Think Like a Forest is a film about the incredible, diverse native forests in Aotearoa and all of their benefits. Yet, over two thirds of New Zealand’s native forests are already gone and more are being damaged because of human activity. In Think Like a Forest, a vision is presented for a regenerative future where humans can change this destructive trajectory through connecting with nature and taking action for Recloaking Papatūānuku.
Recloaking Papatūānuku is an ambitious, national-scale environmental initiative that will mobilise people to keep intact the old forests we have, remove predators, and carry out restoration of native bush across more than two million hectares of Aotearoa in the next 30 years. Restoration, regeneration, planting, and long term management of native forests will increase the resilience of our landscapes to the effects of climate change, and ensure our productive lands and communities thrive.
Why is thinking like a forest and recloaking papatūānuku important for farming?
In a previous blog post titled ‘Conserving native vegetation in New Zealand: The importance of sheep and beef farms’ , we highlighted key reasons why farms are important for the future of native vegetation in New Zealand. The research by Pannell et al. (2021) stated that ‘relying solely on public conservation lands for habitat provision will be inadequate for achieving national conservation goals’. Public conservation land only accounts for 31% of New Zealand’s total land use, compared to production landscapes which make up 60%.
Key takeaways from this research were:
- Production landscapes in New Zealand account for 60% of land use, with sheep and beef farms making up approximately 40%.
- It was identified in this research that approximately 25% of New Zealand’s remaining native vegetation occurs on sheep and beef farms, accounting for approximately 2.8 million hectares of land. This is second only to that of public conservation land which accounts for approximately 62%, or 7.1 million hectares of land.
- Native woody vegetation and native grasslands are the most dominant forms of native vegetation that remain on sheep and beef farms, compared to native wetlands being the most dominant form on dairy farms.
- Vegetation on sheep and beef farms is distributed differently to that of public conservation land which shows the importance of conserving native vegetation on both land types in order to conserve vegetation in different climates and environments.
- Overall, Pannell et al. (2021) concluded that ‘sheep and beef farms have the potential to contribute substantially to biodiversity conservation in New Zealand , both in terms of overall area of native vegetation, but also because vegetation on these farms occurs in areas that have otherwise been heavily cleared’.
- Irrespective of farm type, any native vegetation is worth conserving. Whether it’s sheep and beef, dairy, or any other production based system, we are all able to play a part in ensuring native vegetation in New Zealand thrives into the future.
What can a combination of biodiversity and farming look like?
One case study from ‘Think Like A Forest’ is that of Matt Iremonger (Manager) and Shannon Bennett (Shepherdess) at Willesden Farms in Canterbury. The following video gives further insight into their story of managing productive landscapes and biodiversity, what has helped them on their journey, and the actions they have taken on farm.
Willesden Farms has a combination of productive landscapes and native bush. When asked how both ecosystems compliment each other on farm, Matt gave a really insightful answer:
Really we’re farming a land asset and it’s about protecting the land asset. And the productive part of the farm is to create a profit and to actually create revenue streams that can actually then be reinvested back into the land assets. That allows us to sort of have a mosaic within the landscape with highly productive areas of the farm whilst protecting a whole lot of really important biodiversity, which has long term benefits not just for the enjoyment of us working here but actually enhancing the land assets themselves. All of the bush and the very special areas of biodiversity we have on farm, they may not necessarily provide a revenue stream on an annual basis but they’re actually part of the asset of the business, and so they’re very invaluable and irreplaceable. – Matt Iremonger
Where can you start?
Understanding what biodiversity currently looks like on your farm is a core foundation to working with biodiversity in your farm system. Identifying areas on your farm that currently support biodiversity and native species allows you to really focus in on where things are at today.
A great way to go about this is to print off a farm map and draw on the areas that currently support biodiversity. These could be areas such as a wetland, or a planted area of riparian margin, or forest or native bush remnants that remain until this day.
While reflecting on areas that currently support biodiversity, it is then important to also identify areas that could support biodiversity on your farm. This may be erodible hill slopes on unproductive land, riparian areas, retired areas, and so on. By knowing what you have and what there is potential for, this provides a strong platform for future actions for biodiversity on your farm.
- What is our vision for biodiversity on our farm?
- What is important to us when it comes to biodiversity? What do we value?
- What would we like to be present, and what would we like to be absent?
- What would you like biodiversity on farm to look like for future generations and custodians of the land?
Asking ourselves questions such as these is a powerful way for us to reflect on what we hope to achieve on our farm, in both the short term and the long term. Having a long term vision is really important to keep us grounded in our goals and our aspirations for the future. When it comes to biodiversity, while we will see changes in our lifetimes as we take actions, it is important for us to think long term, to think of legacy, and of impact greater than ourselves as it is something that will bear benefits long after we are off the land.
What is of priority for us to work on?
Is it planting a particular area? Is it local seed sourcing and growing our own natives to plant in the future? Is it fencing off a current area of biodiversity, or an area we want to plant? Or is it controlling pests to better protect areas that currently support biodiversity?
There are many ways that we can take action for biodiversity on farm. It is really important, however, that we prioritise our actions so that they are achievable and maintainable. Having a five-year plan can be a great way to go about this and ensure that there is prioritisation of short- and long-term actions to allow you to achieve your goals for biodiversity on farm. Making sure this plan involves details on the financial components of biodiversity work is also essential to ensure that this aspect can be priortised.
For me, in the context of farming, thinking like a forest means to take time to re-imagine what the future looks like. The land knows, and remembers, a past where it was teeming with forest and biodiversity. This doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice productive landscapes but rather it means that we have opportunity to regenerate and create areas of biodiversity in our landscapes that will endure long into the future. Thinking like a forest means thinking of legacy, and not just for the people but for planet Earth herself. In the context of farming it means that we are still focusing on production, but also focusing on the production of a thriving, regenerating ecosystem that is teeming with life for the benefit of now and long into the future. – Lucy Brown