The Spring Plant Continues

July 21, 2015 1:12 pm Published by Joe Silva 1 Comment

The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity as the tree planters have started to work in the south part of the FMA. After some issues such as density and j-root were addressed, the planters were back on track to good quality. One thing that I have definitely learned over the course of this contract is responsibility. When the summer students were hired, it was decided that one of us would focus on the tree plant in the south part of the FMA and the other would focus their efforts on the north part of the FMA. The south contract was my project and so I had to balance my time to keep pace with the tree planters and ensure that they were fulfilling the quality expected by West Fraser. It was a new challenge for me standing on my own two feet and having expectations.

           Another project I was given was NSR surveys, which as I mentioned previously involve checking to see if the trees have grown back in harvested areas sufficiently to pass legislated surveys. Four of the cut blocks that I had to survey were in an area that was first harvested in the 1960s and then later again in the 1970s. The most recent harvesting in this area took place a decade ago and so the roads have all but disappeared in the dense second-growth vegetation, making navigation difficult. In addition, these cut blocks were harvested in the winter and so access is reduced to overgrown skid-trails, requiring a quad to negotiate in a timely manner. One of the many new skills that I have learned through this job is how to operate a quad. During our training, quad safety was a major point of focus. The other summer students were comfortable operating quads early on but for me it was all new and I really appreciated that my safety mentor Tim took half a day to give me one-on-one lessons- it definitely improved my confidence! Armed with a GPS unit, we drove the quads and managed to track down all of the cut blocks we had to visit, one of which afforded a beautiful view of the nearby mountains!

Recently, we finished up the spring plant and it was very fulfilling to know that I had helped to oversee and implement the goals of such a large project- over a million trees were planted this spring! Working in the forest industry has been a great way to gain a wide array of experience that is applicable in so many careers, and I have done many things that I previously would be too uncomfortable to try. I have really grown to appreciate the work-life balance that forestry affords. Working in forestry allows one to work in a smaller town and be closer to the outdoors. Here in Hinton, Jasper National Park is a mere 20 minutes down the road and that’s just the start! I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the surroundings area, including Malinge Lake and Sulphur Skyline in Jasper and Willmore Wilderness Park near Grande Cache, Alberta the past few weeks. I am now starting to really settle in to my summer life here in Hinton, living in a different province and working a job that is challenging and very fulfilling. Half of the summer still remains- next up are 2+0 trees, the summer tree plant and the herbicide program- as well as many more adventures to come!