Late October will see a host of experts, scientists and thought leaders descend on Wānaka to be part of the Wao Summit Food & Fibre programme, co hosted by WAI Wānaka.

The Wao Summit is designed to accelerate our community towards a zero carbon future, and the Food & Fibre programme delivers everything from practical workshops for monitoring on-farm biodiversity, speaker events covering the latest in science, practice change and consumer demand, to a farm tour visiting local properties and meeting the farmers to hear firsthand how they are creating positive environmental outcomes.

Mandy Bell, Chair of WAI Wānaka, says ‘We work with landowners in the Upper Clutha every day, and we wanted this year’s summit events to both celebrate the outcomes already being achieved and demonstrate how local efforts align to the national vision and direction within the food and fibre industry.’

Mandy will host industry leaders on Friday night for the ‘Vision into Action in the Primary Sector’. John Rodwell, Simon Stokes, and James Brasington will join Mandy to discuss how the primary sector has moved towards actioning the vision of Taiao ora, Tangata ora in the last year.

Dr Carly Green, global expert in agricultural and forestry carbon mitigation, will facilitate a breakfast event to discuss measuring and reporting agricultural emissions for both regulatory and market accreditation in New Zealand.

Joining her will be Kelly Forster, Programme Director of He Waka Eke Noa, the primary sector partnership for climate change, and Becky Lloyd, CE of Toitu Envirocare, who recently certified Lake Hawea Station as New Zealand’s first carbonzero farm.

Kelly Forster, Programme Director of He Waka Eke Noa

Becky Lloyd, CE of Toitu Envirocare

‘As He Waka Eke Noa develops the framework around calculating and reporting agricultural emissions and sequestration on farms, there are a number of questions from landowners around both the tools to calculate emissions, what options are available for mitigating these emissions and whether the approach is aligned across regulation and market accreditation. To have both Kelly and Becky together in conversation is an exciting opportunity to explore some of these questions.’ Dr Green says.

Dr Green will also lead two workshops on the Friday: one for understanding agricultural emissions on farms and another to work through understanding forestry for carbon sequestration on farms.

Dr David Norton and Ash Rabel will host the third workshop on understanding and monitoring on-farm biodiversity. This practical workshop will equip landowners with the knowledge and frameworks for monitoring soil health, indigenous vegetation, aquatic life and birdlife on their properties.

If you want more programme information or ticket details you can go to the event website: https://wao.co.nz/summit2021