2023

creating future focused orchards

The Ministry for the Environment and NZ Apples and Pears (NZAPI) commissioned the team at Circularity to undertake research and create a visual design of a future orchard in 2030 that incorporates low waste and nature-positive practices.

Through this work my team engaged the wider industry through interviews with growers, scientists, managers, retailers, innovation specialists and Māori representatives across the food system, undertook desk research and explored practices that could deliver ecosystem health, reduce harm and deliver prosperity to the industry.

During this project, we mapped the current orchard systems and co-designed a vision for the future with NZAPI and industry contributors. 

Through this mahi, we identified:

— challenges of the current growing system

— opportunities for redesign

— practices with improved environmental, social and economic outcomes

The research showed there was a need for a holistic view of the role of an orchard in its community, the soil, the water and customers far and wide, in the future.  Branching out from this, I co-designed this visual into seven on-orchard practices with up to four key benefits - environmental, economic, climate, social and cultural incorporating principles from Te Tiriti. This visual was created by our graphic designer, Simon Jackson.

NZAPI will use this visual design as a way to start a conversation about what a future orchard could look like with the industry – growers, packers, and marketers of apples and pears in domestic and export markets: