Rawhide cubes highlight 'threat'

INES STAGER

CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Forest and Bird's bronze medal-winning display at the Ellerslie Flower Show depicts the effects of irrigation and intensive farming in the Mackenzie Basin.

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A controversial cubicle dairying proposal is the inspiration for an award-winning flower display at the Ellerslie Flower Show in Christchurch.

Forest and Bird won a bronze medal award for their display, which combines unique Mackenzie flora, such as kettleholes and tawny tussock, with a background display featuring Aoraki-Mt Cook beside three cowhide-patterned cubes.

South Canterbury Forest and Bird spokeswoman Ines Stager said the organisation wanted the display to represent the changing landscape after recent intensive farming proposals in the region.

"The three cowhide-covered cubes and a circle of lush pasture precariously perched on a thin soil layer dependent on an irrigation pipe, refer to the threat of cubicle cow dairy farming to the Mackenzie's plants, landscapes and waterways," she said.

Ms Stager said the organisation came up with the idea after hearing about the proposals of three companies – Southdown Holdings, Williamson Holdings and Five Rivers – which want to collectively house more than 17,000 cows in 16 standalone cubicle sheds in the Omarama basin in the Upper Waitaki.

The proposal has sparked a national outcry. Environment Canterbury received more than 5000 submissions against the proposal, while the Government has appointed a board of inquiry to oversee the effluent consents.

"We wanted to draw attention to how the landscape throughout the region is changing rapidly, particularly in the Mackenzie and Upper Waitaki. A lot is going to be lost."

The display took three weeks to put together, and comprises more than a dozen species native to the Mackenzie Country. Ms Stager said the plants were obtained from the Opuha and Matai nurseries, while landscape architects Nik Colley and Di Lucas helped to design and build the display.

"I am really pleased we won [bronze], I thought we had a good idea," Mr Colley said.

"The challenge was making sure the display put forward its message in a way that wasn't too cluttered or heavy-handed. It's a really important message. We were trying to show how the change in practices turns a multicultural ecosystem into a monoculture. There are dozens of different kinds of plants and invertebrates [in the Mackenzie] which people aren't necessarily aware of."

He said he was impressed with the speed and efficiency of everyone who contributed.

"Some of the other entrants had been thinking about their project for nearly a year, we only had two weeks to get it ready. It was quite an effort getting an 80-kilogram grass wall to stand up properly."

Mr Colley said he was delighted to contribute to the project.

- © Fairfax NZ News