John Turkington Forestry partners with Women in Sport Aotearoa to create an enduring environmental legacy
A new partnership between Women in Sport Aotearoa, Ngā Wāhine Hākinakina o Aotearoa (WISPA), forestry consultancy John Turkington Forestry (JTL), the Manawatū District Council and Feilding High School to create an enduring environmental legacy in New Zealand
Hundreds of international participants about to travel to Aotearoa New Zealand for the 8 th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport (IWG 2022) this month, will board their flights knowing their air travel emissions will be mitigated.
The project will see John Turkington’s experts calculate the air travel emissions of the conference’s international participants and deliver a native tree planting programme to neutralise the impact and provide an enduring legacy for the event in Aotearoa New Zealand.
To symbolise the beginning of the initiative, John Turkington’s and WISPA will gift a rare Māori Princess Pōhutukawa to WISPA’s iwi partner, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, during the official event Pōwhiri at Ōrākei Marae on Sunday 13th November. The seedling will be planted on Bastion Point, to connect the initiative across the motu, and to represent new growth for the women in sport movement.
In parallel, John Turkington will supply seeds to students from Feilding High School to raise into seedlings. To raise funds for the school, the forestry company will then buy the seedlings back and plant them on land supplied and protected by the Manawatū District Council early next year.
"This is truly an amazing initiative. It is totally in line with our sustainability values and our promise to protect and care for the environment through our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi," said Rachel Froggatt, chief executive of WISPA, the advocacy group delivering IWG 2022 at Auckland’s Te Pokapū - the Aotea Centre to over 1,200 in-person and virtual participants from 14th -17th November.
"It also provides the foundation of an exceptional community fundraising project for students in the Manawatū district, bringing to life our passion for empowering young people to advance change.
"A massive thanks to John and Angela Turkington, their sons Sam and Tom, and their extended community in the Manawatū for making this happen. It is the first in a series of projects we have planned together to advance WISPA’s work toward achieving gender equity and equality in sport."
John Turkington added "We are passionate about sport, about creating pathways for all, and about the environment.
"To be able to link these components together in association with WISPA, Manawatū District Council and Feilding High School in this way is not only unique but exciting and presents a mechanism going forward for sports, businesses and the community alike."
The partnership will leave a lasting legacy for the conference, with the newly established native forest to be tended and maintained by the council as part of a reserve.
Manawatū District Council Mayor Helen Worboys advised "Manawatū District Council is delighted to be part of this initiative by providing the greenfield reserve land for the planting to take place. This is a great opportunity to involve our community, our youth and Council in promoting Women in Sport."
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