Priority One’s Partnering with Nature initiative aims to connect businesses with meaningful nature projects around our region. Research from our launch event shows that local Bay of Plenty businesses want to get involved in conservation work but don’t know how to begin. As part of this project, we are speaking to businesses that already work in this area to find out their motivation, how they identified projects that align, and the benefits of involvement. 

Rayonier  Matariki Forests grows and manages 120,000 hectares of forest across Aotearoa New Zealand. In this interview, we talk to Rob Schoonderwoerd Forest Manager – Bay of Plenty Region at Rayonier Matariki Forests about the company’s land-based conservation mahi that they run alongside their forestry business. 

Why get involved in nature work? 

Rayonier Matariki Forests’ (RMF) motivation for getting into conservation work is multi-pronged. “It’s a natural progression given where our industry is, but there are multiple motivators,” says Rob. “It’s doing the right thing, creating social licence to operate in the marketplace, and – as many of our forests are on iwi land – it’s the spiritual connection of the iwi working on their own land. That can’t be underestimated.” 

RMF also has to maintain FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certification and PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), which maintain access to both export and domestic markets, so this type of work contributes to this. “So, if it’s a level one classification or high-value conservation forest [for example, with rare plants and species] then we have to actively manage it.”  

All these factors come together to make land-based nature work a natural fit for RMF. “We can’t just say, ‘there’s no return on that investment’. There is a return – just not an immediate financial return.” 

RMF projects 

Identifying nature work that naturally aligns with company values is a good way to ensure the project has longevity and engagement.  

RMF do get unrelated approaches for conservation support, but the majority of projects are on or near their production forests: “We tend to look at initiatives bordering the forest where we are working. There are big benefits in drawing projects together from an efficiency perspective,” says Rob. “If you look at animal pest levels – if you kill more over a bigger area, it’s just way more effective for things like bird life.”  

The company’s approach differs in various regions of New Zealand, including involvement in rare plant recovery, a Karearea research programme and wetland restoration. In the Bay of Plenty, one of the key long-term projects is supporting the important work done by the Omataroa Kiwi Project (the Omataroa forest sits within an RMF production forest). Rob’s involvement stretches back 25 years when an early assessment identified many at-risk species, such as toutouwai (North Island robin), Eastern Brown Kiwi and Kārearea (falcon).  

“That was a catalyst for an early project, which morphed into the Omataroa Kiwi Project, says Rob. “It’s very tightly connected with the landowners, the Omataroa Rangitaiki No 2 Trust, and people whose whakapapa links to the land, do the work.” 

RMF support the Trust’s mahi through investment and support with trapping within the native bush (approximately 590 hectares), plus do all the buffer trapping in the surrounding 7,700 hectares of production Forest. “We’re also a partner to the management plan, because we have an interest in what’s happening,” says Rob.  

The Texas Rangers programme has also emerged from this successful partnership. It is overseen by Ian Tarei, a beneficial owner of the Trust and head of Omataroa Kaitiaki. It sees local year 8 and 9 rangatahi Māori students get the chance to learn about conservation work and connect with their whenua through a mātauranga Māori approach. Rob says working on the whenua makes a big impact and some of the students have even later returned to work on the land as employees.  Ian Tarei from Omataroa Kaitiaki oversess the Texas Rangers programme

This long-term support of Omataroa Kiwi Project has not only meant wildlife has flourished (kiwi numbers have increased from 12 adults to around 60), but mana whenua have benefitted too. “On that project, there were people that were previously unsure what they were doing as far as employment goes, and seeing them develop a business that’s focused on predator and pest management control in the wider Eastern Bay of Plenty is probably the most rewarding element for me,” says Rob. 

He notes the values in the forestry industry (as with many industries) have changed over time. “Prior to that first assessment 25 years ago, I don’t think we would be alone in saying that if it wasn’t something that we could log, we would be reluctant to spend any money on it,” he says. “But as we’ve grown, our interest in and values placed on those ‘non-productive’ bits of forests have changed. It’s a cost, but we can now see the benefits.” 

A more recent project for RMF involves land near the Kaimai Range that was returned to Ngāti Hinerangi. “In that situation, it was around recognising that the funding for Jobs for Nature, part of the Government’s Covid recovery package, was going to run out,” Rob explains. “The taxpayer has essentially invested all this money getting people skilled up and infrastructure into the project, so we couldn’t just let it die.” 

Ongoing conversations with iwi as well as Louise Saunders, CEO of Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust, eventually resulted in a project kicking off in 2024. Now RMF are undertaking nature work on the land under their stewardship, as well as supporting iwi members to do regular conservation work on neighbouring native bush.  

Ways for businesess to get involved 

The most common way that RMF supports conservation efforts is by providing funding for contractors to do the work, but Rob says they also try to broaden the range of work, so it grows people’s skills and expertise. For example, understanding the bigger environmental picture by learning more about weeds, rather than just animal pests. “The highlight for me is seeing the growth in people and the opportunities gained as a result of supporting them. We invest in them and their business to help them on their way.” 

RMF also do staff planting days around the region, often inviting groups of local students and parents too, which not only gives them a decent size team to tackle the work but also helps raise awareness of what they do. “That profile within the community – there’s an opportunity for businesses to engage in that,” says Rob. “It could just mean starting somewhere – picking up rubbish, cleaning a stream…” 

“If I was a business in the Bay of Plenty, I would be looking at the list of Bay Conservation Alliance member projects. See which aligns with your company values and which one can you get your staff to relatively easily,” says Rob. “I think collectively we are better off to grow the projects that are out there rather than starting new ones – some of these have been going for 25-30 years, so if we can keep them going there are benefits like recorded data. The longer you collect that data the more you can see trends, such as seasonal trends, and it’s good to be able to say what has been achieved as far as killing pests and controlling weeds.” 

Once a business becomes involved in a project, the next challenge is to make the commitment long-term. This is also where staff days can work well. “You can go out with your staff once or twice a year to make sure you maintain those relationships, because there’ll be staff and volunteer changes, so it keeps the process going.” 

As part of this project, we’ve also talked to from Angus Dowson from Ballance Agri-Nutrients, about its public-facing nature work. Watch his interview here. 

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