Environment Award Winners

Waiuku deer farmers Wayne and Tricia Aspin have proven conclusively that richness in biodiversity and commercial success are fully compatible. They have also proven that environmental enhancement can be achieved in a relatively short time frame.

The couple are the premier winners of the 2003 Deer Industry Environmental Awards, taking away the Sir Peter and Fiona Lady Elworthy Environmental Award, and the ANZ Bank Merit Award for environmental enhancement. Four other deer farmers from around New Zealand also won environment merit awards.

The Aspins farm 74 hectares of light sandy loams on the Awhitu Peninsula, on the shores of the Manukau Harbour. Originally a dairy farm, it was converted by the Aspins to deer in 1989. Today they run 150 mixed age hinds, 153 fawns, 70 rising 2 year hinds, 30 rising 2 year stags and 101 cattle.

From the beginning, Wayne and Tricia could see that deer behaved very differently than dairy cattle, and this threw up some immediate challenges when it came to managing the light soils.

A major relocation of fences was soon implemented to retire gully areas and protect watercourses. The retired gullies were then planted with 43 different native species including kauri, pohutukawa and manuka.

The native species are complemented by a variety of exotics with a productive role as well as providing the shade and shelter so important in deer farming. These include several types of cypress, redwoods, honey locust, macadamias, black walnut, Norfolk pine and poplar.

The judges noted that the biodiversity encouraged by the Aspins has also been complemented with recorded sightings of fernbird and bittern on the neighbouring Awhitu Regional Park.

“Water quality has also been enhanced by the fencing and plantings,” the judges said. “An awareness of the local context of their property was evident, and the desire to deliver clean water to the adjoining estuarine swamp and the Manukau Harbour was also very pleasing,”

The Aspins’ work to mitigate the effects of deer fence pacing and ‘playing’ in wet or bare areas also caught the judges’ eyes. Wet areas were dug out and drained, backfilled with scoria, covered with fresh earth and reseeded. Bare areas along fencelines were also treated, while water troughs were protected from the effects of deer playing in the water and creating unwanted boggy areas.

The couple’s thoughtful attention to detail across the board helped single them out as the winners of this year’s premier award. In addition to the high profile activities such as fencing and plantings, the Aspins were praised for their attention to fertiliser regimes, showing “an intuitive approach to sustainable land management” .

Pest plants are closely controlled, while animal welfare – also part of the wider environmental ethic – is carefully managed. The judges noted that cattle ticks, which plague young deer in warmer northern areas, are well managed. Timing of weaning is planned to both minimise soil damage and improve fawning percentages – the hinds on the property achieve an impressive 90 percent fawning rate.

The couple’s concept of sustainability extends to economic and social values. Wayne and Tricia are strongly involved in community through their local Landcare group, historical society, New Zealand Native Orchid group. They are also nationally recognised in the sport of orienteering. Tricia says one of the local goals shared with the Landcare group is to create a pest-free ‘island’ on the Awhitu peninsula where the farm is located.

The annual Deer Farmers’ Environmental Awards were inaugurated in 2001, as part of the deer industry’s sustainable farming project, the Deer Farmers’ Landcare Manual. It is funded principally by the New Zealand Deer Farmers’ Association with premier prize sponsorship from Sir Peter and Fiona Lady Elworthy, and support funding from PPCS and Summit-Quinphos.

As well as the premier prize won by the Aspins, four other deer farmers from various regions in New Zealand were recognised, and received environment merit awards. They were:

· Graham Carr from Geraldine won The Velpool Environment Merit Award for excellence in environmental management for animal welfare.

· Paul and Pam McDowell from Rotorua won The Fish and Game Environment Merit Award for excellence in riparian management.

· John and Jill Needham from Whakatane won The Summit-Quinphos Environment Merit Award for an innovative, holistic approach to sustainable land management.

· Murray Hazlett from Invercargill won The Duncan and Co Environment Merit Award for Excellence and Innovation in planning a sustainable deer farm.

This year’s judging teams were led by Gary Morgan from Environment Southland, who says the deer farming industry has continued with a very credibly run programme of inviting in environment specialists to do the judging. Awards convenor, John Paterson, says the independent judging panel for the awards this year included representatives from Regional Councils, Fish and Game New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, as well as a previous award winning deer farmer representative.

“Entrants are scrutinised closely by independent environmental specialists from a range of backgrounds. While they have strongly endorsed some of the innovative environmental enhancement practices undertaken on the properties they’ve viewed, they are also able to offer some very constructive suggestions for methods to build on the achievements that have already been made.”

Mr Paterson says many of the practices pioneered by the award entrants will be incorporated into the farmer-led Deer Farmers’ Landcare Manual, expected to be published in early 2004.

BEFORE: Gully on the Aspins’ property in 1993, shortly after conversion to deer farming.

AFTER: What a difference a decade makes. Tricia and Wayne Aspin show the transformation of the same gully 10 years on, after it was fenced and planted with natives.