Blog 1 – Kayla Brock

June 19, 2018 1:44 pm Published by Kayla Brock 7 Comments

I’d like to start out by saying hello to all my readers! Whether you are in the forest industry or not (and if you’re not, I’ll try not to confuse you too bad), your time to stay involved in my summer is greatly appreciated.

Before I begin, I should introduce myself a little more. My name is Kayla Brock, and this is my first summer working in silviculture at West Fraser Quesnel Division. Accepting this position was a difficult decision, because I had never been away from home for an entire summer before. The transition was fairly emotional for me, but at this point in time, I have to admit that the Cariboo has some of the most gorgeous territory I have ever seen. Aside from the scenery, Quesnel is a very welcoming town with lots of “touristy” things to do (but that will be another blog topic).

When I am not working or exploring, I am a student at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). This year, I am entering my fourth and final year (WAHOO!) in my Bachelor of Natural Resource Science Degree. When I graduate, I hope to work toward my Registered Professional Forester (RPF), but would like to spend a bit of time travelling first. I originally intended to be in the Nursing Program at TRU, but thank heavens I am in forestry instead.

I was hoping to write about my first day at work, but honestly, it is kind of a blur to me. I remember being super nervous, but relieved to see a few familiar faces amongst the office. I was introduced to the other two ladies in silviculture: Colleen and Storey. I’d say we hit off pretty much right away. We help each other, laugh together, take turns buying Starbucks, and thoroughly enjoy our early 2000’s music playlists.

I’ve been blessed working with West Fraser. Every week thus far (give or take a couple, I suppose) has consisted of training and certification. We’ve even had a couple barbeques. I am most grateful for being introduced to COFI (Council of Forest Industries) via West Fraser. Being involved with COFI events, we’ve shown high school students what our job entails and the benefits associated with it. I learned about timber cruising, and drone usage, and even got shown how drip torches work against fire guards. Not only did COFI benefit future foresters, it also taught me.

Now, some may call me a dork for this, but I’ve been keeping a journal documenting all the animals I see (I don’t include deer, however, because they aren’t as rare to me as moose, bear, caribou, etc.). My grandma has been doing that for as long as I can remember, and I used to tease her for it, but it’s actually super fun documenting everything. It warms my heart every day to see moose and bear (especially after the wildfire season of last summer), and they never seem to lose their cuteness. I have made it my goal to see a grizzly bear this summer (hopefully only from the truck though), and I hope I can share my first time seeing one with my readers.

And for those of you who don’t know what silviculture is, this paragraph is important. In short form, it is our job to make sure the previously logged block is sufficiently replanted for future harvest. We visit the block a couple years after the tree planters, and we make sure the baby trees are planted far enough away from each other to ensure adequate growth, no vegetation (fireweed, rhododendron, etc.) is preventing the trees from growing, no diseases are present, etc. And then we do some statistics (math never seems to escape me).

Last week, I got to branch away from silviculture for a day. Doug (my safety mentor) and I went out toward Kluskus to “check cruise” a semi-burned stand within the perimeter of the Plateau Fire of 2017. I had never cruised before, so I was very excited to see what the job involved. Aside from the mosquitoes (See Figure 4), I had a lot of fun. Doug taught me a lot. I probably should have warned him in advance that I would forget my head if it weren’t attached to my body, and I lost a piece of equipment… But shhh, don’t tell anyone. I’ve uploaded a few pictures (mainly consisting of my timber cruise day) showing what I’ve learned and experienced this far. I hope I can keep you entertained for the summer, and thankyou again for following my journey.

-Kayla

Figure 1: See if you can spot what I photographed.

Figure 2: Courtesy of Doug’s thumb, this is my first time seeing a Spruce Beetle. My scientific naming skills will really impress you, here (Dendroctonus rufipennis). We were working near Kluskus in areas involved with the Plateau Fire of 2017.

Figure 3: Within the Plateau Fire blocks, we stumbled (literally, stumbled) to this tree. It’s apparent that it was struck by lightning and broke right in the centre. It’s hard to imagine lightning being this powerful…

Figure 4: Until you’ve experienced this many mosquitos, you cannot complain. This picture honestly doesn’t do justice for how bad they were. To top it off, both Doug and I forgot our bug spray. I haven’t counted the exact number in my hair, as this picture kind of disturbs me; but if you want to let me know how many, “fly” at ‘er.

Figure 5: Despite the blurriness of the photo and the evidence of the intense burn, do you see the big cow moose in the forest? She didn’t seem to mind we were there; stopped and posed for a picture and left. Not to sound completely nerdy, but check out the pine regeneration in the front. It’s good to see trees re-growing after a fire!

Figure 6: This is me taking the DBH (Diameter at Breast Height). It’s actually hard wrapping your arms around a big tree. You have to make sure the tape is level, it’s pulled tight, and you have to magically swat away the mosquitos without using your hands. There’s a new challenge for you.