Digital retoucher Mason Clarke spent the past 20 years sitting in front of a computer.

He is now discovering the world of apple-picking through the Help the Harvest campaign to get multimillion-dollar crops off trees and away to market.

The Aucklander lost his job due to Covid-19 when Bauer sold its New Zealand magazine stable.

Mason was an editorial operations support analyst who worked on hundreds of covers.

When he was made redundant he was involved with around 18 publications.

“It was a bit of a shock,” he says. “I have been sitting for a year all set up in Auckland to do freelance retouch work but it just hasn't come through.”

A good friend in Gisborne suggested he look at the Help the Harvest campaign so he headed south.

“I had been kind of thinking about going picking but the trick was how to get the information. The Help the Harvest campaign provided the perfect opportunity.”

He is enjoying the different world he has found himself working in, albeit has discovered a few muscle groups he didn't know existed.

“This is amazing. I come to work and everyone has a friendly ‘kia ora'. That doesn't happen in Auckland.

“I am grateful to Natalya and Tim (Egan) for giving me the opportunity to work for them and to the guys I am working alongside in the orchard.

“They have all welcomed me into the team and are amazing to be around. I have not laughed so much in ages.”

The clean air, singing cicadas and having his feet on the ground isn't missed on him.

“It is great to be working in daylight after a long time under fluorescent tubes.”

He figures he will stick around until the apples are picked.

The Help the Harvest campaign sought to fill a critical need for up to 200 pickers for the $65 million export apple and kiwifruit crops.

More than 70 people turned up for a meet-and-greet in early March at which 15 orchardists made the most of picking up workers, each adding two or three to their crews.

Project manager Libby Te Rauna continues to field calls from orchardists and hopeful workers, and while everyone agrees the situation is far more under control, there will continue to be a need for new workers.

The Help the Harvest campaign is a collaborative effort between the industry-owned and government-backed TIPU, the Ministry of Social Development and Trust Tairawhiti to fill a desperate shortage of pickers.

TIPU advisory group member and orchardist Tim Egan said the campaign to find workers had been a success.

“At the moment we have enough to cope but I am sure everyone would like a couple more.”

He and wife Natalya run a crew for five-and-a-half days a week with extras including students and family picking at the weekend.

Envy apples and kiwifruit are being picked and when this finishes, attention turns to citrus and persimmons.

More than eight million kilograms of apples need to be off the trees by the end of April.

These will be packed locally before being exported to Asia, Europe, the United Arab Emirates and North America.

The 14 million kilograms of kiwifruit will head to the same markets.

A small amount of each will be sold on the domestic market.