More than Just a Mill
7 juin 2016 15:26 Laisser vos pensées
I would like to start my series of blogs by introducing myself and the wonderful company I will be working for, and a sneak peek at the future blog subjects. My name is Bailey and I am a University of Alberta forestry student who grew up as a farm girl north of Peace River, Alberta. This will be my second summer as a forestry summer student working at Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., Peace River Pulp Division (DMI), a pulp mill located in the very scenic river valley north of Peace River, Alberta. I will spend my summer elaborating on the many different things we do here at the mill but primarily the forest practices I am involved with. I am also excited to include some of the exciting projects that DMI is involved with from research to the community.
[DMI Peace River Pulp Mill]
Most of the Peace Region sees the mill, the chip trucks and the logo here and there. Those who work in the mill know general details of the process of how we take chips from those trucks put them on that blonde pile and then run them through the mill, and leaves as bails of pulp in the railcars. But it all starts in the boreal forest with one of the biggest forest management areas in Alberta. And the process is something that is constantly evolving, unique, and carries the input of scientists, researchers, communities, and foresters alike. We practice Sustainable Forest Management.
[DMI East FMA cutblock with Retention]
But DMI is so much more than just a mill because we are forest stewards, and sustainability is key to the entire process and especially to our forests as it effects an extremely diverse ecosystem. Our woodlands team’s dedication and diligence is truly inspiring, to myself as a student. They strive to practice above what is required of them and improvement. Our cutblock shape is far from the traditional clearcut squares of the past, designed and adapted through of University of Alberta joint 100 year research project called EMEND, Ecological-Based Management Emulating Natural Disasters. I will dedicate a future blog post to just EMEND to tell you how inspiring our forest fire shaped cutblocks with strategically placed retention patches, and how it the science is proving how beneficial it is not just for us but also the entire boreal eco-system.
The scope goes even beyond mill and forest practices. As a child of two long time employees, I have grown up knowing how incredibly family orientated DMI is through thoughtful policies, benefits and even events like children’s Christmas parties. But now as an employee myself I get to experience how team orientated we are, from the extensive safety training provided for us like quad safety, to corporate events like our annual golf tournament. As a student it is rewarding to be a part of the team and these events and training with various members allow us to break the ice for the projects we will work on with each department. I am excited to give you some insight throughout the summer into each of these projects as well as some of the interesting side endeavors we have and fun things we get to do.
[Quad safety training 2016]
Please stay tuned for the next blog where I will take a much more in depth look at one of the topics I touched base on. Comment if there is something you would like to know more about!
Until next time,
Bailey Robinson
Woodlands Summer Student
Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., Peace River Pulp Division