Central North Island - Like everyone else, we are watching closely the developments of the decline in industry demand and the direct impact this is having on our colleagues particularly on the East Coast and other regions in NZ.
For the moment, we are ok but this looks like only a certainty up until Xmas. I understand that woodlot work has dried up, which is a usual first impact consequence of a downturn. Overlaying this is the recent arrival of Covid into our communities.
Our own crew has had a very narrow brush with one of our staff members being a close contact of the first positive case. He remains in isolation, guided by Public Health. Fortunately, our crew is fully vaccinated and were quick to the testing station on Saturday morning and we have all returned negative results, including our close contact member. This event dominated our weekend and I now feel quite informed about what you need to do, who you should involve and what funding you can access. So, if this happens to you I am more than willing to share my knowledge.
Please be in touch. This certainly got us thinking about how work may happen going forward, particularly if any of our supply chain is affected in the same manner. We are fortunate to work with a forest manager who is investing time in preparing for various scenarios and who were quick to support us when we notified them of our situation. My key pieces of advice - get vaccinated and keep up your good health practices, as it really can happen to you at any time.'
- Julie
This regional update from our Board Members was written November 2021 during the Covid pandemic and log price downturn. It featured in the December 2021 Christmas Update from Women in Forestry.
