Ask Hawke’s Bay 2018 Young Fruit Grower of the Year Lisa Arnold what the future holds for both her and the region and the first word that springs to mind is – Wairoa! At 28 years old, Lisa recently invested in her own small plot of land to grow crops on in Wairoa, which she sees as a district on the cusp of exciting opportunity and growth. “For horticulture, there’s so much untapped potential in Wairoa, it has great soil, weather and access by road and rail is improving, locals are friendly and there’s available land with affordable housing, not to mention the weather and being close to the beach!” Growing up in Gisborne and now living back home in Hastings where she was born, Lisa says, it’s a perfect spot to realise her longer-term vision. Wairoa’s on the move, it’s going to be the place to be.” Lisa, an orchard operations assistant with Bostock New Zealand, created history in July as the first woman to win the prestigious and strongly contested local title. Lisa says it’s a privilege to represent women and organic growers in her industry. “I love the diversity, networking, making connections with different cultures and it’s good to see more women entering the industry.” “Hawke’s Bay needs more young people for our horticultural industry because its growing careers. Every year the region is planting thousands of apple trees and more orchards, along with creating new sustainability initiatives,” Arnold said. “We want young people to get involved and take the lead.” Her “green thumb” comes from her family’s lifelong dedication for growing organics. So on graduating with Bachelor of Science, she set her sights on working in the field where she could build a career and follow her dream. Today one of her specialist areas is compliance and she’s passionate about sustainability including reducing and recycling plastic use on orchards. She’s also managing the Bostock NZ Karamu Stream restoration project, which she would like to help encourage others to follow. As well as work, Hawke’s Bay is a really great place live, says Lisa. “You can get outdoors, we’ve got Te Mata Peak, the beaches and it’s a great place to get out walk your dog”. Posted: 27 June 2019