Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital (TMBC) celebrated the last 12 months of leading and taking collaborative action towards biosecurity excellence, with its second annual Biosecurity Excellence Symposium last Tuesday.

The symposium was about building connections across the network, with participants coming from a range of backgrounds - iwi, science, education, industry and government. What all had in common was a passion for biosecurity and a passion for protecting what we love about the region.

Over 80 members from across the biosecurity community attended the day which had a theme of ‘This is Personal’, highlighting how biosecurity incursions affect all of us. A diverse range of speakers reminded us what’s at stake including a first hand account of the devastating impact Bovine tuberculosis has had on one farming family from Waikite Valley and reflections on the impacts and hard lessons learned during the Psa outbreak.

TMBC’s success in building awareness and education for biosecurity was evident. One example being the unique sentinel gardens, raising biosecurity awareness at schools and also assisting with surveillance for biosecurity threats.

The second half of the Symposium focussed on showcasing examples of how TMBC members have been working hard to build biosecurity capability in the last 12 months. Talks ranged from a training session on how to identify a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) and information about a programme called ‘E Hine’ at Te Puna Primary connecting young women to the Taiao (or natural environment), through to the development and implementation of the kiwifruit industry’s new on-orchard guidelines and some of the most advanced technology in marine robotics.

You can read much more about the day and the TMBC week of biosecurity events in the next issue of the Kiwifruit Journal.