68 | Forestry holdings doing well City Forests owns and manages more than 20,000 hectares of productive forest in Otago. FORESTRY City Forests T T Kim Newth Within Dunedin City Holdings’ diverse portfolio, City Forests is performing strongly as a sustainable forestry company. Providing consistent commercial returns, Dunedin-owned City Forests is also making a considerable social and environmental contribution in Otago. “We’re a long term, multi-generational asset,” says Grant Dodson, CEO City Forests. “We bring very positive financial returns to the city and generate a lot of employment and recreational opportunities. We actively promote community access to our walking and mountainbike tracks and there’s huge demand for recreational hunting permits too. We think we strike a good balance between supporting recreational activity and safely running a commercial forestry operation.” City Forests 2025 annual report shows that the company owns and manages more than 20,000 hectares of productive forest in Otago, growing around nine million trees. As a major sequester of carbon, City Forests is playing a key role in Dunedin City’s carbon neutrality goals. Forest Stewardship Council certified since 2000, City Forests is fully committed to long term sustainability and responsible forestry. The estate includes more than 2,434 hectares in permanent reserve land and is home to a wide range of native birds. City Forests supports research projects on the NZ falcon and bush robin. Every year, City Forests harvests its oldest trees – at the rate of 360,000 tonnes of wood a year, equivalent to 50 truck-and-trailer loads a day – and then plants new replacement trees the following year. “It’s a totally sustainable cycle. In terms of where the timber goes, we prioritise domestic supply as much as we can, but there’s not enough capacity here to use it all. We export roughly 70% of what we produce through Port Otago.” City Forests’ biggest export market is South Korea, closely followed by China. Just as genetic gain drives productivity in farming, so too is genetic gain a key opportunity in forestry. In a rising cost environment, markets have been fairly flat in recent years. Grant says genetic gain, along with sound silviculture practices, can help deliver a real competitive advantage. “We believe our current generation of tree crops is significantly better than previous ones, in terms of both growth and wood quality — the trees are strong and largely free of defects.” Another advantage for City Forests is that Otago is not exposed to cyclones in the same way as parts of the North Island and experiences fewer severe wind events compared to the East Coast and Canterbury. A major storm last October was damaging, but not catastrophic for the estate. As City Forests has expanded over the past decade, care has been taken to select land in areas less exposed to the impacts of climate change. Grant observes that local companies responding to global climate challenges are increasingly making the switch away from coal-fired boilers, with City Forests making use of waste wood to supply their bio-energy needs. For more information visit www.tptforests.com CONTACT MARK: k mark@tptforests.com m +64 21 466 349 TPT ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT CITY FORESTS LTD AT TPT, WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON TAKING CARE OF THE SMALLEST DETAILS, WHILE OBSESSIVELY PURSUING THE END GAME. That is, moving quality logs and lumber to more destinations, more efficiently, achieving more value for our clients. YOUR ONE STOP ENGINEERING SHOP - 24-7, Onsite Engineering and Welding Services. - Hydraulic and pneuma�c - Sales, service and design. - Fully equipped Hydraulic workshop. 100 Ravensbourne Rd, Dunedin - Ph: (03) 471 0516 www.palmersmech.co.nz for further information Proud to provide support services and equipment to City Forest
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