The Low Volume Roads (LVR) 2026 Workshop, hosted by the Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia (REAAA), took place on the 20th-21st August 2026, at the Claudelands Events Centre in Hamilton.

At the Low Volume Roads 2026 workshop, Hamish Scown from Pan Pac Forest Products won the award for “Best Young Presenter”

Hamish is a forestry professional with Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd, based in Hawke’s Bay, where he works across harvesting, roading, and business improvement.

He played a key role in the forestry sector’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle, leading woody debris assessments and later being seconded to manage Hawke’s Bay’s Woody Debris Recovery. During this period, innovative approaches were trialled, including the successful use of shredded wood aggregate as a temporary roading surface to support silt removal, debris processing, and site access.

Following this work, Hamish returned to Pan Pac to initiate dedicated forestry roading trials using shredded wood aggregate. Initial trials were successful within the Pan Pac system. Later trials developed in collaboration with Forest Growers Research (FGR) provide industry with practical insights into the material’s potential application, investigating the mechanical, hydrological, and environmental performance of shredded wood as a roading aggregate.

Hamish Scown, presentation from the Low Volume Roads Workshop August 2026: Shredded wood as a temporary low-volume forestry roading aggregate