the timber to H3.2 or H4 hazard class. When it comes to product availability, knowledge and customer service, Larsawn really is your one-stop shop. Delivery options available. Call and ask us what we can do for you today! 77 Main Road, Makaraka, Gisborne 06 867 7135 admin@larsawn.co.nz TIMBER TREATMENT & MILLING GATES, FENCING & HARDWARE MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS STOCK FEED & DOG TUCKER OTHER PRODUCTS The canopy is a deliberate mosaic of poplars, natives, and exotics suited to relative land classes. Alex traces the resilience back to a regular pole planting programme he and Megen begun after Cyclone Bola in 1988 consisting approximately 500 to 1000 poles per year, emerging as a rotation exceeding 50 years with timber and carbon income within,” he says. He hears of radiata pine being identified as a large scale ecological and social disaster unfolding in the region where in many areas it has been planted without any practical foresight. Awapapa has been a finalist in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards in 2023 and 2024. Hawkes Bay soil conservation expert Peter Manson, who nominated the farm, stated “In my experience, there are very few (if any) hill country properties which have achieved the same level of planting for the preservation of productive soil. Awapapa is an exceptional example of how farming can succeed without resorting to blanket forestry as an over simplified ‘solution’ to soil erosion.” Alex notes adversity within losing Awapapa (through significant expansion) during the Global Financial Crisis which they now manage for Swiss investors. “It’s a matter of remaining positive and maintaining a diverse attitude. There is always something new and innovative that can be done. Wealth is always the target, but it isn’t everything.” The Campbells also preserve and enhance top end versatile East Coast Stationbred horses. To strengthen bloodlines, they introduced Irish Draught and imported Cleveland Bays, establishing the only purebred herd in the Southern Hemisphere. The breeding program is a diversification which significantly compliments a vision of lasting value for farming, community, and future generations. “All part of the mosaic,” says Alex. We are quite proud of the solutions Awapapa has to offer from a widespread perspective relating to urgent land care and social issues the East Coast region is facing. It’s a place focusing on prosperity that has balance. Alex and Megen riding Hangaroa bred horses.
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