meet the experts who have developed integrated farm plan



Di Lucas, Landscape Architect, ONZM



Director of Lucas Associates Limited, Christchurch, a Registered NZILA Landscape Architect and Life member of NZILA, Di works in community-friendly planning and design processes for creative and sustainable solutions. Having skills in landscape assessment, landscape ecology and restoration, natural character analysis, community consultation, heritage values, sustainable resource management, creative problem solving and documentation, Di works on a range of projects around Aotearoa New Zealand. Projects vary in scale from broad frameworks for regions, districts and towns to planning development or restoration for specific sites, working for community, industry, landowners, iwi and government agencies. Di has undertaken landscape assessments for a wide diversity of projects and locales, utilising an holistic approach. She has undertaken assessments and prepared plans and proposals under various conservation statutes as well as the RMA. Several times over the decades the Lucas Associates team has been awarded New Zealand’s premier landscape planning awards, and the 2022 Enduring Landscape Award. In 2024 Lucas Associates received the NZILA Award of Excellence in Research and Communication for www.LandTyping.nz



Larry Burrows, Forest Ecologist



Larry Burrows is a forest ecologist with Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research who has worked on growth rates and sequestration of native trees, shrublands and early successional forests for over 20 years.



Ben Smith, BAgSci, MoBEA




Ben has a 7-year history in rural finance plus 15 years of direct farm ownership which included 4 years of commercial research into integrating aquaculture species into dairy effluent management. With 11 of the 15 years farming being impacted by major environmental events Ben and his dedicated farming family developed new feed management systems and energy waste center's in order to feed livestock and produce sustainable energy sources. Operating over the past 3 years within his own business of Circular Solutions Ltd, Ben has been directly involved in commissioning South East Asia’s only commercial Invitro Fermentation Laboratory and driving supply logistics around value added primary products. Ben currently is involved in two major projects involving farming native New Zealand Fish and a second Waste to Energy project producing “Green Hydrogen”. Ben’s passion for developing sustainable Circular Economic models has led to the development of Certified Carbon Trust processes that put the numbers behind food production and develop sustainable farming systems with a story from paddock / tank to plate. Ben enjoys mentoring research graduates who show a direct interest in putting the numbers behind building of biological models that aid in improving land management systems and ultimately swimmable waters.​


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