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NZ Land Treatment Col lect ive
NEWSLETTER
Dedicated to improving and communicating technology for the land
treatment of waste products
Inside this issue:
Update from NZ LTC Chair 1
Update from Technical Manager
NZ LTC Online
2
Spotlight on research… Maanuka
dominated ecosystems to im-
prove water quality
3
NZ LTC 2017 Conference
NZ LTC Annual General Meeting
NZ LTC 2018 Conference
4
NZ LTC Student Scholarships
Photo Competition
5
International Land Treatment
News
6
Welcome all,
The annual LTC meeting held in
March in Christchurch was a
great success. The only blight on
the proceedings was the rigging
of the votes in the scam burger
competition that denied me a
well-deserved win over Rob
Potts.
A big thank you to all of the
sponsors for the conference and
especially the Christchurch City
Council for their generous
sponsorship of the venue. The
contribution of sponsors allows
us to reduce the cost of the
conference to our members so
please remember to thank them
for their support when you next
see them.
Sincere thanks go to Alma
Siggins (Technical Manager), Jo
Elwood of LEI, and members of
the Technical Committee, who
worked extremely hard to ensure
we had a successful conference.
The success of the annual
NZLTC conference is largely due
to the quality and depth of
material in the technical
sessions. Thanks go to all
presenters at the conference
who provided conference
attendees high quality
presentations over a range of
diverse and engaging topics. It
was especially encouraging to
see the quality of the research
being undertaken by the student
presenters at the conference.
The recipients of the Best
Conference Paper, Best
Technical Paper and Best
Student Paper were Rob Potts
(LEI), Gerty Gielen (Scion) and
Minakshi Mishra (Lincoln
University).
The well-deserved recipient of
the LTC award for Outstanding
Services to the NZLTC was Gerty
Gielen from Scion. Those of you
who have been involved with
NZLTC for some time will know
what a fantastic advocate Gerty
has been for NZLTC over a
number of years. Gerty has a
direct role in the management of
NZLTC as a member of the
Technical Committee, and has
had a significant indirect role as
a guiding hand to previous
Technical Managers and a
volunteer for any and all jobs at
many previous NZLTC annual
conferences and workshops.
Furthermore, Gerty has been a
consistent presenter at the
annual conferences and the
quality of her research and
presentations has been
recognised by her receiving the
best technical paper award on a
number of occasions.
Congratulations and well done
Gerty!
We had the number of members
required to make the important
vote on incorporating NZLTC and
in this respect the 2017 AGM
was perhaps the most important
in the history of the NZLTC.
Those attending the AGM voted
that NZLTC become an
Incorporated Society, and
ratified the final accounts
presented by SCION and the
transfer of funds into the LTC
holding account.
During the AGM of NZLTC we
said farewell to Alma Siggins
who resigned as Technical
Manager as she and her family
are returning to Ireland. Brent
Hawthorn and Rebecca Stott
stood down from the Technical
Committee. On behalf of the
Technical Committee and NZLTC
membership I’d like to thank
Alma, Brent and Rebecca for
their significant contributions to
the success of NZTLC and wish
them the best in their future
endeavours.
New members voted onto the
Technical Committee at the AGM
were Sue Bennett (previously
seconded), Noel Roberts and
Jackie Collier. Louise Weaver
replaces Alma Siggins as
Technical Manager and Bronwyn
Humphries replaces Sarah
Quaife in the Communications
role. Welcome to all.
Following the AGM all of
paperwork necessary for
incorporating NZLTC was
submitted and NZLTC is officially
an Incorporated Society. Many
thanks to Robyn Chapple (LEI),
Alma Siggins (Technical
Manager/ESR), Jacqui Horswell
(ESR/LEI) and Hamish Lowe
(LEI) for their concerted effort in
making this happen.
Kind regards, Grant Northcott
Update from NZ LTC Chair — Grant Northcott
I ssu e 54
N ewsl ett er Jul y 20 17
Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant, NZ LTC Conference field trip
31st March 2017 (Photo credit: Rob Tinholt)
https://nzltc.wordpress.com
@ NZ_LTC
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Hi all,
Another year, another NZ LTC conference! Our Christchurch
conference was really well attended, with 94 delegates,
representing 52 different organisations. See pages 4 & 5 in
the
newsletter for an update on how it went. I’d like to thank
everyone
who responded to the delegate survey, overall it was
extremely
positive feedback with some helpful and constructive
suggestions.
The transition of the NZ LTC from Scion to an independent entity
is
almost complete. On 14th March 2017 the Collective was
granted
“Incorporated Society” status. In the next few weeks we will
be
completing the transition process, including registering for
GST
and opening the NZ LTC’s first own bank account! Hopefully
this
should significantly future proof the Collective and protect
its
members going forward.
We will soon be issuing invoices for 2017-2018 membership.
