Aratu Forests deploys 31 machines over summer to clean up woody debris
5 March 2025
Aratu Forests has underlined its commitment to keep improving the management of its forests with a concentrated campaign over the summer months to further clean up woody debris.
The work involves an army of contractors with 31 machines operating in the forest supported by drone imagery and AI debris analysis. The summer campaign has seen Aratu invest millions of dollars to better prepare for future storm events (see video link below).
“We’re committed to ensuring we do our part to prevent woody debris impacting the environment and communities beyond our forest gate,” said Aratu Chief Executive Neil Woods.
Following the cyclones Aratu made it a priority to support the clean-up of impacted neighbours and other areas before concentrating on its forests.
“The summer clean-up has been another significant investment for us, but we’re confident it will make a big difference to the forest environment and beyond.”
Some of this work relates to the agreement with Gisborne District Council last December to improve forestry management practices in Te Marunga Forest.
The work has involved:
- Removing excess woody debris from landings, harvest sites and near waterways and transporting it to areas for safe disposal or storage.
- Reforming landing sites to increase their stability including constructing a 3m wide debris free buffer zone on landings as further protection.
- Installing numerous additional culvert pipes to better channel water flow during storm events.
- Installing additional soak holes and drains to reduce sediment run-off.
“This has been an intense period of activity which complements other work underway to better protect the environment including a network of slash nets which aim to stop woody debris migrating downstream.”
Last October Aratu announced plans for three Swiss-designed high strength steel debris nets on private properties bordering Te Marunga, Waimanu and Wakaroa forests. These and additional structures are being investigated for Te Marunga Forest under the Council agreement.
“We’re setting new standards for debris and water management which will help protect our neighbors and the community from future extreme weather events,” said Andre Van Haandel, Aratu Harvest Planning Manager.
“We’re designing improved roads, constructing them to civil engineering standards. We’re removing even more woody debris from sites, we’re getting the wood out of the harvested areas, and monitoring that using AI and drone technology. We want all the slash to be contained, we don’t want that to be a problem for future forest rotations or our community.”
On a monthly basis after harvest, Aratu closely inspects the areas using both visual and AI supported interrogation of high-resolution drone imagery. This allows Aratu to identify any areas where woody debris needs to be removed and confirm when this has been completed.
“The summer work programme is not a one-off – it’s all part of our ongoing commitment to keep improving our forestry management practices,” said Neil Woods. “This will be good for our communities, the environment and the whole industry.”
Shane Biddle, Aratu Crew Supervisor said; “We want to inspire the future generation that forestry is a good place to work.”
Link to video of remediation work
https://aratuforests.co.nz/aratu-remediation-activites-te-marunga/