40th NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Ashburton 11-12-13 April 2014
(was on the weekend before Easter 2014)
Venue: Ashburton Trotting Club Rooms, Racecourse Road, Ashburton[/div]
Theme: WATER The Elixir of Life
The field trips, north and south, allowed you to see up close during Conference 2014 the amazing efforts being made in this part of Canterbury to ‘farm the water’.
We visited many excellent places of interest to Tree Crop members and giving a wider view of this area in autumn.
It was a chance for you to meet and talk with people with similar interests and learn from one another.
[Updated 2014 March 11]
Timetable and programme
Friday 11 April 2014
10:30 am Guided Tour of the Ashburton Domain and Gardens with curator Dave Askin. Carpark is off West Street SH1 near the Walnut Avenue roundabout. Park vehicles near the toilet block.
Registration was from 12 noon
Delegates Meeting 1.00pm
3:00 pm Afternoon tea
NZTCA 40th Annual General Meeting 4.00pm.
Dinner: your arrangement, but please return punctually, for–
7.30pm Official Opening: Welcome from Angus McKay, Mayor of Ashburton
Guest Speaker: David Caygill Deputy Commissioner, Environment Canterbury
Water: The Big Picture
Saturday 12 April 2014
Registration from 8.30am
9:00 am Keynote Speakers: Peter Robinson of Hills Laboratories: Practical Advice on Water;
9:40 am Colin Dixon or Steve Agnew of Rooney Contracting on the South Rangitata Scheme
10:00 am Morning tea.
10:30 am Field Trip One: South by bus; Water Storage site visit with project manager; stopovers in Waihi Bush Geraldine, and Seadown’s Waipopo Orchards.
6:00 pm Gathering – drinks – bar facilities
6:30 pm 40th Anniversary Conference Dinner
The Tree Crops Association – Our 40th Year:
Tom Dinning; John Dean, Eric Cairns and Diana Loader.
Presentations of Awards
8:00 pm Guest Speaker: Haikai Tane, Director, Watershed Systems Living Water Foundation (Oceania & China) How to restore living watersheds with tree crops & food forests. Haikai was there at the beginning of the Tree Crops organisation.
Supper
Sunday 13 April 2014
8:30 am Field Trip Two: North by bus; New Hazelnut development (Ashburton); visit to A Cracker of a Nut walnut processing factory (Jenny Lawrence); stop over to look at new harvesting & processing equipment and return via Rakaia Gorge with much to see along the way.
Bus return time will be about 4 pm, but no later than 5 pm.
Conference Ends
Food and drink was provided on the field trips.
[Archived]
The 40th Conference was organised by your national Management Committee.