Young Horticulturist of the Year finalist Dane Sales is fervent about looking after native trees – and he wants to educate others.

So the Auckland arborist has authored a guide to protect urban forests.

Working toward his diploma in arboriculture, Dane did a research project on identifying native tree roots. It has prompted him to pursue the research full-time so he can expand his unpublished book into a comprehensive guide.

“Native Tree Roots of Aotearoa New Zealand features 14 trees. I’m hoping to get it to about 50 different species before I publish it,” the 31-year-old says.

“It will help arborists identify what roots belong to which native tree – hopefully improving tree preservation outcomes for trees on or adjacent to development sites. They won’t have to send a sample off to a lab for identification. They won’t have to trace the root back to the tree and cause more damage.”

“A big part of it is wanting to educate people on the effects of what we do, how we can go about it differently, and get the result we’re looking for in terms of urban development – and also get what we want in terms of conserving and protecting the urban forest,” Dane explains.

“My personal interest in conservation comes from an appreciation for the environment, the unreciprocated benefits it provides us and not wanting to lose the things that we have, understanding that there has been such great losses already, and not wanting those to compound any further.”

Dane has funding from the Waikato Botanical Society to work on his book and will do the research at the Waipahihi Botanical Gardens in Taupo, where there is a broad range of native species.

And he is not the first in his family to write books on this genre either – his great uncle Don Bell authored Trees for New Zealand Town and Country, a practical guide for home gardeners.

“We never spoke about trees. It wasn’t until a few years after he passed that I found my way  into arboriculture and learned the extent of his work,” he explains.

Nominated to represent arborists at this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year by the NZ Arboricultural Association (NZ Arb), Dane will compete in a series of technical, practical, business and leadership challenges, with four others across the wider horticulture sector.

In its 21^st year, the competition is run by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture Education Trust (RNZIH Ed Trust) with the support of official sponsors Woolworths, T&G Fresh and Fruitfed Supplies. It showcases the industry’s most promising young professionals and helps them develop the skills, knowledge and leadership needed to shape the sector’s future.

Working in horticulture nearly didn’t happen for Dane. After completing high school on the Gold Coast in Australia, he studied outdoor education in Greymouth, and loved tramping and mountaineering. But he realised that wasn’t the career he wanted. So he went back into baking, a love since high school. He spent a decade as an artisan bread baker, as it allowed him to indulge his love of the outdoors, including working in a bakery cafe in Banff, Canada, so he could go skiing and hiking.

But eventually he hankered for a job that would be more environmentally meaningful. So the budding conservationist “stumbled upon arboriculture” through a government-funded programme, and he moved back to New Zealand to study at Wintec where he completed levels three to five in arboriculture back to back while also working at Treescape as a climbing arborist. With the arboriculture qualifications under his belt, he secured a monitoring arborist position at Arborlab, in Auckland.

“My role was as a monitoring arborist on urban construction sites. There needs to be an arborist documenting what’s happening, ensuring tree protection measures are adhered to, and overseeing any root pruning and root retention.”

Dane is excited by the opportunities the Young Horticulturist competition will provide him, adding, “It will broaden my horizons and my connections, and I am excited to learn as much as I can from people who are as passionate about environmental principles as I am.

“And I’ve always been an introverted sort of person, so this is something that’s going to challenge me.”

Grand Final Awards Dinner

Celebrating the achievements of the 2026 finalists across the horticultural industry.

https://www.younghort.co.nz/young-horticulturist-of-the-year