Tough competition for 2022 New Zealand Biosecurity Awards Finalists

The 2022 New Zealand Biosecurity Awards finalists are here, and competition for all eight categories has been the toughest in the award’s history.

“The awards judging panel has told us this year’s entries were the highest quality ever seen in the six years of the awards, with close scores amongst the top applications in every category,” says Biosecurity New Zealand’s Deputy Director-General Stuart Anderson.

This year’s finalists cover a huge range of challenges Aotearoa’s biosecurity faces.

“They’re inspiring New Zealanders tackling everything from decade long projects focusing on thousands of hectares, to new innovations taking on biosecurity through molecules.”

“New Zealand has one of the strongest multi-layered biosecurity systems in the world. It protects our food and fibre sector where annual export revenue reached more than $53 billion in the year to 30 June 2022.

“As the threats we face grow in scale and complexity, it’s the innovation and hard mahi from people and organisations like our finalists that help protect our environment, economy, culture and people.”

The New Zealand Biosecurity Awards celebrate the businesses, iwi, researchers and community groups doing vital work to help protect New Zealand’s biosecurity. Each category recognises the complexity of an effective, sustainable biosecurity system.

Chair of the judging panel, Dr Edwin Massey said while it was a difficult year for judging given the incredible quality of the entries, it highlighted the diverse work of everyday New Zealanders who maintained and improved our biosecurity system in the face of increasing and evolving threats.

“The 2022 finalists are working in our ngahere (forests), our mountains and waterways, our offshore islands and our urban environments. The pests they are controlling include catfish, aquatic weeds, wilding pines, blackgrass, goats, rats and the giant willow aphid, to name just a few.

“These biosecurity champions come from schools, community groups, local and central Government, businesses, and research organisations. And they all share a common purpose to make a difference in biosecurity to protect our country’s economy, biodiversity and way of life.”

The Awards have been held annually since 2017, and recognise individuals, groups and organisations that have shown a commitment to supporting and promoting New Zealand’s biosecurity and the systems that uphold it.

The winners will be announced at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards event held in Auckland on 31 October.

More detail about this year’s finalists can be found on the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards page. 

2022 finalists:

BioHeritage Challenge Community Award

• Pest Free Howick Ward
• Environment Southland - Jobs for Nature Fiordland Weed buffer
• Whakatipu Wilding Conifer Group - Whakatipu Wilding Conifer Control Programme

 New Zealand Biosecurity Māori Award          

• Ruawāhia/Mount Tarawera Wilding Pine Control Project
• Te Arawa Lakes Trust - Hungatiaki Taiao/Biosecurity
• Kauri Ora

 New Zealand Biosecurity Kura (School) Award

• Halfmoon Bay School - Te Kura o Rakiura
• Howick Schools Moth Plant Competition, Tāmaki Makaurau/ Auckland
• Taipa Area School - Project Predator

GIA Industry Award

• Auckland Airport – Creation of a biosecurity culture to make biosecurity matter
• Onside and Kiwifruit Vine Health - Network technology partnership
• Aquaculture New Zealand - Protecting a Promising Future: Leading the Way in Aquatic Biosecurity for Aotearoa New Zealand

Eagle Technology Local and Central Government Award

• AsureQuality Ltd - Blackgrass Canterbury Response 2021-22
• Wellington City Council - Wellington City Council Urban Ecology team
• MPI - National Wilding Conifer Control Programme (WCCP)

New Zealand Biosecurity Science Award

• Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research - Weed biocontrol group
• Better Border Biosecurity (B3) - Better Border Biosecurity (B3) Research Collaboration
• SCION Research, Apiculture NZ, Plant & Food Research - Giant Willow Aphid Biological Control Group.

Mondiale VGL Innovation Award

• Onside and Kiwifruit Vine Health - Network technology partnership
• Bay of Plenty Regional Council – GeoPest
• Wilderlab NZ Ltd - Wilderlab and the eDNA revolution in Aotearoa

AsureQuality Emerging Leader Award

• Alessandra Smith - Northland Regional Council
• Juliet O'Connell - Bay of Plenty Regional Council
• Ethan McCormick – Pest Free Howick Ward and Friends of Mangemangeroa