Naturally Better
Floating Peak’s Wool Pole Protector
Wool is one of the most underrated natural fibres there are and like many farmers, we wanted to find greater uses for it. In 2022, we turned strong wool from our hill country farm in Central Hawkes Bay, felted it and developed a range of garden products and weed mats. Since then, we’ve thought of a greater use, something useful for all erosion prone land... pole protectors.
Pole protectors are traditionally made of plastic with no biodegradable alternative, so we manufactured some prototypes, and started trialing them on our farm in 2022.
During this time we’ve experienced record levels of rainfall coupled with severe weather events, all of which our Wool Pole Protectors have withstood without issue.
As a result, we conducted a self-funded trial on 15 farms throughout New Zealand. This allowed us to test several wool types. Our trial site locations include: Northland, King Country, Taupo, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Canterbury and Te Anau. Since starting the trial, we have adapted and improved the original prototype to now have a Wool Pole Protector ready for your land.
Our Wool Pole Protectors in the field
A ewe overlooking her latest fleece creation, a 2023 Wool Pole Protector.
2022 Wool Pole Protector (18 months old) starting to naturally degrade.
Plastic Sleeve contributing to on farm pollution. There are no signs of degradation.
2023 Wool Pole Protector.
2023 Wool Pole Protector planted in an area of damage as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle.
A demonstration of Wool Pole Protectors naturally starting to degrade over time. Image in the foreground is a 2022 Wool Pole Protector, compared to 2023 in the background.
2023 Wool Pole Protector planted on steep hill country prone to erosion.
2023 Wool Pole Protector application.
2023 Wool Pole Protector.
2022 Wool Pole Protector that is 18 months old showing natural signs of degradation.
2023 Wool Pole Protector planted overlooking damaged hillsides caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Hayden demonstrating how to apply a Wool Pole Protector.
2022 Wool Pole Protector 18 months old. Wool will degrade faster at the base of the Wool Pole Protector due to being in contact with the soil. This speeds up the degradation process.
2022 Wool Pole Protector 18 months old. Wool will degrade faster at the base of the Wool Pole Protector due to being in contact with the soil. This speeds up the degradation process.
Why wool?
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Wool allows bark to naturally harden.
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Wool absorbs and releases moisture as needed.
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Take a ewe, add grass and water to grow a beautiful fleece of wool.
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Wool breaks down naturally over time.
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Our Wool Pole Protectors are made using high micron fleece wool.
Farmer Trials
The farmers we worked with comprised of owners, managers and corporates running medium to large holdings, on moderate to steep hill country farms. Participants planted between 50 and 500 poles annually.
From application, farmers were very positive about Wool Pole Protectors. They reported that they found:
The instructions were clear and easy to follow.
Installation was simple taking the same time, or slightly longer, to plastic.
The product was able to be applied to a variety of poplar and willow poles.
Based on application, all reported a high likelihood of using Wool Pole Protectors again.
2024 will see us start a new round of trials to get a better understanding of how our improved design performs over the next 3years and beyond.
“We liked the WPPs. They are lighter, take up much less space and are easier to transport to site than plastic ones. We installed them with the applicator after ramming which worked fine. Installing them before ramming would probably be even more straightforward. We would use this method in the future.”
“15+ year old plastic sleeve buried in grass and no signs of breaking down.”
