From Chance Encounter to Carbon-Zero Farm: Students' Unique New Zealand Experience
Dickinson students learn about sustainable wool production from Mark Hasselman at Temple Peak Station in Glenorchy, NZ. Photo courtesy of Amy Witter.
Serendipitous meeting leads to insightful visit at Temple Peak Station, showcasing sustainable farming practices and conservation efforts
by Amy Witter, Professor of Chemistry, Alfred Victor duPont Chair in Chemistry and Dickinson in Otago Faculty Director
A chance encounter on a Catlins beach on the South Island of New Zealand led to an invitation for Dickinson students studying at the University of Otago to visit Temple Peak Station, one of two zero-carbon farms located on the South Island. Temple Peak is owned by Amanda and Mark Hasselman and is in Glenorchy, in the Rees Dart Valley on the west coast of the South Island.
One day last winter, the Temple Peak Station owners were walking along Cannibal Bay beach when they encountered the Dickinson students and me, and our guide, Mateo Winter of Untamed, New Zealand.
Avid conservationists, the Temple Peak owners were intrigued to hear about American students studying in New Zealand and having the opportunity to visit different sites like Cannibal Bay. Upon further conversation in which they were told about Dickinson’s history with sustainability and organic farming, they extended an invitation to the group to visit their zero-carbon farm.
I saw the opportunity as a natural extension of experiential learning so typical of Dickinson. When the second trip, to Milford Sound, was being finalized, I mentioned to Mateo that we should try and visit Temple Peak Station, and he made it happen.
The students, who are enrolled in the half-credit Dickinson course Te Taiao & the New Zealand Experience, in addition to four courses at the University of Otago, have thus far been learning about the natural history and resources of New Zealand through trips and coursework at the university. During the Temple Peak visit, students were invited into the owner’s home for tea, where they learned firsthand about efforts undertaken in the Rees Dart Valley to preserve the land for future generations. In collaboration with the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, the couple has participated in the reintroduction of native takahe in the Greenstone Caples area. The group then toured the farm to view up close the changes made through practicing what Mark calls “a light touch” on the land. The sheep farm sells their merino wool to companies like All Birds through the New Zealand Merino Company.
Maddie Tade ’26 (biology) said, “It’s frequently a tricky thing trying to balance the livelihoods of people and the well-being of the natural world. It was nice to learn about New Zealand efforts at carbon sequestration and the cycling and selling of carbon credits. By using, reusing, recycling and engaging in a variety of circulatory processes, resources may be shared, and land may be maintained and conserved effectively.”
The first-semester trip saw students learning about Māori history by visiting a pā site and helping in ecological restoration in the Karitane area. As part of the trip, students paddled a waka (a Māori canoe) and got to experience the sea-faring journey that early Māori people took across the Pacific.
In the second trip, students visited Milford Sound and then traveled north to the Queenstown area, the seat of adventure travel in New Zealand. To the west of Queenstown in Glenorchy, the students learned about the extensive efforts New Zealand is taking to become predator-free by 2050.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published September 19, 2024