16 CRAIG NORRIS It has been almost a month since we bade farewell and celebrated Craig Norris and his remarkable career in forestry and at NCT. For those of us who had the privilege of working closely with Craig, his retirement is truly bittersweet. On the one hand, it feels like a great loss — his absence is deeply felt, and I swear most of us are drowning in one (or more) stages of grief! On the other hand, we are excited that after all his dedication, hard work, and impeccable work ethic he gets to rest and enjoy the ‘finer things in life’ to their fullest. In Craig’s case, finer things are probably not a shopping trip to Dubai or Paris but more like time spent outdoors canoeing, running, hiking, travelling and enjoying time with family –and, of course, continuously engaging with forestry stakeholders to share and create knowledge. I do not know if we at NCT will ever fully grasp the depth of Criag’s contribution to making NCT the successful organisation that it is today. Having worked under his leadership for nearly three years, I quickly learned that Craig is like a walking forestry encyclopaedia — he knew everything about everything forestry. Beyond his vast knowledge, Craig had remarkable foresight and understanding; he was both tactical and strategic. Collaboration was at the heart of his leadership. He intricately understood NCT as an organisation and recognised that we do not have all the expertise in-house. So, he leveraged relationships and networks — with FABI, FMG, ICFR, TWK, academic institutions, and many others to benefit NCT. Craig pioneered and championed key disciplines that are central to the success of any forestry business. He was instrumental in establishing and managing the tree improvement programme, ensuring that NCT could swiftly respond to the inevitable pest and pathogen attacks, as well as climate-change threats that, if unprepared for, could devastate forest plantations. Craig was at the forefront of forest certification, ensuring that NCT remained globally relevant. He also played a key role in communicating the latest and relevant silvicultural research findings to foresters and farmers, helping NCT stay aligned with industry standards and remain both productive and profitable. Craig was not just an excellent leader and pioneer of research programmes, but he was what I would refer to as perfect example of an HR textbook manager. Craig was hard working and hands-on. His passion for research and NCT was contagious, and we as his team members caught it like wildfire. So much so that we forgot – Noxolo Ndlovu – Research Scientist – a TRIBUTE to
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