Our History
The members of the Wilding Pine Network have been involved in wilding management for many years.
In 2006, those with concerns about wilding conifers formed the Wilding Conifer Management Group to provide advice and seek funding for applied research on wilding management. The first inaugural meeting of interested people took place in Christchurch where eleven representatives of the major stakeholders became founding members of the affiliated group.
Between 2006-2018, the Wilding Conifer Management Group successfully funded programmes through three Sustainable Farming Funds and additionally ran an annual wilding conifer workshop.
In 2014-2015, the Wilding Conifer Management Group was instrumental in developing the New Zealand Wilding Conifer Management Strategy 2015-2030.
The Proposal for a new NZ Wilding Conifer Group was developed from discussions at Wilding Conifer Management Group committee meetings during late 2017 and subsequent discussions between that committee and the Stakeholder Advisory Group of the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme.
The Proposal suggested that the functions of the Wilding Conifer Management Group and the Stakeholder Advisory Group merge into one. In 2018, the new NZ Wilding Conifer Group merged with the former Wilding Conifer Management Group, and an interim Management Committee formed and oversaw the creation of the new Group.
The NZ Wilding Conifer Group was formally registered as an Incorporated Society in October 2019. In 2021, the Group updated our name to the Wilding Pine Network, to reflect our accessibility and connections with those involved in wilding management.