Please note that due to the Incorporation of the Collective,
the
bank account details will have changed, please check the
invoice
carefully for the new details.
Finally, it’s a goodbye from me as I move back to Ireland
shortly.
Louise Weaver will be stepping into the role of Technical
Manager,
with Bronwyn Humphries filling the Communications role and
Jacqui
Horswell, Hamish Lowe and Robyn Chapple continuing to provide
advisory
and administrative support. I wish you all the best in the
future and hope to
cross paths again.
All the best,
Alma Siggins
Alma Siggins with her appreciation gift from NZ
LTC (Photo credit: Jacqui Horswell)
Louise Weaver: NZ LTC Technical Manager
(left) and Bronwyn Humphries: NZ LTC
Communications (right)
Update from the Technical Manager — Alma Siggins
NZ LTC Online
You can follow NZ LTC online via the
following platforms: website, twitter,
Linkedin and facebook. Updates will be
posted regularly with links to our
newsletter, relevant land treatment
research and news and conference
updates.
https://nzltc.wordpress.com/
@ NZ_LTC
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Spotlight on Research
Contacts
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NZ LTC Annual General Meeting
The NZ LTC Annual Conference was held in Christchurch at the
end of March, with a theme of “Resilience and Innovation”. A
total of 94 delegates attended, from a range of backgrounds
including research, industry and regulatory authorities. The
conference was opened by three local keynote speakers who
really set the scene for the Christchurch area. Mike Bourke
(Christchurch City Council) discussed the resilience of
Christchurch following the earthquakes, Brett Robinson
(Lincoln
University) presented his research on the use of native
plant
ecosystems for land treatment, and Andrew Dakers (EcoEng)
outlined the current state of on-site wastewater management
practices. Over the next two days, we were treated to talks on
a
range of topics including: Regulation, Environmental
Impacts,
Emerging Contaminants, On-site Wastewater Treatment, Plants
and Land Treatment and Infrastructure & Strategy. On the
last
day we had a field trip, where 55 delegates visited the
Pines
Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Aranui Vacuum Station, the
Bromley Thermal Dryer and the ESR field site at Kaiapoi.
The conference was a great success, with plenty of
opportunities to network and socialise. Feedback from our
delegate survey has been overwhelmingly positive and we
would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete
it.
We have received several helpful suggestions that we will be
incorporating into planning for next year!
Huge congratulations to the Conference Awards recipients and
as always, we are hugely grateful to our Conference Sponsors
and would like to thank them for their support.
NZ LTC 2017 Conference
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Conference Award Sponsors
Northcott Research Consultants LTD
Social Evening BBQ Sponsor
The NZ LTC annual general meeting was held on Wednesday
29th March 2017 at the Christchurch City Council. There was
a
good turnout of members with 22 in attendance.
Highlights:
2016 NZ LTC annual general meeting minutes and budget
were passed as true and accurate records.
2016/2017 budget to date was reviewed and discussed.
NZ LTC became an incorporated society, 14th March 2017
New members: Ecocyle, Devan Plastics but 10 members
have left in the past year.
Change of personnel in the management team: Technical
Manager, Louise Weaver to replace Alma Siggins;
Communications, Bronwyn Humphries
More thought needs to be put into delivering on the NZ LTC
Strategy
Predicted saving of $40K for the current financial year,
part
of which was agreed to be spent on an international
speaker for the 2018 conference and a workshop.
It was agreed that a technical review will be completed this
year with a $5000 budget.
3 nominations were received and accepted for the 3 vacant
places on the Technical Committee: Jackie Colliar, Sue
Bennett and Noel Roberts.
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NZ LTC 2018 Conference
Rotorua 7—9th March 2018
Venue, international speaker and field
trips to be confirmed
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NZ LTC Student Scholarships
NZ LTC Wednesday 29th March Conference Social Function:
Hamburger Competition (Photo credit: Jacqui Horswell)
NZ LTC Conference Venue: Christchurch City Council
(Photo credit: Jacqui Horswell)
Bronwyn Humphries: ESR / University of Canterbury
I would like to thank the NZ LTC for awarding me one of the
student scholarships to present my Masters research at the
NZ
LTC 2017 conference. To present my wastewater treatment
research using coral beach sand to industry specialists has
given my research a platform to be discussed and critiqued
within a supportive and collaborative environment.
The 2017 NZ LTC conference in Christchurch was a memorable
and worthwhile event. I would highly recommend it to my
colleagues and peers not only because of its supportive
community of industry specialists and scientists but for its
pursuit of innovative technologies by leading land treatment
technical experts within New Zealand.
