Fieldays – held at Mystery Creek last week – is a wonderland full of tractors, the latest agricultural technology, gumboots and much more. It’s guaranteed to delight farmers, rural professionals, politicians and agricultural businesses and advocacy organisations.

But for digital communications advisor Rachael Felt and I, it provided a glimpse into a different world. This was Rachael’s first time attending, and the first for me in 20 years. It was a welcome opportunity to leave our desks behind for a day and rub shoulders with some stakeholders. We always love hearing about what our partners are up to.

The event didn’t disappoint.

This year Scion sponsored the Forestry Hub stage, where there were plenty of conversations around gene technologies, native trees, the circular bioeconomy and more. Rachael and I parked ourselves on stools while we listened to Scion scientists Peter Clinton, Diahanna O’Callahan and Simeon Smaill talk about how forestry and agriculture can work together to address climate challenges, why treated radiata pine is built to last and how we can apply radiata pine growth learnings to create indigenous forests.

We wandered over to the Innovation Hub to chat to Shelley Houston of KiwiLeather Innovations, which is working with Scion to turn surplus kiwifruit into a sustainable alternative to vegan leather. We navigated our way through the mud and the crowds to eat dumplings and wraps in the rain, and we spotted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon twice, working the crowd under the close watch of his security crew.

We walked so much my borrowed boots wreaked havoc on my feet and I was hobbling by late afternoon, but it was worth it.

Scion chief operating officer Florian Graichen also attended this year and said the event was a whirlwind of inspiration and collaboration. His highlights include a visit to the inaugural German Pavilion, which featured more than 10 leading agri-businesses, and meeting European Union Ambassador to New Zealand Lawrence Meredith – which could help Scion identify new collaborative opportunities with Europe.

“The Scion team had a great time sharing their cutting-edge science, catching up with friends and business contacts and making new connections,” Florian says.

Florian, GM Forests to Bio-based Products Alec Foster and portfolio lead Marc Gaugler also featured on the Forestry Hub stage. Florian and Alec shared insights on the future of biotechnology and Scion’s continued innovations to help transform forestry exports, and the exciting journey as we join the Bioeconomy Science Institute from July 1. Marc, meanwhile, focused on the bioeconomy in the forest: Transforming trees into tomorrow’s products. He also showed international examples of commercially established products that add value to forest resources and could help increase exports from NZ resources.

Scion’s innovations aim to embrace opportunities and solve challenges as New Zealand moves to a circular bioeconomy focused on sustainable design and renewable resources.