Environmental Focus - Out the back of Waikuku

Here I am standing not very far from Waikuku Lodge where we are going camping next year. 

100 years ago all this land was in original forest cover - mainly beech and kamahi forest. All the trees were cleared for farming by the late 1920's and the area intensively stocked with sheep and cattle.
 In 1965, in two days over a metre of rain fell. The landscape collapsed and much of the surface slipped and was washed down into the valley. The farmers had to give up their farming and the NZ Forest Service took over control of the land. 
This land is recovering slowly, after nearly 50 years it is covered in succession forest - scrub. It will be another 150 years or so before it will start to look like it was in the beginning.
There are lots of areas in NZ where the clearing of the original forest cover has created erosion problems.

The art programme is developing an environmental theme as its part in the Enviro focus. We will look at the roll of the forest, why trees are important in the environment and man's impact on the landscape.

Nigel Brown will be one of the artist models we will use. He sometimes makes art statements about environmental issues and often uses words in his paintings. 
Also - Eric Lee-Johnson and John Holmwood are two artists that often focused on the old trunks and stumps of what was left of original forest cover in their paintings.