Media release – February 20^th 2023

NZ Dryland Forests Innovation wins funds to evaluate the potential regional benefits of planting durable eucalypt forests to increase the sustainability of Marlborough’s wine industry

The Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Damien O’Conner recently announced that the NZ Dryland Forests Initiative (NZDFI) has been successful in an application for $262,300 from the Ministry of Primary Industry’s Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change fund (SLMACC).

This is a significant contribution to the total project cost of $387,500 with the balance of $10,000 from the Marlborough Research Centre Trust and a further $115,500 of in-kind co-funding from the University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry and the four local landowners who are supporting the project.

The project, which began late in 2022, will evaluate how new investment in naturally durable eucalypt hardwood forests could contribute to sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Marlborough’s wine industry.

Read the full NZDFI media release here

and MPI's media release is here

The images below show our SLMACC School of Forestry field team in action in NZDFI forests during the 2022/23 summer break. For more details, read the latest NZDFI Project Update