Minakshi Mishra: Lincoln University
My name is Minakshi Mishra and I am a final year PhD student
studying soil microbiology. My study aims to identify potential
of
two native New Zealand plants species, L. scoparium and K.
robusta, known for their specific antimicrobial properties,
against biowastes pathogens. I received one of the student’s
scholarship to attend the Land Treatments Collective’s
conference in Christchurch in 2017. As biowaste application
faces lots of negative public opinion, communication with
people advertising its positive sides is very much important.
This
student scholarship has provided me an opportunity to be
able
to put my ideas and results in front of scientists and
professional people from many management authorities who
also attended the conference and were very supporting and
encouraging. I now feel much more confident with my public
communication and to present my results in front of people.
NZLTC conference was a great opportunity to meet people from
variety of different fields who are together working hard to
create a change and attending conference sessions was a
great
learning experience. Thank you NZ LTC.
Send us photos of you and your favourite land treatment
application. Each
month a winner will be announced on our facebook page with the
grand
winner receiving a prize at the NZ LTC 2018 Conference.
Send to : nz l [email protected] i .nz
NZ LTC Photo Competition
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NZ LTC Technical Manager
Louise Weaver
[email protected]
[email protected]
NZ LTC Finance and Administration Management
Robyn Chapple
[email protected]
NZ LTC Communications
Bronwyn Humphries
[email protected]
International Land Treatment News
NZ LTC Contacts
We are introducing a new section into our newsletters providing
a
snapshot of what is happening around the world. Many NZ LTC
members travel and have contacts
offshore who are involved in various land
treatment projects. Also over the years a
number of our Technical Managers have
come from and returned offshore but
remain in contact. Here is a quick look at
what ex-Technical Manager John Lavery
has been doing at SYLVIS, a specialist
resource recovery and biosolid
management company in Vancouver,
Canada.
Grasslands Restoration in
British Columbia Grasslands are a small (2% of total land area)
but incredibly
important part of BC's landscape. Many grasslands have been
severely degraded starting from the mid to late 1800's
through
homesteading, wildfires, drought, and extensive and intensive
use
by both Ranchers and First Nations. The result is a landscape
that
cannot retain moisture, with grasses incapable of reaching
reproductive seed stage.
SYLVIS has been working with the owners of a 6,000 ha ranch
in
central BC to restore grasslands productivity, using biosolids
as a
tool to increase biological activity, organic matter,
waterholding
capacity, and nutrition. Trials to improve restoration have
been
ongoing since the late 1980’s, including techniques such as
natural rest and recovery, alternative manures, and standard
fertilization treatments. Biosolids has demonstrated the
biggest
single improvement influence on grasslands over any other
mechanism attempted. A single biosolids agronomic
fertilization
has improved productivity fourfold, and restored grasslands
resilience through the effective restoration of the native
grass
thatch layer which retains moisture in this semi-arid
climate.
Grasslands restoration is an important aspect of ranchland
stewardship. The restored landbase offers the opportunity to
increase the cattle herd, however the owners have chosen to
improve ecological stewardship throughout the ranch as a
primary
mandate. The grasslands are home to a rapidly improving food
web that is sustaining increased populations of
grasshoppers,
grouse, songbirds, and now appears to be supporting
red-listed
raptors and predators.
The changes to the site’s ecology has piqued the interest of
researchers. In parallel to this project we've had researchers
from
the University of British Columbia looking at insect
communities
and bird communities, and we are seeing some immediate
effects
on population growth and development. The research into
these
communities is in its inception, however the research team
is
excited to continue the partnership.
The project also has a significant component of time and
effort
devoted to sharing knowledge and experiences with two local
First
Nations governments. The ranch is privately owned, but
overlaps
with several traditional territories. Sharing knowledge,
history, and
experiences will be a valuable and important part of the project
as
time progresses.
The ranch obtains an economic boost as well. Since 2014, the
grasslands have received the equivalent of several hundred
thousand dollars-worth of nutrients, improving over 600 of
the
6,000 ha. Calves come off the range after their first year up to
50%
bigger than they used to, and the cattle preferentially feed on
the
restored areas, which enables the degraded areas to enjoy
further
rest and rehabilitation naturally.
John Lavery (SYLVIS Canada:
j lavery @sy lv is .com)
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Figure 2: An exclusion plot clearly shows the difference
between
degraded and restored grassland. These photos are taken 1
year
after a single agronomic application of biosolids to the soil
surface.
No additional grass seed, water, or materials have been
applied.
Figure 3: A bear observes the proceedings at the transition
between
the restored and unrestored grasslands (left). The operations
team
discusses the next area to be managed in front of one of the
tractor
and spreader units. Note the degraded grassland beneath their
feet
and the amount of soil and lichen crust visible (right).
Figure 1: A vista at the ranch in spring shows clear
delineations
between the green restoration areas and the drier, yellow
degraded
grasslands. The restored areas green up two weeks earlier
than
degraded areas and brown off two to three weeks later. Note the
late
spring snow line on the mountains in the background.
