Of all the trees in the world kauri is one of the mightiest, but our living taonga need a champion – they need you.

This week the Coromandel Kauri Dieback Forum is hosting two workshops aiming to educate local tourism operators and accommodation providers on how to protect local kauri from the deadly kauri dieback disease.

The first workshop takes place this afternoon at Anchor Lodge in Coromandel town, starting at 2pm.

It will then be followed by the second workshop to be held at Ocean Resort in Whitianga on Thursday, September 22, starting at 11am.

Both of the 90 minutes workshops will be run by Coromandel Adventures director Sarni Hart and Forum chairperson Vivienne Mclean.

Forum coordinator Alison Smith says everyone involved in a visitor-oriented business, tourist attraction or activity, and accommodation providers are invited.

'Essentially, tourism is hugely important on the Coromandel and our local kauri are under threat from kauri dieback disease,” says Alison.

'We really just want to do everything we can as a network of volunteers to spread the message about how we can all minimised the spread of the disease.”

The workshops will be a two-way affair, with the forum seeking feedback and ideas from participants about what the sector wants in terms of practical support and information.

Along with updating operators, the workshops will also provide practical information about simple hygiene methods and ideas they can adapt for their own businesses ahead of the holiday season.

'It can be as simple as a scrubbing brush, household disinfectant and hot water to remove all soil and vegetation from footwear,” Alison explains. 'Also sticking to the tracks is another simple method to stop the spread of the disease.”

Kauri dieback disease – Phytophthora agathadicida – is a deadly threat to kauri of all ages and sizes.

It has been identified at Hukarahi conservation area in Mercury Bay, in several locations on private land in the Whangapoua catchment and test results are currently awaited for another peninsula site.

Forum chairperson Vivienne McLean says the tourism and accommodation sector has an extremely important role to play in protecting Coromandel kauri.

They are asking for help from tourism operators and accommodation providers, because they host visitors who may have visited infected forests in Auckland, Northland and Great Barrier Island.

'But they may be unaware of the risks they pose to local kauri,” says Vivienne. 'As hosts and operators our local businesses are in a unique position to inform and to help visitors apply simple but vital hygiene measures before and after visiting Coromandel forests.”

Coromandel Adventures director Sarni Hart says the Coromandel environment underpins the bulk of economic activity on the peninsula.

The active involvement of the tourism and accommodation sector in protecting kauri ecosystems will help ensure these businesses remain sustainable in the long term.

'To that end we will be asking workshop participants for feedback on an operator accreditation scheme that would identify 'kauri friendly” businesses,' says Sarni.

'If the sector sees value in this as a marketing opportunity we will look to develop a pilot scheme, possibly working with the National Dieback Programme.”

Sarni adds: ' This will encourage visitors to seek out accredited providers using best practice risk management systems, information and cleaning/hygiene facilities for their customers.”

360 Discovery is an ongoing supporter of the Coromandel Kauri Dieback Forum and actively promotes awareness of the disease.

As part of their commitment to preventing the spread of kauri dieback they have donated two return tickets from Coromandel to Auckland to be given away at each workshop.

To RSVP contact Alison Smith on 0226-940-449 or email: [email protected]. For more information visit the Kauri Dieback Management website at: www.kauridieback.co.nz