PhD student in forest engineering, Campbell Harvey, is this year’s New Zealand nomination for the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations Blue Sky Award.
Campbell has been using drones and flight control programmes to capture imagery of landing slash piles – followed by image processing and then overlaying outputs with engineering survey software to automate volume/shape calculation. He is completing a comprehensive survey of cut-over harvest residues to develop slash management guidelines for the New Zealand industry.
Although very much still in progress, the University of Canterbury Forestry School is already using the results to reach out to industry and help proactively address the issue and opportunities of harvest residue management on steep and difficult terrain.
Campbell is a 2013 graduate of the Forest Engineering programme (1st Class honours), 5-yrs of experience with PFO (Canterbury and Blenheim regions), currently the UC Forest Engineering support lecturer (funded by the NZFOA Levy Trust Work Programme), works directly with the Forest Growers Research harvest automation programme, has helped teach industry Professional Development courses, mentors dissertation projects.
The ICFPA launched the Blue-Sky Young Researchers and Innovation Award in 2016. This global award aims to stimulate competition between students and young researchers exploring forest science, products using forest-based raw materials, process improvements or other innovations throughout the value chain. The award is not only focused on research and development; it is also about being innovative, inspirational and green.
Campbell is also one of the many presenters lined up to talk at this year’s major wood harvesting event, HarvestTECH 2021 in Rotorua, New Zealand on 13-14 April 2021. Campbell, as part of the focus being put into technologies and environmental best practices around harvest planning, roading and stream crossing design and managing harvest residues will be outlining results from the survey of cut-over harvest residues along with early recommendations around slash management guidelines for the New Zealand industry.
Details of the April programme can be found on the event website, www.harvestTECH.events.
Source: FOA E-News
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