September 6, 2017 2:06 pm
It’s hard to believe I’m already sitting here reflecting on the summer that has come and gone too fast. When I first received the phone call from the woods manager here in Hinton requesting an interview for this position, I remember feeling like moving up here was simply not an option but I am so glad I did; I can’t imagine my life without this experience in it.
August 24, 2017 3:57 pm
Coming into the final weeks of my work term, I think it’s time to finally discuss my main project of the summer with you! This blog has to have some technical terms (I’ll try to define them all, I promise!) but I’ll work through it as simply as I can!
Asides from the wonderful wildlife surveys and various other projects I’ve been on,
August 14, 2017 4:46 pm
It was a rainy Friday morning in the office when I got a phone call that brightened my day right up! Larry, one of our operations supervisors, called me with a bit of hawk ‘emergency’. One of his contractor’s buncher-men had gotten out of his machine to look at something in the block he was harvesting, and was dive bombed by two large birds that he described as good-sized hawks that were brown/tan in colour.
August 3, 2017 7:51 pm
Rocky Mountain Adventures
One huge bonus of living in Hinton is the close access we have to the Rocky Mountains. This was a huge selling feature for me when I decided to come to Hinton for the summer. I touched on some of my local explorations in a previous blog, Finding Home in Hinton, but today I want to take you a bit further,
July 26, 2017 6:08 pm
Just North of Hinton is a special management area called Pinto Creek Canyon. The canyon is a stunning landmark, featuring Pinto Creek slowly and gently curving its way through the landscape, leaving behind scattered cliff faces and hoodoos along its banks. This is an area that West Fraser has rights to harvest around, but in anticipation of future harvest plans,
July 13, 2017 3:42 pm
One of the best things about working in the Forest Products Industry is where the job takes you. I don’t mean the actual work itself (which is also incredible), but the places that you live and play. Hinton, Alberta is one of those really special places to me – a gem that I would not have discovered if it wasn’t for the opportunity from West Fraser.
June 23, 2017 7:34 pm
Today I have a special experience to share! In mid-May, I had the pleasure of participating in a Harlequin Duck capture program for three days. I have so much to share so I’m just going to dive in!
Harlequin Ducks (scientific name Histrionicus histrionicus)are a migratory species of duck that nest in the tributaries of high elevation streams and rivers.
June 12, 2017 2:33 pm
Hello Everyone!
I am incredibly excited to be writing to you all in my second year as a Green Dream Blogger! I hope there will be some familiar faces reading these posts, but even more so I hope my writing is able to reach many new people. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Sydney and this fall I will be heading into my fourth and final year in the Natural Resource Science degree program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops,
September 19, 2016 3:28 pm
On the afternoon of Friday, August 26th, I found myself saying my final goodbyes to everyone in the office at West Fraser Plywood, Williams Lake. I’ve had some time to reflect on the busy day of handing in gear, cleaning up my truck, and enjoying a pizza and cake lunch with the office, and I decided that you guys don’t know some things about my work term.
September 19, 2016 3:18 pm
My main role at West Fraser has included mostly silviculture work. This field in forestry relates to how the landscape is managed post-harvest, and from what I’ve experienced and witnessed working under Silviculture Forester, Sue, it is truly an art. As a silviculture forester, you have to be so in tune with the forest and passionate about the ecology of the landscape.
September 7, 2016 6:53 pm
This summer I’ve been talking to you guys a lot about forestry practices mostly relating to the development and reforestation of cut blocks, which leaves out one BIG part of the industry. Today we’re going right to the root of forestry: harvesting. Harvesting is basically the removal of the timber off the landscape and into the mill, and it’s a really complicated process in some aspects.
August 22, 2016 2:25 pm
Our forests are constantly fighting for their survival. Each and every tree will be subjected to competition, pathogens, harsh environments, and pests over its lifetime. I’m sure you’ve all heard of the mountain pine beetle and the immediate effects that the epidemic in BC had on our forests, but did you know that every species of tree has its own unique insect/pest,
August 8, 2016 3:59 pm
The past month, my role at West Fraser has included mostly silviculture work under an incredible forester named Sue. Silviculture is a type of forestry that relates to managing the landscape post-harvest in order to produce a healthy and merchantable forest stand for the future. I’ll be writing to you guys soon about what exactly the art of silviculture work entails and all the experiences I’ve had with that soon,
July 19, 2016 4:26 pm
As the beginning of July approaches, the city of Williams Lake builds as almost indescribable atmosphere. Canada Day weekend in the city marks the annual Williams Lake Stampede, which is second in Canada only to the Calgary Stampede. This year the community celebrated 90 years of rodeo tradition and the city was abuzz with beautiful window murals,
July 7, 2016 6:19 pm
This past week (June 20th-23rd) I’ve been in camp at the Eagle’s Nest Resort on beautiful Anahim Lake, located about three and a half hours west of Williams Lake.
West Fraser is fairly new to this operating area; initial planning began only in 2012 and the first actual harvesting commenced in March of this year. West Fraser has worked very hard to do right by the First Nations and the small communities of the area before operations began,
June 19, 2016 4:42 pm
Day 1: A quick glimpse into camp life
I was so pleased last week when I found out that my partner, Erin, and I would be staying out at camp in Chezacut for two nights. The area known as Chezacut is about two and a half hours west of Williams Lake, nestled between reservations in the beautiful Tsilhqot’in Nation of the Chilcotin Plateau.
June 7, 2016 3:08 pm
What an exciting opportunity it is to be writing to you all this summer. This is my first time blogging for FPAC and working for West Fraser so I’ll to begin by introducing myself. My name is Sydney and I am a third year student in the bachelor of Natural Resource Science program at Thompson Rivers University. I was born and raised in the beautiful community of Williams Lake and was thrilled to accept a summer work term here in my hometown with West Fraser’s Williams Lake Plywood division as a planning forestry student.
