What is Green Asset Management? What do trees and facilities management have in common? Why Treescape® is using life-cycle approach to manage vegetation and what is it actually? See in this 3-minute video.

What forests can do for you is hard to overestimate, but this is mind-blowing! We are proud to share this episode from Seven Sharp featuring Richard Margesson – our team leader in the Environmental Control Division on Waiheke Island.

Richard  is a seriously interesting man. From a British Army Infantry Officer, trained counsellor, psychotherapist, and clinical hypnotherapist to a man who spent four months walking from the top of New Zealand to the bottom, Richard is now the field team leader for the Environmental Control Division on Waiheke Island and a guide at November’s Waiheke Walking Festival. Read our Q&A with Richard on our blog – he’ll inspire you!

Q. Tell us about your role at Treescape®.

I’m the field team leader in the Environmental Control Division on Waiheke Island. Under the Auckland Council Ecology contract we do pest and plant control in 41 nature reserves and run 35 stoat traps on Waiheke Island as part of the predator-free programme.

Q. What do you most enjoy about what you do?

Pretty much everything! It’s a really, really good job because we’re making a huge difference to both the people and nature on Waiheke Island. I’ve got a small crew of four and we’re really tight-knit and supportive of each other. We feel lucky to do what we do: protect paradise. We all live here and love where we live and what we do.

Q. You have a really interesting career, starting with serving as a British Army Infantry Officer for just under 20 years and in three major conflicts…

Yes, I left the military in 2001 with undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. This really limits your life and what you think you’re capable of. That experience actually turned out to be quite an advantage – in the course of my recovery I became fascinated with psychology. I figure you have one life so make the most of it and set your own standards so I trained for two years as a counsellor and psychotherapist.

I worked for a very large not-for-profit in Australia, and set up and ran a programme for men and families experiencing power and control issues – really gritty domestic violence type stuff. Guys faced with prison or coming out of prison, guys with turbulent childhoods, addiction issues – it was about building that confidence in themselves and teaching them emotional skills and really practical coping skills.

I did that for about two years before leaving and training as a clinical hypnotherapist. Became an independent practitioner and set up two clinical practices in Australia. I specialised a lot in relieving fears, phobias and traumatic memories – converting it into something useful people can use to their advantage. But I was still struggling with my own wartime experiences.

I got really interested in anthropology and why it is there’s so few clinical mental health symptoms in indigenous people who live close to the land – those living the stone age lifestyle – so I decided to experiment on myself. I closed down my clinics and took a four-month sabbatical.

Q. And you had a Forrest Gump moment, walking from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island!

I did. I immersed myself in nature and recreated what it would be like to be a hunter gatherer, as best as I could in 21^st century. There were no skins or feathers – I was a middle-aged man clothed in Lycra – but I slept on forest floors, passed through snowy mountain passes, walked through icy rivers. I started to feel I was making a difference six weeks into it, when my brain rewired – I got mentally and physically fit. I was walking 12-14 hours a day by the end. The more I did it, the more I wanted to do it. By the end it felt like I’d lost a lot of emotional damage.

Q. And now you’re a big proponent of walking to heal yourself?

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about events like the Waiheke Walking Festival is that anybody can learn about the benefits of spending regular time in nature and anyone can learn the really simple tools and techniques to build a skillset and take that back to daily life.

Q. How did your walk affect the work you do now?

I fell in love with this country – the people, the unique bio-diversity here. The walk also lifted the lid on the clean and green myth and that’s one of the reasons I’m working for Treescape® – to try and help NZ and its people get a greater appreciation of what they have and to try to inspire them to look after it better.

Q. Where else has your motto of living one life well led you?

My wife and I moved to the US for a year and Mexico for nine months. I wrote and recorded an album. I tried – and failed – to write a book.

Q. This year you’ll be guiding walkers at the Waiheke Walking Festival. How long have you been helping as a guide?

This will be my second year. My walk last year was voted one of the top 10 mini walks over the festival’s nine-year history – I couldn’t believe it! I love that the festival is a celebration as well of just how creative people are when it comes to one of the most fundamental activities: walking. There’s a silent disco on the beach at sunset. Forest bathing. A haiku walk where they’ll create a poem. A 100 km walk over five days. The walks will help people understand how climate, fresh water, land, marine climate, and unique Kiwi diversity all sit together and how important we humans are to all of that.

Richard will be leading the Treescape® Northern Coastal Reserves Exploration walk at the Waiheke Walking Festival, November 15-24, 2019. The walk from Palm Beach to Oneroa explores and celebrates the diverse environments of Waiheke’s northern beaches, wetlands and coastal cliffs. Find full information on the event at https://www.waihekewalkingfestival.org/

Video source: TVNZ

 Building on last year’s sponsorship and years of support, we are proud to announce a three-year partnership with Waiheke Walking Festival.

“We’ve been a part of the festival since 2017,” explains James Fletcher, CEO of Treescape®. “Our team regularly volunteer as guides, sharing their expertise in plant and vegetation knowledge. We’re big fans of the Festival and what it does for the community, celebrating Waiheke’s growing reputation as a walking tourism destination. We enjoyed sponsoring it last year, so this year we decided to build on that and become an official partner for the next three years.”

The three-year partnership is closely aligned with Treescape®’s connection to Waiheke Island, and its unique environment. Not just arborists, Treescape® are well-regarded locally for their dedication to ‘green asset management’ – the rejuvenation and protection of Waiheke’s tree population with maintenance and regular planting initiatives around the island.

Treescape® holds the Auckland Council’s regional contracts for arboriculture (tree maintenance including powerline works) and two regional contracts for ecological services (restoration, biodiversity, and pest control), which includes Waiheke Island.

“Waiheke is a special place,” says Fletcher. “We treasure the environment there and feel very connected to the area as guardians of one of its most precious assets. Being able to contribute to the ongoing growth and care of Waiheke closely aligns with our company values to always seek sustainable outcomes, act as stewards of the local environment and act with integrity and respect in all that we do.”

The 2019 Waiheke Walking Festival celebrates its 10th year with 10 walks over the festival period, from November 15-24. The festival walks take place on private property not usually available for public use, and the Te Ara Hura walkway network, which features over 100km of trails, beaches and roadways that loop the entire Island.

Treescape® is proud to sponsor the Treescape® Northern Coastal Reserves Exploration, an exceptional walk from Palm Beach to Oneroa.

Treescape® arborist Richard Margesson will lead this walk, which explores and celebrates all of the amazing regeneration and reforestation work being done by passionate conservation groups in Mawhitipana Valley, McKenzie Reserve, Te Aroha (Hekerua Bay) and Newton Reserve.

Through Waiheke’s northern beaches, wetlands and coastal cliffs, walkers will meet some amazing conservation ambassadors along the way, including Paul & Alyson Dyson from Mawhitipana Reserve who are opening up their private property especially for this walk.

With 2019 being the tenth year, Waiheke Walking Festival Manager, Anna Reinstein says the Festival is bringing back some of the most popular walks. “Highlights will include the Top 10 Big Walks and the Top 10 Mini Walks from the past nine years as well as many new walks, including the Treescape® Northern Coastal Reserves Exploration which we are thrilled to have as part of the programme. We value Treescape®’s support and are thrilled they are continuing to be involved.”

The Festival walks will cover everything from photography, musical, private land, conservation, fitness, family-friendly, food and wine at amazing vineyards, simply strolling looking at million-dollar vistas, and even a night walk, so there’s something for everyone! Conveniently, some of the walks take in some of the local vineyards to allow participants to enjoy the local food and wine on offer.

Photo: by Elaine Riddell